Over the course of taking the Big Lap, grey nomad caravans generally get a pretty tough workout taking on potholes, corrugations and endless dust … but very few have to suffer a 10-metre tumble.
But a 760kg van was the very much the fall guy in a Toyota test to discover just how tough its all-new electric Hilux is.
More than 20 years ago, TV show Top Gear attempted – and failed – to destroy a Hilux, hitting it with a wrecking ball, submerging it in the sea, and placing it on the roof of a 23-storey building that was then demolished.
The feature also included dropping a weighty caravan onto the pick-up, and it’s that test that has now been recreated to prove the latest model’s ruggedness.
Testing times ... A caravan dropped from 10 metres meets a Toyota Hilux! PIC: Toyota
The stunt was a recreation of a famous Top Gear event. PIC: Toyota
The stunt took place at Bentwaters airfield in the UK county of Suffolk where a caravan was craned 10 metres above the ground, then released directly on top of the Hilux’s cab.
As a cloud of debris settled on the test track, engineers stepped up to inspect the Hilux, which reportedly bore only modest bodywork scars from the impact.
Toyota says the electric vehicle powered up immediately and drove off silently from the scene without breaking a sweat, true to its legendary ‘indestructible’ heritage.
Strict safety conditions were observed throughout the test.
Spectacle aside, Toyota said the stunt demonstrated that the new electric model upheld the global reputation for exceptional quality, durability and reliability that has defined successive Hilux generations across seven decades.
Chris Hayes, Toyota (GB) Director, Products and Services Division, said Hilux had earned its reputation as the world’s toughest pick-up.
“Following on from our launch of the ninth-generation model earlier this year, we wanted to honour that legacy and demonstrate how Hilux is still as impressive as it was decades ago, even when it’s powered by electricity,” he said. “Dropping a caravan on it wasn’t just about repeating the famous TV stunt, it was our way of showing how Hilux’s core toughness remains intact.”
Toyota says the latest test shows how introducing electric power has not diminished Hilux’s strength. The company said that, during the model’s development programme, it underwent extreme testing to guarantee its performance, including deep-water driving, challenging trials across all kinds of rough terrain and total immersion of the battery.
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