Toyota Hilux GR-S III leaves room for an even wilder breed of bakkie

Countless sites support the idea that there is no country more beautiful than South Africa.

Between the breathtaking essential tourist stops, you might stumble across more arcane slices of nature that only a privileged few will ever enjoy.

We found such a location about an hour and a half out of Gqeberha, down the N2 towards Knysna. Getting off the freeway, cruising beyond those huge white windmills, we arrive at a privately owned spot with exclusive thoroughfare to its very own beach.

After a few minutes in slow convoy, we emerge at the pristine shoreline, with dunes ranging from big to bigger. It was as if we drove through a portal and ended up in Namibia.

You could have easily faked an Instagram post about glamorous cross-border travel, so convincing was the scenery.

One almost felt a tinge of shame over what we were about to do at the secluded slice of coastal paradise.

Kicking up dust, of course, in the latest and most extreme iteration of the Toyota Hilux yet.

Interestingly, while we drove the car almost a month ago, we were sworn to secrecy until very recently.

Toyota imposed an embargo as it was concerned that fanfare around its baby would be drowned by more pressing election-related themes.

Paranoia, perhaps, since the Hilux has enjoyed successive decades of market leadership. From the fall of an oppressive regime to the birth of a new democracy, natural disasters and even a scary pandemic, the Hilux has been a rock of ages.

While the model made its bones as an unbreakable workhorse, it was only recently that the it started to truly dabble in the realm of the high-end, leisure arena.

Rivals such as Ford and Volkswagen were offering derivatives with more upmarket constitutions for many years before. The previous Ranger and Amarok were successful in elevating expectations of what a top-tier pickup ought to be.

In 2017, Toyota released its first go at a full-cream double-cab with a sporting tinge, donning Gazoo Racing Sport (GR-S) nomenclature.

In case you forgot, the GR banner is reserved for the Japanese brand’s motorsport exploits — with a spin-off division for more spirited versions of its passenger vehicles.

That first Hilux GR-S was a disappointment, as it was merely a cosmetic job with minor suspension tweaks.

In 2022 the next instalment came about. It was slightly more convincing. The 2.8-litre GD-6 engine was tuned to deliver extra power, there was a little more aesthetic pizazz and the suspension was further enhanced with monotube shock absorbers and stiffer coil springs.

Now, here we are with the third attempt. Undeniably the most assertive of the lot with its swaggering wide-body exterior kit, model-specific 17-inch alloys and chunky off-road tyres.

The visual impact is rather obvious, with an overall impression of kinship with the Tacoma sold in the US market.

As many rivals have demonstrated, we South Africans have an appetite for double-cabs that mimic the beefy, somewhat obnoxious aesthetics of pickups from the land of the star-spangled banner.

What you might want more of in the GR-S III however, is grunt.

The engine outputs are unchanged from the 2022 GR-S; at 165kW/550Nm. It feels reasonably energetic, with stout freeway grunt and low-down shove for dune-summiting ability without breaking too much of a sweat.

But if you are a bakkie shopper who has tasted some of the six-cylinder options in the category, a four-cylinder might not suffice.

Imagine if Toyota had squeezed in the mighty 3.3-litre V6 from the Land Cruiser 300? This would have resulted in something truly brawny.

Then again, maybe we should not forget that even though it has the GR arm, Toyota is generally conservative when it comes to the evolutions of its products. That 2.8-litre unit and its six-speed automatic are a proven combination, with solid credentials where reliability is concerned.

Under the skin, the suspension was purportedly optimised for enhanced balance, while the braking system comprises larger discs.

Though the characteristic Hilux jiggles were suppressed better than in other derivatives, the GR-S III is not as polished as some alternatives riding on heavy-duty shocks trumpeting renowned names like Bilstein or Fox. It rides 20mm higher than a standard Hilux, with a wider track, as well as improved approach and departure angles.

You do notice the added dollop of interior refinement and enhanced cabin insulation.

It is much quieter, more smoother, with materials that take the cabin ambience up a notch — resulting in an environment buyers might be happier with for the R1m price.

Suede-on-leather upholstery, a steering wheel clad in softer hide, swankier ornamentation, aluminium pedals and red accents enliven the typically industrial Hilux cabin. But those hard plastics remain.

In Toyota’s own words, the GR-S is not seen as a rival to the monstrous Ford Ranger Raptor, with its snarling 3.0-litre, twin-turbocharged petrol.

Instead, it is billed as a rival to the Ranger in Wildtrak-X trim, which employs a 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged diesel, an impressive, uprated suspension and silky 10-speed automatic. The Isuzu D-Max AT35, with its hard-core overlanding persona, was referenced too. You could also have the flagship Volkswagen Amarok Aventura, with its silky 3.0-litre V6 diesel.

Toyota is undoubtedly going to find many willing buyers for the GR-S III.

But aside from the standard brand tenets of perceived dependability, a Toyota dealership on each corner and the prospect of strong resale values, there is no single area where this flagship Hilux might blow you away.

Perhaps the next Hilux GR-S would really throw down the gauntlet — delivering on hopes of bigger displacement and trappings that really draw on the Dakar success of the brand.