Initially reported as speculation towards the end of last month, the uncovering of a new teaser banner has confirmed that Toyota will indeed be taking the covers off of the eagerly awaited facelift Hilux and Fortuner in Thailand this coming Thursday (4 June). In publishing the Thai scripted placard, indianautosblog.com reports that both models could go on sale, in India, as early as the end of this month, but this has not yet been set in stone.
As has already been seen, the Hilux will draw heavily from the North American Tacoma while the Fortuner will take inspiration from the Raize and the recently introduced Harrier, with set to receive a new infotainment system, upgraded materials and Toyota’s Safety Sense suite of safety and driver assistance systems.
The biggest highlight though is of course the rumoured power bump from 130 kW to 150 kW for the 2.8 GD-6 engine. Benchmarked against the soon-to-be-discontinued 3.2 TDCI five-cylinder oil-burner from the Ford Ranger and Everest instead of the 157 kW 2.0-litre bi-turbo, the expected torque figure is set to rise by 20 Nm, which, if proven to be accurate and compared to the current model, will see six-speed manual derivatives make 440 Nm and those with the six-speed automatic 470 Nm.
Likely to be detailed or unveiled at the same event is the Ranger Raptor rivalling GR Hilux, which is anticipated to receive the alleged 200 kW six-cylinder turbodiesel slated for the incoming Land Cruiser 300.
Despite the now date, don’t be surprised if more images or details are leaked before the wraps come off on Thursday.
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