2025 Toyota Tacoma seen in patent images – design, technology to show on next-gen Hilux pick-up truck?
Patent images of the 2025 model-year Toyota Tacoma has emerged from a patent filing made in Brazil with the country’s national institute of industrial property, and the sibling to the full-sized Tundra pick-up truck could offer a glimpse into elements that may surface on the next-generation Toyota Hilux.
From these images, the upcoming Tacoma features headlamps which are somewhat fashioned after those on the Tundra, albeit without the outer vertical section that arcs along the front end of the front fender on the larger, full-sized truck model. At the rear end, the upcoming Tacoma also appears set to adopt styling from the Tundra, with its assembly mimicing those of the full-sized truck as well.
Toyota’s pick-up truck models such as the upcoming Tacoma and Hilux are expected to be consolidated in their development, and as such the Hilux that will be received by Malaysia and neighbouring markets will be more closely related to the Tacoma than the two have previously been.
The increased commonality expected between the Tundra, upcoming Tacoma and the next-generation Hilux could mean that the latter will draw even more heavily from the Tacoma, where the 2018 Hilux facelift already adopted the grille design from the former. Styling elements from these patent images, such as the narrower, more upright headlamps, likely to be adopted.
Through this redesign for the Tacoma, the mid-sized pick-up for the United States market is expected to have more in commmon with the current-generation Tundra and by extension, the next-generation Hilux, and will likely share a common core frame and electronics architecture as a result, according to Drive.
The Tacoma that is due to debut will share its TNGA-F underpinnings with the Tundra, Lexus LX and the 300 Series Land Cruiser, which will offer a range of powertrains including the manufacturer’s turbocharged petrol V6 and inline-four petrol engines, according to Motor Trend.
As for the Hilux, the pick-up truck common to our region made its current, eighth-generation debut in 2015, and a debut after the upcoming Tacoma takes the stage – possibly next year for the aforementioned 2025 model year – would bring make it a full 10 years since the current model premiered.
In the meantime, the current Hilux range was joined by the GR Sport variant earlier this month, packing performance-oriented revisions to its powertrain and chassis. Ads in Malaysia for the performance variant appeared shortly thereafter, suggesting a local market launch soon, touting an estimated price upwards of RM160,000. This will then be positioned above the hitherto range-topper, the Hilux 2.8 Rogue, which is priced at RM152,880 on-the-road without insurance as of January 2023.
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