Next-Gen 2016 Toyota Hilux Spied Ahead Official Launch

For at least the past year, we’ve been hearing rumors that Toyota wants to launch an all-new eighth-generation model of their Toyota Hilux pickup. Today, we finally have confirmation (albeit unofficial confirmation) that the 2016 Toyota Hilux, which should go on sale anytime now, will be the model to get the next-gen treatment. The news is confirmed by the spy shots seen in this post, which were originally posted on a Spanish automotive Facebook page called Terranismo.

To us, these leaked images confirm that the 2016 Toyota Hilux will be an all-new pickup rebuilt from the ground up. The model seen here is clearly in line with Toyota’s semi-recently overhauled design language. The front-end clearly boasts the most changes…

From these pictures, we can make out new, thinner headlights (similar to the 2016 Tacoma) and a substantially restyled chrome grille. In fact, Toyota has added more chrome throughout the rest of the exterior too, from the door handles to the newly designed alloy wheels to the mirror caps.

In addition, the Hilux’s exterior is generally more muscular and looks to be slightly longer than the outgoing model. We expect that the extra length may indicate Toyota’s attention to a more spacious interior, which is what we’re going to talk about next.

Inside, we only have one blurry picture of the front dash to work with. However, from that one picture we can see that Toyota has likely put even more attention into the cabin than they did into the body. That huge touchscreen you see on the center console indicates that the 2016 Toyota Hilux will offer drivers a much more comfortable and car-like interior… One that’s not nearly as utilitarian as the decade-old outgoing model.

In fact, if you look closely, the touchscreen almost looks detachable from the dash. This could indicate a new tech. feature, or it could just mean that this is a picture of an early model that hasn’t had the touchscreen fully integrated yet. Either way, we’re excited for this new compact pickup truck to hit the market… It’ll be available everywhere except the US, Canada and Japan (and Korea).

Oh, and while we don’t have any actual pictures of what lies beneath the hood of this silver off-road beast, Terranismo reports that the truck will be offered with at least three engine options at launch. Interestingly, all of them are diesel-powered. The smallest is a 2.4L turbocharged diesel that outputs 148 hp. You will also be able to get the 2.4L tuned up to 165 hp, presumably as a more expensive trim option. Then, the top of the line will get a 2.8L single turbocharged diesel with 175 horsepower and a lot more torque. Terranismo also hints that a twin-turbo version of the 2.8L could come as a variant, but that it likely won’t be available for 2016.