LONG-TERM UPDATE 3 | Our Toyota Hilux Raider X goes to the dogs

Life has been uneventful since taking delivery of a Toyota Hilux Raider X in November last year. Which is exactly how you want it to be as a custodian of one of the most sought-after vehicles in the country. My journeys have gone according to plan and it gives me great pleasure seeing the Hilux parked where it was left, in the same perfect state.

We joke about these things (and knock on wood), but a friend of mine had his Hilux go missing while shopping just before the December rush. What do you suppose he plans to buy once his insurance pays up? Another Hilux, obviously. Over several decades, the model has cultivated a reputation that manufacturers of rival pick-ups envy.

In our market, it seems unlikely that the sales supremacy of the Hilux will ever be beaten — not beaten sporadically, occasionally, as the Ford Ranger has done a few times — but properly beaten, consecutively, over a lengthy period.

OK, so there was one hairy encounter behind the wheel of the Toyota to report. It involves a happy four-legged companion. Dogs love a Hilux, Toyota themselves forged the connection with its various campaigns involving Buddy the grinning boxer.

My parents’ Swiss shepherd started life on a farm on the fringes of the province. At some point she enjoyed rides on the back of a bakkie (a Hilux, of course), possibly among sheep or other livestock. For festive season care we took her to a kennel in Glen Austin.

It took zero coaxing for her to jump through the rear door of the Toyota. Before I continue, allow me to say something about textiles and materials. We motoring journalists seem to lament hard plastics and turn our noses up at upholstery that is anything other than buttery soft in texture. Car scribes (me too) generally love soft-touch surfaces and how they impart a sense of refinement.

This occasion opened my eyes to the benefits of rougher-textured, hard-wearing fabric and coarse, durable surfaces — of which the Hilux has plenty. If you plan to use a bakkie for workhorse (or dog) duties, you want to know its cabin can withstand the abuse that comes from carting a pet. That includes copious shedding, climbing and jumping and cheerful streams of canine saliva coating windows and other panels.

After a thorough cleaning using a Bosch vacuum described as being optimised for pet hair (not an advertisement), followed by a careful wipe down with a cloth and upholstery cleaner, the Hilux looked and smelled fresher than new.

Later this year the Hilux is supposed to gain mild hybrid technology. It will be interesting to experience and test those benefits in the real world, but for now, the 2.4 GD-6 delivers all the average owner could want. Rich in torque, it makes light work of keeping things on the boil in urban settings. On the freeway, cruising abilities are fair. Despite driving with the lightest right foot, we are yet to achieve near the claimed consumption of 7.7l/100km. Our readout over the past 1,500km sat at 10l/100km. Best we saw after resetting was 9l/100km.

It might not be the most sophisticated, refined or plushest of its kind, but the Hilux offers a robust blend of strengths that keeps local consumers happy. Turning the key of the Raider X and hearing the rugged idle tone produces the same kind of warmth and affection you might have for your trusted four-legged friend, whose loyalty never wavers.

LONG-TERM UPDATE 3: 2023 Toyota Hilux Raider X 2.4 GD-6 4x4 automatic

ODOMETER ON DELIVERY: 1,825km

CURRENT ODOMETER: 3,420km

AVERAGE CONSUMPTION: 10l/100km

PRAISES: Hard-wearing interior handles whatever you throw at it — including a Swiss shepherd.

GRIPES: Tailgate has to be manually locked and unlocked, not linked to central locking.