Toyota Hilux Gets a Two-Seat Makeover — And It Actually Makes Sense

There’s something reassuringly straightforward about a pick-up. You buy one because you need to carry stuff, rather than because you’ve suddenly developed a burning desire to transport five adults and their luggage to the Lake District.

Toyota clearly agrees.

The all-new ninth-generation Hilux, launched earlier this year, is now available with a factory two-seat conversion aimed squarely at business users who would rather have somewhere useful to put tools and equipment than a pair of rear seats that spend most of their lives carrying fresh air.

And, rather sensibly, Toyota hasn't hacked the thing about with an angle grinder and a "that'll do" attitude.

The conversion is carried out from the factory and removes the rear three-seat bench from the Double Cab, replacing it with a large, flat and secure load area.

It measures 1,290mm wide by 640mm deep and is accessed through the existing rear doors. So, rather than having to clamber over the front seats or throw your expensive tools into the back of the pick-up, you can simply open the rear door and get at them.

For tradespeople, engineers, farmers and anyone else whose vehicle tends to accumulate enough tools to open their own branch of Screwfix, that could be considerably more useful than a couple of rear seats.

More room, fewer seats

The important thing is that this isn't simply a stripped-out Hilux.

Toyota says the conversion doesn't compromise the vehicle's performance, safety or standard equipment, and the two-seat version remains compatible with the company's extensive range of accessories and customisation options.

So you still get a Hilux. You just get one that's been configured around the rather important concept of actually being used as a working vehicle.

Of course, the most important factor, in my opinion at least, is that there are also potential financial advantages for business users.

Toyota says the two-seat conversion enables flat-rate Benefit-in-Kind taxation and, where applicable, a 100 per cent plant and machinery allowance. Obviously, the taxman has a habit of making things rather more complicated than they initially sound, so anyone considering one for business use should check the current rules with their accountant rather than relying on something they read on the internet.

And that includes us.

Diesel or electric?

The new Hilux is also part of Toyota's increasingly broad approach to powertrains, with customers able to choose between a Diesel 48V model and a battery-electric version.

The Diesel 48V is probably the one that will make the most obvious sense to traditional Hilux buyers, particularly those who spend their working week travelling long distances, towing or venturing well away from civilisation.

But Toyota isn't treating the electric Hilux as some sort of glorified shopping trolley.

The battery-electric version has been engineered to retain the Hilux's off-road credentials, with permanent all-wheel drive and the ability to wade through up to 700mm of water.

That's important because there are plenty of electric vehicles that look perfectly capable until you point them at something resembling an actual muddy track.

Toyota's claim here is that the BEV Hilux remains a proper Hilux first and an electric vehicle second.

Whether that holds true in the real world is something we'll be keen to find out.

Still a Hilux

The ninth-generation Hilux is built around the same qualities that have kept the nameplate going for decades: durability, reliability and the ability to tolerate environments in which most sensible people would rather not drive a £40,000-plus vehicle.

The two-seat conversion doesn't change that.

Instead, it arguably makes the Double Cab more useful to the people who actually buy pick-ups for work.

Double Cabs are popular because they offer the flexibility of carrying passengers when required, but that inevitably comes at the expense of interior load space. Toyota's new arrangement provides a halfway house: you retain the practicality and road presence of a Double Cab while gaining a secure internal load area for tools and equipment.

And, let's be honest, that's considerably more useful to a plumber, builder, electrician or outdoor professional than three rear seats that might see daylight twice a year.

How much?

Commercial vehicle prices, excluding VAT, start at £36,815 for the Diesel 48V Hilux.

The battery-electric version starts at £49,356, which includes a £5,000 discount funded by the Government's OZEV large electric van grant.

That makes the electric Hilux a considerably more expensive proposition, although businesses need to look beyond the purchase price and consider running costs, taxation and how well the vehicle's range fits their particular working day.

And that's perhaps the biggest attraction of this latest Hilux development.

Toyota hasn't tried to reinvent the pick-up. It has simply looked at how people use one and made the back of it more useful.

The all-new Hilux is still a Double Cab, still has its rear doors and still looks like a Hilux. But remove the rear bench and suddenly there's somewhere to put the stuff you actually bought the bloody thing for.

Which, when you think about it, makes a lot of sense.