Full details: 2024 Toyota HiLux mild-hybrid due next month, prices confirmed

Toyota Australia will not call the new mild-hybrid 2024 Toyota HiLux a hybrid – nor the Toyota Kinetic Assist name it trademarked – when it arrives in showrooms next month as part of a facelifted model range.

The Japanese car giant has announced the 48-volt system in the HiLux will be known as V-Active Technology, as it does not go far enough to earn the hybrid badge used on petrol-electric Toyota hybrid cars and SUVs.

It was previously thought the system – which can only cut fuel use by 10 per cent in lab testing, compared to up to 50 per cent for other Toyota hybrids – would wear the Toyota Kinetic Assist badge in Australia, after the company trademarked the name.

It will be available as an option on the SR model grade – or standard in the SR5 and Rogue – priced at a $590 to $1605 premium.

V-Active Technology – widely known as a 'mild-hybrid' system in the car industry – uses a small electric motor and 48-volt battery to turn off the engine at the traffic lights to save fuel, provide a minor boost under acceleration, and lower the engine idle speed.

However Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss said last year "the engine and the electric motor [cannot] propel the vehicle either together or independently," therefore it will not wear the hybrid badge locally.

Overseas the 48-volt technology will be marketed as a hybrid, but Toyota Australia has not deemed the tech capable enough to apply the hybrid moniker here.

The wider Toyota HiLux range has received a facelift – its third since the current model arrived in showrooms in 2015, and the most significant update since a major styling, technology and engine upgrade in 2020.

Changes include new front bumpers for most models, blacked-out styling for the top-selling SR5, and new features such as a wireless phone charger and rear USB-C ports for the SR5, Rogue and GR Sport.

Prices have risen by up to $770 on equivalent model grades. Click here for more details on the exact price rises and specification changes.

Toyota has only confirmed how much the mild-hybrid variants cost, however dealers have been advised of prices for the rest of the model line-up (full price list included at bottom of story).

The Japanese car giant has also announced further details on how the mild-hybrid system functions.

It comprises a small electric motor, 48-volt battery and DC/DC converter bolted to the 150kW/500Nm 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine and six-speed automatic transmission.

The fuel consumption reduction of "up to approximately 10 per cent" is attributed to measures such as an auto engine stop-start system, which cuts the engine automatically at the traffic lights to save fuel, and restarts it when the driver lifts off the brake pedal.

Toyota says the 48-volt system ensures "engine re-starts are done quickly, quietly, and with minimal vibration", and that there are Normal and Long stop-start settings, with Long mode "[keeping] the engine switched off for longer" than a similar system in a non-hybrid vehicle.

"Re-starting the engine on inclines is also exceptionally smooth, with the system retaining brake pressure until enough drive force is generated to provide effortless acceleration," Toyota claims in its media release.

"V-Active Technology also provides improved performance, with energy stored in the battery used to provide additional powertrain output when accelerating and helping reduce the load on the engine in areas of the rev range with lesser efficiency.

"During deceleration, energy is recovered by the motor generator which is fed back into the battery, combining with the engine braking to provide natural deceleration characteristics."

Toyota Australia does not say how much of a boost the 48-volt system can give the engine, however in Europe it is quoted as 12kW and 65Nm.

Mild-hybrid HiLux utes also have a lower engine idle speed of 600rpm, down from 720rpm – and gain a Multi-Terrain Select off-road traction-control system with Dirt, Sand, Mud, Deep Snow, Auto and Rock modes, depending on if the ute is in high or low range.

The Japanese car maker says the 48-volt system's electric motor "has been positioned high in the engine bay to allow for successful and safe water crossings."

It also says "a two-arm belt tensioner and high-strength rib side fabric belt help ensure strong reliability with improved slip resistance in wet conditions."

4x2:

4x4:

Note: All prices exclude on-road costs. Care has been taken to ensure the prices listed are accurate, however please be sure to check with your Toyota dealer for the most accurate prices valid at the time of ordering.