A Swedish publication has subjected the Toyota Hilux to the so-called “moose test” … and the Japanese bakkie again struggled to perform.
Teknikens Värld conducted the test, which is essentially an extreme handling evaluation designed to simulate an animal suddenly running in front of a vehicle moving at about 60 km/h.
The publication said that the previous-generation Hilux suffered a similar problem in the evasive manoeuvre test.
The video includes many of the Hilux’s rivals, such as the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Volkswagen Amarok and Isuzu KB, undergoing the same test.
The publication added that the moose test is usually performed with the bakkie’s maximum load, according to manufacturer specifications. The Hilux had the highest load capacity of all the tested pickups, at 1 002 kg. But in this test, Teknikens Värld says it was “loaded with only 830 kg, including the driver and four passengers, because our weights were not enough”.
“In other words, is not likely that the load is the causing problem here. If that would be the case, the suspension should have bottomed out, but it didn’t,” the report read.
Teknikens Värld approached Toyota for comment, and this is what the Swedish arm of the Japanese automaker had to say:
“Based on all the tests carried out during development, we are confident that the Toyota Hilux is a safe vehicle. As we understand, you have performed an evasive manoeuvre tests in your newspaper testing protocols on a series pickups, including the Toyota Hilux,” the statement read.
“You have informed us that the Toyota Hilux is not living up to your expectations. We were surprised by the test results, and we will take your assessment very seriously, just as we take the capacity for evasive manoeuvres as serious in the development of our vehicles.
“Hilux has been repeatedly tested according to ISO 3888 standard for evasive action test during the development of the model and then have passed the tests successfully.
“Several technical parameters have an impact on the outcome of an evasive manoeuvre, so we want to better understand the exact parameters for your test,” the automaker added.
Watch the footage below…
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