Jeremy Clarkson tests the Toyota Hilux’s hardiness

Jeremy Clarkson tries to bang, drown, and burn a Toyota Hilux to test it’s strength. Let’s see how Toyota’s old workhorse fares. From what I’ve heard, it has a pretty good reputation in East Malaysia for being one of the toughest hardiest pick-up trucks around.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • paramsingwalia (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 3:45 am

    super tough hilux..barvo…but i would put the hilux in the middle of the building rather than top.

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  • catborg (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 4:16 am

    a very good advertise for Toyota/lexus all the way..

    and that's proven of thoughness (not like kelisa :D )

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  • stevarac (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 4:43 am

    Same as the previous Kelisa test , I still failed to see the relevance to everyday driving needs !!!

    I think that the Top Gear audience rating is going to the drain and this guy had to pull some stupid stunt to try to at least win back some of those hardcore "aggresive" audience to the tube.

    Come to think of it , It's kind of funny though what kind of stunt a guy will do to "cari makan ".

    Why didn't he try to find out which cars " survived" 911 ? …..sigh !

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  • Francis89 (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 4:57 am

    Lol…I've seen the video at YouTube a month ago….

    Supposedly post my paul..haha

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  • NSDS3HvLDjJd (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 5:22 am

    Now that's what I call quality!

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  • cbljkkj (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 5:27 am

    Stevearac:

    You are absolutely right about the fact that it has no relevance to everyday usage. I think what Jeremy was trying to point out is that this is a method to measure how good it is.

    The proper test for a sports car is to test how quick it is and the test for a small car is to see how economical it is. The only test that can suit this vehicle is to see how "tough" it is. It is to explore the reason of why the consumer would purchase the vehicle in the first place.

    Top Gear is also a very highly rated show in the UK so this is not a feasible attempt to boost ratings. I suppose it is just their way of presenting a show about motor vehicles thoroughly entertain and educate without any drawbacks.

    I hope this answers your questions about the topic.

    My two cents

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  • Jason (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 5:35 am

    Why towards the end the sound not clear?

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  • stevarac (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 7:50 am

    cbljkkj said,

    January 11, 2006 @ 9:27 pm

    The proper test for a sports car is to test how quick it is and the test for a small car is to see how economical it is. The only test that can suit this vehicle is to see how “tough” it is. It is to explore the reason of why the consumer would purchase the vehicle in the first place

    ——————————————————–

    I agreed this type of vehicle/pick-up/truck need to show their toughness. To me it is Ok to subject the vehicle down the steps , scratch a wall or even a knock on a tree. That's fine. But subject the vehicle to sea water test akind to tsunami ? Capabilty to withstand a demolition exercise & fire resistance ? It's good for entertainment but not to be taken as serious car endorsement.

    I mean if this is to explore the reason for consumer to purchase , then I will definitely feel funny on the British mentality, assuming you are right.

    Wondering what could be next ……..pick-up rolling from Genting Highland down to Batang Kali ? Under Uncle Lim sponsorship ?? ha ha.

    Don't get me wrong , to me this test was good entertainment. Simple as that. Thanks for your explaination though.

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  • yhtan (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 7:53 am

    Wow…the old hilux seems like very tough,

    can our savvy tougher than it? :p

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  • Xoomie (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 8:06 am

    Of course.. It's a TOYOTA

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  • aksMs (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 8:54 am

    Well, what can I say? It's a Toyota. A well known brand for reliability I'd say. I remember following a 4×4 club back in 1994. At that time it was Landcruiser II and Ninja Turtle era. I remember at one of the obstacle, 3 generations of Land Cruisers are taking turns to winch the other 40+ vehicles as the Discovery had to retire early. As most of you might have guess, the Hilux need no help. Tough car. And the worst of all is the Cherokee.

    As for the relevantness of the test, well, I'd like to look at it at the reliability issue. It's not relevance for every day use to burn the car or leave it to the violent high tide to turn the car upside down by the sea. The point is, they still manage bring it back to live again with just a WD40. (I watched this too long ago I can't remember what else the local foremen did). Now, isn't that something? But as stevarac said, it's a good entertainment. I agree with you, mate.

    Oh, now I remember. I watched this episode back in 2004. It's very old. ;)

    And btw Paul, this is a good improvement. I support you man. This is a way to go for 2006! Cheers!

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  • ingolstadt (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 11:54 am

    stevarac, now think further, why would they wanna test this car, with everyday usage? This car is for rugged usage, and to subject it to such extreme tests, and still it turned out to be still alive, they are actually putting their own show at a risk in which they gamble. Why would they choose a Toyota Hilux and not a Ford F-150? since the Ford F-150 is clearly the leader in pickups if it were about sales.

    What did JC saw that we didn't? Its that he wanted to bet on Toyota Hilux's quality and reliability. By putting their bets that this vehicle will still make it out alive, they are actually putting a bet on Top Gear's judgement as well.

    I myself thought it would die off with the sea water tests.

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  • paramsingwalia (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 3:59 pm

    err.they choose the hilux and not the F-150 cos the wiring,engine management etc2 would not last a min in the water..hehehehheh…same goes to all petrol EFI engines

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  • SEE FU (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 4:18 pm

    At first I was surprised too to see such an old Toyota HILUX the chasis is still can withstand the load and crash without broken itself into half.

    Next, the electronic parts of this models was still function after flooded by Sea water especially the interior area. Apparently the old car harness and electronic parts are bad but surprisingly it still works. Regarding the engine, It was not a surprised to me because I believed it was designed for waterproofing and this model should be Okay to drive across the river. For normal passenger car like honda civic, toyota prius …..enough Merz Benz or BMW I'm sure it can't be survived in such stituation.

