Trading Laces
Page 44
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Its all change in the CM parking lot as we say farewell to three of our resident vehicles and welcome two new members to the longterm fleet.
TOYOTA HILUX INVINCIBLE
IPrice: =19,795 Engine: 3 0-lltre, 171hp Payload: 1,150kg Mileage: 19433mi1es Expenses: £0.00 Faults: None Average fuel economy: 29.7mpg After a pretty unchallenging first four months when the Toyota Hilux Invincible piled on the miles via the M6, M42 and M40 between Cumbria and the Home Counties, it was finally able to display its true abilities The key to this was a group test with four additional Truckman tops (CM 15 July) used to transport construction equipment, gardening tools and bikes to different parts of the Lake District.
We used the Hilux to test five different covers and box tops from Truckman to see how they affected fuel, security and safety. What came out of this group test is the need to maximise the potential of a pickup by adding a cover for the loadspace.
As well as improving security and load safety, a specific box on the back means the pickup doesn't have to be emptied of expensive tools every night or if it's parked up on site. The best fuel results were achieved using the EGR Soft Tonneau cover.
During the six months we had the vehicle, with no cover and no payload, it returned between 275mpg and 30.2mpg tramping up and down the motorway On urban and A-roads, it produced figures above 33.0mpg. When we tested the vehicle (CM 3 September 2009), it was without any covers, hut with maximum payload, and returned 31.0mpg.
Running constantly at 60mph around a test track with the EGR Soft Tonneau cover and full payload, the Hi lux produced 31.3mpg — a slight improvement on the vehicle test carried out in September.
The range-topping Invincible handles with aplomb and drives with the response and smoothness of a luxury motor. not something designed for off-road.
Speaking of which, our exploration off-road in the Lake District was more farmer than rally The Hilux coped with the foothills of Helvellyn, where we helped build a stone wall with a farmer from nearby Patterdale. easily using its four-wheel-drive facility at low speeds.
If we could recommend anything, it would be parking sensors, so that you can park it the same way you would drive it, with complete confidence.
After our six months, it was sad to see it depart, but while its tenure on CM was brief, it was enjoyable. Kevin Swallow