Toyota Hilux 48V (2024) Price & Specs
Pricing scoop! We’ve uncovered local prices for the new Toyota Hilux 48V derivatives ahead of the market launch in South Africa. Here’s how much these fresh mild-hybrid double-cab bakkie variants will cost you…
Yes, the Toyota Hilux is set to be lightly electrified. The venerable 8th-generation bakkie range – which was again South Africa’s best-selling nameplate last year – will soon be bolstered with a raft of fresh 48V mild-hybrid derivatives. And Cars.co.za has unearthed local pricing for these Toyota Hilux 48V double-cab variants ahead of the official market launch.
Expected to go on sale at some point in March 2024, the 6 new mild-hybrid derivatives (3 rear-driven and 3 featuring 4×4) will each feature the double-cab body style and an automatic transmission as standard. By our maths, that means the Prospecton-built Hilux portfolio will swell to as many as 45 variants, though Toyota SA Motors may well use this as an opportunity to rejig the line-up slightly. On that front, we’ll simply have to wait and see.
The 48V mild-hybrid package – which ostensibly brings both acceleration and efficiency gains – will be available on all auto-equipped Hilux 2.8 GD-6 Raider, Legend and Legend RS models. According to our information, the least-expensive electrified derivative will be the Hilux 2.8 GD-6 Raider 6AT 4×2 48V, which will be priced from R774 800. For the record, that’s R20 600 more than the non-MHEV version (based on current pricing for the latter; whether a general price increase will be implemented across the range at the time of the 48V launch remains to be seen).
Upgrading to 4×4 will push the Hilux Raider 6AT 48V’s price to R866 000 (or R23 100 more than the non-electrified version), while the Hilux Legend 6AT 4×2 48V will cost R869 100 (a premium of R15 900) and the Hilux Legend 6AT 4×4 48V will be pegged R921 800 (up R18 400).
Finally, the Hilux Legend RS 6AT 4×2 48V will kick off at R967 500 (again representing a R15 900 premium over the non-electrified equivalent), with the Hilux Legend RS 6AT 4×4 48V taking its place at the very summit of the line-up, priced at R1 023 400 (R18 400 up on the standard Legend RS 6AT 4×4). That makes the latter the priciest Hilux in the current range, though the upcoming widebody Hilux GR Sport III may well grab that title in the coming weeks.
As a reminder, 48V models feature Toyota’s familiar 2.8-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine, though here it also drives a compact motor generator using a belt system, which in turn charges the lithium battery installed under the rear seats. Toyota says the position of the battery pack helps “minimise” any impact on cabin space.
The 48V battery weighs 7.6 kg and also supplies the vehicle’s 12V system via a new DC-DC converter. The battery pack is charged during deceleration, effectively regenerating braking energy that would otherwise be lost, while also ostensibly adding braking performance. When fully charged, the 48V battery can deliver up to 12 kW and 65 Nm through the motor generator to the engine, in addition to the 4-pot’s standard outputs of 150 kW and 500 Nm.
The Japanese automaker claims the lightly electrified models thus gain “improved acceleration and fuel efficiency” (the latter by about 5%, though official fuel-economy figures have yet to be released). In addition, the mild-hybrid gubbins allow the oil-burning engine’s idle speed to be reduced from the standard 720 r/min to 600 r/min, while an engine start-stop system is also introduced.
According to Toyota, the hybrid components don’t compromise the Hilux’s towing and payload capacities, which are expected to remain unchanged. In addition, the company claims the Hilux 48V is capable of driving through water “up to 700 mm deep” thanks to “waterproofing of the 48V battery and DC-DC converter”.
While Toyota SA Motors has seemingly opted to badge the new mild-hybrid powertrain option simply as the “Hilux 48V”, it’s interesting to note the United Kingdom (which sources its Hilux units from the Prospecton facility in KwaZulu-Natal) calls it the “Hilux Hybrid 48V”, while the Thailand-sourced Australian version is known as the “Hilux V-Active Technology”.
How much does the new Toyota Hilux 48V cost in SA?
Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 RB Raider DC 6AT 4×2 48V – R785 400 (R774 800 in earlier Raider form)
Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 RB Raider DC 6AT 4×4 48V – R876 600 (R866 000 in earlier Raider form)
Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 RB Legend DC 6AT 4×2 48V – R869 100
Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 RB Legend DC 6AT 4×4 48V – R921 800
Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 RB Legend RS DC 6AT 4×2 48V – R967 500
Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 RB Legend RS DC 6AT 4×4 48V – R1 023 400
While we expect the new Hilux 48V to ship standard with the same 9-service/90 000 km service plan (with intervals of 10 000 km) and 3-year/100 000 km vehicle warranty as the standard models, it’s not yet clear whether Toyota SA Motors will also offer a warranty specific to the battery pack.
*This article was originally published on 29 February 2024
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