Toyota only released its first GR road car in 2019, but brand awareness is huge and the automaker is keen to capitalize on the credibility those two letters infer. And much like BMW and Mercedes do with their M and AMG badges, Toyota offers both dedicated GR cars and uses GR Sport as a trim grade to add some pizazz to its ordinary cars.
So while we’d love to see the GR team let loose on the Hilux pickup to create something along the lines of a Ranger Raptor, what we’ve actually got here is a GR-branded regular Hilux truck with a sprinkling of performance-themed details.
The Hilux GR Sport II, to give it its full name, follows on from the original EU-spec GR Sport pickup revealed earlier this year and goes on sale in the UK in 2024. It comes only as a double-cab and gains 20 mm (0.8 inches) of ride height over a stock Hilux for greater ground clearance and an improved (from 29 to 30 degrees) approach angle. There are 17-inch wheels with off-road tires, faster-acting monotube dampers in place of the old twin-tube parts, plus larger brakes at the front and a set of discs at the rear instead of drums.
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But the most obvious change is the impressive 140 mm (5.5 inches) and 150 mm (5.9 inches) of width added to the front and rear track, a change which should improve stability, but also requires a fat set of arch extensions that give the GR Sport II a heap more visual appeal, which is what this package is really about.
Other visual upgrades include a black G-mesh front grill, black side steps, mirrors, door handles and rear bumper, all of which contrast nicely with the red brake calipers and coil springs. Inside, there are GR-branded sports seats upholstered in fake suede and leather, red seatbelts and shift paddles, aluminium pedals and Toyota’s 8-inch Smart Connect+ multimedia system.
Sadly, there are no GR-flavored changes under the hood, where the Hilux sticks with the same 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS) 2.8-liter turbodiesel four and six-speed automatic transmission fitted to non-GR versions of the truck in the UK market.
