After revealing it at the Toyota Festival down in Cromwell recently, Toyota has quietly revealed the price for the GR Sport Hilux.
The 4WD double cab GR Sport sits at the top of the Hilux range, coming in above the $63,390 SR5 Cruiser wide track and packing lots of extra off-road bits and a bump in power, justifying its starting price of $74,990.
GR Sport models aren't full-fat GR models like the Yaris, Corolla and 86, rather they are Gazoo Racing's third-tier lineup (below GRMN and the full GR models) that feature measured performance and styling enhancements, without being specialist/extreme machines. Meaning that, very much contrary to misguided popular belief, the Hilux GR Sport is most definitely not a rival to the $92,990 Ford Ranger Raptor.
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The Hilux GR Sport packs the familiar 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine that has had power and torque boosted by 10 per cent, to 165kW/550Nm, courtesy of a revised turbocharger and fuel-injection control.
The chassis features an automatic limited-slip differential, Active Traction Control and strengthened suspension. New monotube shock absorbers are designed to give better damping performance, with faster response in demanding conditions. It also has more functional footwear than the SR5 Cruiser, with smaller (17-inch) wheels.
The GR Sport gets its own look up front, with prominent satin-black over-fenders integrate into the bumper. Inside, there are sports pedals and red seatbelts.
GR branding is featured inside and out, including on the steering wheel, headrests, red callipers for the uprated brakes, and exterior badges.
While the GR Sport Hilux pricing starts at $74,990, the sole option available is a "two tone" paint job (basically a black roof) that bumps the total up to $76,490.
This sees the GR Sport undercut its closest direct rival, the $80,990 Ford Ranger Wildtrak X that features similar off-road upgrades, including unique Bilstein Position-Sensitive Dampers, General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres and 17-inch alloy wheels, a 30mm wider track width front and rear, and an additional 26mm of ground clearance over the standard Wildtrak.
But the Ranger goes a bit further than the GR Sport by also gaining a few tricks from the absolute top of the range Raptor.
No, it doesn't get the awesome petrol turbo V6, rather it gains tow of the Raptor's new off-road tools: Trail Turn Assist, that helps drivers negotiate tight bends on narrow tracks by applying the brake on the inside rear wheel, reducing the turning radius, and Trail Control, that helps drivers maintain a constant low-speed while off-road.
The Wildtrak X also gets Ford's brilliant Flexible Rack System that would likely soak up most of the price difference alone.