    ONLY guessing, in the old days when ppl don't have COMPUTER technologies and hightech software to estimate the car design and strength, they have to design the part stronger and sometime it is OVER specifications. Might be true or not!! :P

    Honestly all the car manufacturer in the World they didn't design the car to be used in such a stituation as shown in that Video (Sea water, burning, crashed….etc). I'm strongly believed that this car can survived at that condition is consider very LUCKY and not because of TOYOTA designer had the intention to design it like this.

    One thing for sure for TOYOTA over here is the part QUALITY. I would said GREAT!! I think this video is a good TOYOTA dealer for advertising the HILUX.

    Regarding JC motive, I agreed with someone said before they just can't believed that the JAPANESE built model is tough even in such EXTREME condition. THEREFORE someone is betting for it!!!! Western ppl thinking!!

    YAU MOU GAU….CHOR!!!! cheers!

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  • shaif (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 4:23 pm

    Toyota brand is famous with reliability.

    As my father work as Forestry Officer in which he and his team mate need to overnight in the jungle for a week. The only vehicle that reliable enough beside the 'stai-wong' a lorry use to carry the logs, is the Toyota Landcruiser.

    The winch is the important part as neede to uphill and downhill during raining season.

    Of course the Hilux carry on the legendary aspect of its predecessor. Even the TopGear choose it as a star for its show. I agree with stevarac that the subject test is more towrds entertainment rather than standard reliability test.

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  • raptorclans (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 9:02 pm

    Wow… that was just hillarious. Typical of him, he can top up his extremities with every show… hehe. I really like the top-of-the-building one. But it's really amazing how the Toyota tahan all the abuse… even the seawater!!! wow… I agree, it's good entertainment, although it seems kinda wasteful :p

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  • pycazu (Member) on Jan 12, 2006 at 9:03 pm

    To me this is rather a car "humiliatation" and extreme torture than any normal car reliabitity tests. Bravo!! to this extremely tough Hilux, burning, dipping into salt water, dropping from more than 20-floor skycraper etc… still alive after that! Which maker dare to declare they are tough to build ever after seeing this!!!

    It's also seem quite right that road thug using this type of pick-up reigning the road, don't challenge it!

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  • shaymen (Member) on Jan 13, 2006 at 1:42 am

    hmmm…i think everybody already know the toughness of the hilux..ppl who work in the forest usually use them because the hilux is known to have tough bodyshell and a very powerfull engine..i would like to buy the new hilux someday.

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  • paramsingwalia (Member) on Jan 13, 2006 at 1:44 am

    see…top gear not biased at all…

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  • Isamu (Member) on Jan 13, 2006 at 3:29 am

    Seems like the Hilux is virtually indestructible..

    If I am not mistaken, the United Nations do use lots of Toyotas like the Hilux and Land Cruisers in its missions worldwide.

    I hope Topgear will conduct the same test on the Land Rover Defender and Hummer. That will settle all the debate on which is the toughest car in the world.. :)

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  • stevarac (Member) on Jan 13, 2006 at 3:29 am

    ingolstadt said,

    January 12, 2006 @ 3:54 am

    stevarac, now think further, why would they wanna test this car, with everyday usage? This car is for rugged usage, and to subject it to such extreme tests, and still it turned out to be still alive, they are actually putting their own show at a risk in which they gamble.

    ————————————————————–

    Hello mate: I just came back from a hard day's work and the first thing you ask is for me to think further..sigh.. Alright , the first thing that came to my mind is that it's kind of funny when I mentioned vehicle rolling down Genting Highland and the word GAMBLE came into picture. Fooooh .. the power of Uncle Lim.

    Seriously , there was nothing that JC had to gamble as far as I can see from the video. He did not commit that the Hilux will surviverd all the test. The test itself was to find out. And I repeat , in an entertaining way ( entertainment lah)

    I don't doubt the Quality of Hilux. I read in newspaper sometime ago that the only 4X4 that those politician used for campaigning at E. Malaysia was a Toyota. They could not afford to have any breakdown that could jeopardise their highway to "fame & ric…." So areed , Toyota is top quality.

    JC is still = entertainer in vocabulary. Cheers.

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  • revver (Member) on Jan 13, 2006 at 7:45 am

    Toyota is Toyota. they are well known for a such. And some of their sale advisors put a big smile after watching the clip.( as if they never seen this before)

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  • eCUN (Member) on Jan 14, 2006 at 4:29 am

    I have a part time job last year… yes.. every weekend… transfer diesel to the top of the hill for telekom (1000 liter per trip)… no electricity up there, only use generator maa… transfer the diesel by using the Hilux 2800 NA with bigger wheels like tractor wheels… yes, Hilux is very tough indeed… it's created for the heavy job… others may not compete… but the max speed on the highway is 120km/h only… so, anybody wanna buy for personal usage better get the turbo model…

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  • shaymen (Member) on Jan 18, 2006 at 6:32 pm

    i know something tougher than u think…..the savvy!hehehehehehehe.no lah just kidding,i mean the lorry tengkorak..but i donno who made that lorry tengkorak.

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  • aesthari (Member) on Jan 21, 2006 at 7:30 pm

    Tough car, very tough car, I know the Hilux is a tough car, but the fact that it actually survived those abuses and keep on ticking with minimal repairs surprises me, now thats really what you call "Built Tough" :)

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  • seancheaw (Member) on Apr 10, 2007 at 1:23 am

    i think this is simply stupid and meningless. if d old man jeremy has nothin benificial to do. u balik kampung & tanam jagung(went bak 2 ur hometown and plant corn) to test how tough the car is simply crap. if really want to test toughness, send the car to laboratory, put few dummies inside and langgar the wall @ 60/kmh. more meaningful, some more got result how severe the people might get injured. rather than this stupid, meningless, humiliating British act. with no result but a few laughter.

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