Low volume performance flagship priced.

BUYING into the new flagship of Toyota’s Hilux family will be less expensive than cost of owning its predecessor.

Toyota New Zealand has confirmed the GR Sport derivative of Hilux will retail for $74,990.

That’s $5000 below the full asking price for Hilux Mako, the now defunct Kiwi-configured special edition based off the preceding SR5 Cruiser 4WD, still the model down one rung on the pricing ladder, but at $63,390.

 GR Sport has a less outdoorsy look than the Mako, which was designed for serious bush-bashing, but instead delivers the bonus of extra oomph, the power and torque from the 2.8-litre turbodiesel ramping up to 165kW, from the standard 150kW, and torque from 500Nm to 550Nm.

In sharing the price, TNZ has again reiterated that the GR Sport will achieve just five percent of total annual Hilux volume. If based on last year’s tally of 9787, the new halo variant would restrict to just 489 units. Reality is the count might well be even less, as TNZ believes it sold too many Hilux last year.

 As a GR Sport, the pepped Hilux doesn’t sit in the same hard-out category as the full out performance-driven GR models – GR Yaris, GR Corolla, GR 86 and GR Supra – though Toyota claims its design and look has been inspired by the vehicle Gazoo Racing pitches into desert rallies.

Hilux and Ford Ranger are consistently dominating the ute sector. Hilux GR’s outputs are above those from tthe 2.2-litre biturbo four-cylinder diesel in Ranger but below those from Ford’s diesel 3.0-litre V6, which makes 184kW/600Nm. It’s also no foil for grunt to the Ranger Raptor, whose twin turbo petrol six which pumps 292kW and 583Nm.