21/06/2026

theSunday Special XIV ON SUNDAY JUNE 21, 2026

Cubby spaces are aplenty.

Simple, clear, and easy to digest info shown at a glance.

TOP: Rear space is similar to the previous generation.

RIGHT: System UI isn’t the most fluid nor techy, but that should not bother pickup users.

LEFT: First Hilux with a shift-by wire and electric parking brake.

familiarity and durability of a Hilux. None of these are substantial market segments. But as an electric pickup, the Hilux BEV leaves a positive impression. It is effortless, easy to get comfortable in, straightforward to use, and commendably free of the usual EV gimmickry. The bigger question is how many Malaysians actually need one. SPECIFICATIONS Battery: 59.2 kWh NMC Combined Output: 196 PS Torque: 205 Nm (Front Motor), 268 Nm (Rear Motor) Charging: 125 kW (DC), 10 kW (AC) Drivetrain: Dual-motor all-wheel drive Price (as tested): RM 226,300 We like: Most effortless Hilux to drive, Hilux-first EV execution, sensible interior with Land Cruiser-style cues, smooth and well-judged power delivery, range appears realistic for the intended use case. We don’t like: Noticeable scuttle shake, power delivery tapers off early, use case in Malaysia still feels narrow.

sense for a very wide range of buyers here. It is cheaper, easier to refuel, and for many users, more straightforward to justify. Even if diesel prices are no longer what they used to be, there is still a lot of fuel you can buy with the sort of price difference that separates an electric pickup from a conventional one. And if you are the sort of buyer who actually uses a pickup like a pickup, which is to say carrying heavy things, travelling long distances, spending time away from predictable charging access, then the diesel still feels like the more natural fit. So I do not think the Hilux BEV is really aimed at the traditional Hilux buyer. Nor do I think it is necessarily aimed at private lifestyle pickup buyers either, because they are often buying into image, flexibility and long-distance usability as much as anything else. Which leaves a fairly specific audience. Perhaps corporate fleets, utility companies, government-linked entities, or businesses with fixed urban or suburban operating routes. Fleet operators who want to bring down their emissions while still wanting the

after all, but it does stand out because the rest of the powertrain is so smooth and refined by comparison. That really sums up the Hilux BEV quite well. In the ways that are directly related to the electric conversion, it is generally bet ter. It is smoother, quieter and easier to drive. But in the ways that remind you it is still a ladder-frame pickup underneath, it remains exactly that. And that is not neces sarily a criticism. In fact, I think Toyota has done the right thing by resisting the urge to turn this into some sort of lifestyle-tech statement. There is a refreshing honesty to the way the Hilux BEV presents itself. It is a Hilux with a battery and motors, not a concept car dressed up as a utility vehicle. Which then brings us to the bigger ques tion – who exactly is it for? Because once you have established that the truck itself is actually quite convincing, the issue becomes less about whether Toyota has done a good job, and more about whether the use case really exists in meaningful numbers in Malaysia. A conventional Hilux still makes obvious

having started at 100%. That was with an empty cargo bed and a fair amount of highway driving too, which is not usually where an EV pickup will be at its most efficient. So while the quoted range figures may not look especially impressive on paper, the real-world result did not strike me as wildly off the mark. Again, this is clearly not meant to be the electric answer to cross-country towing or endless outstation runs. It feels more like a truck designed around predictable use. Where it starts to show its pickup roots more obviously is in the ride. There is some scuttle shake there, and more than I expected. It is not so much that the whole truck is bouncing around endlessly, but that the body seems to judder and shake over cer tain surfaces in a way I do not recall quite so clearly from the diesel Hilux, although it has admittedly been a while since I drove one back-to-back. If anything, I would have expected the additional battery weight to help calm some of that down, but apparently not. It is not ruinous, and this is still a pickup