Earlier this year, renowned chef and car enthusiast James Martin revealed his favourite motor in the world – the Toyota Hilux.

Earlier this year, celebrated chef and avid car aficionado James Martin unveiled his top pick in the world of automobiles—the Toyota Hilux.

James, known for his deep love of cars, possesses an impressive collection valued at approximately £5 million, featuring high-end models like Ferrari, Bentley, and Subaru Impreza. With such a diverse and luxurious lineup, his endorsement of the Hilux carries significant weight.

The Toyota Hilux has been a staple in various markets since its debut in 1968, earning a reputation as a reliable workhorse over the past 57 years.

In the UK, the Hilux has been available since 1972, gaining legendary status partly due to its indestructible nature showcased on Top Gear. The show famously failed to destroy a fifth-generation model in 2003 and later drove a seventh-generation version to the magnetic North Pole in 2007.

The combination of celebrity endorsements, iconic television moments, and its rugged reliability has solidified the Hilux’s appeal among British consumers.

With a choice of spec available, I went for the Invincible X 2.8 Double Cab version of the Hilux in Titan Bronze. Powering this £40,270.83, two-plus tonne vehicle is a 2.8 litre (2,755cc) in-line four-cylinder engine.

The 204bhp power unit drove all four wheels through a six speed manual transmission with two engine modes. Accompanying the engine modes – power and eco – and helping the Invincible X to pull 3.5 tonnes is an immense 420Nm of torque.

Accompanying the massive pulling power is of course a massive load bay, much like competitors such as the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross, that means the rear space can carry just over a tonne of weight.

The Hilux can achieve a 0 to 62mph time of just over ten seconds and onto a top speed of 109mph and achieve a fuel economy figure of between 28mpg and 35mpg.

Slip into the Invincible X variant of the Hilux and you’re met by a clash of automotive traditions old and new.

While you have the three pedal set up on the floor and a flyaway handbrake to your left, you’re also met with the new de-rigueur touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard.

However, while this screen is refreshingly smaller than those on other production cars and comes with its own accompanying array of buttons, its more screen dependent than other systems from rivals such as the aforementioned Isuzu D-Max.

One such example of this is turning off the lane assist, something I was unable to work out how to do in the week I had the Hilux. Not that this caused much bother, however, it was just slightly irritating. Otherwise, the interior had a good number of cubby holes and trays for all the accoutrements of daily life.

On the road the Toyota Hilux is a pick-up truck. Whilst that was obvious from the pictures, what I mean to say is that one should bare in mind the nature of physics and what the Hilux is for. It is not designed to set lap times or take corners as flatly as the latest hyper saloon.

With that in mind, the Hilux is an amicable driving companion with the necessity of changing gears yourself adding an extra layer of driving engagement.

This combined with the engine in its power mode makes the unladen Hilux feel sprightly out of slow corners as it leaps enthusiastically to the challenge of accelerating you forward. The steering too is refreshingly engaging and you have some idea of what’s going on underneath the front wheels and through the rear ones too.

With all models coming with selectable four-wheel drive, slipping the Hilux into two-wheel drive gives you less understeer and thus more control through the entrance and middle of a corner.

Where the Hilux differs from its rivals is that it is rather stiffly sprung and has a tendency  to feel a little ‘bouncy’; this isn’t a vehicle that likes being pitched thoroughly into a corner, but then again if you’re looking for a vehicle to that with you shouldn’t be looking at buying a pick-up in the first place.

Overall, it’s a tidy handling truck and one which stands up well to rivals, even if I did find one particular part of the driving experience a little frustrating.

One of the features the Hilux comes with is automatic high beam activation. What this means is when it reaches a certain level of ‘not being light’, the high beams on the Hilux come on. This sounds all well and dandy, but not when you’re driving through town and enter patches of lower light between streetlights.

Entering a popular seaside town to visit family I found the high beams constantly dipping on automatically. This might sound like a minor thing, but when you’re spending every three seconds trying to turn the lights off it gets rather tiresome. Only a small electrical problem sure, but maybe one instance where driver knows better than the computer.

Overall, if you’re looking for a pick-up truck that is reliable, hard wearing, well equipped, and tough the Hilux should be on your list. Despite the odd operational irritation, during my week with the truck, it was easy to see why it has survived into its now ninth generation. 

Verdict: 7.5/10

So, what does James Martin think of his Hilux?

When James Martin was interviewed by SL.Man about his Hilux he said: “I’ve got a Toyota Hilux pickup truck that I absolutely love – you can chuck everything in it and it will go forever All my mates take the mick: ‘So you’ve got all these cars, but you drive around in a pick-up truck?’”