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Sunday Drive: Toyota Hilux Workmate and SR5 Cruiser PreRunner

Friday, 12 February 2021

The Stuff Top Ute for 2020 is the Toyota Hilux.
The SR5 Cruiser PreRunner we drove had been liberally beaten with the options stick. It still looked cool though.
The SR5 Cruiser PreRunner we drove had been liberally beaten with the options stick. It still looked cool though.
The Workmate keeps the old grille and even comes with a black plastic bumper, just like every good workhorse should.
The Workmate keeps the old grille and even comes with a black plastic bumper, just like every good workhorse should.

You can generally tell a lot about a vehicle by checking out the entry model and the top spec model in its range – if the bookends make sense, then everything else should generally add up as well – so we decided to get the top and bottom of the 2WD double cab Hilux range (the $29,990 Hilux Workmate and the $48,990 Hilux SR5 Cruiser PreRunner) together to see how it adds up.

The bottom half of the Workmate’s interior is more utilitarian, but it still gets a touchscreen infotainment system and comfy seats.
The bottom half of the Workmate’s interior is more utilitarian, but it still gets a touchscreen infotainment system and comfy seats.

OUTSIDE

The latest incarnation of the Hilux is a far better looking thing than when this shape originally launched, having largely disguised the weirdly boat-like pointy nose of the 2015 model.

The SR5 Cruiser adds luxuries like a leather steering wheel, climate control and, or course, carpet.
The SR5 Cruiser adds luxuries like a leather steering wheel, climate control and, or course, carpet.

**READ MORE:

* First Drive Review: Toyota Hilux

The same 150kW/500Nm diesel four that is found in every Hilux except the Workmate lives under the SR5 Cruiser’s bonnet.
The same 150kW/500Nm diesel four that is found in every Hilux except the Workmate lives under the SR5 Cruiser’s bonnet.

* Road test review: Mitsubishi Triton GLX-R 2WD

* Rear-drive Toyota Hilux offers lot more pull - even though it's a bit Boaty McBoatface

The Workmate is the only petrol-powered Hilux now. It misses the diesel’s big torque, but is still a nicely drivable thing.
The Workmate is the only petrol-powered Hilux now. It misses the diesel’s big torque, but is still a nicely drivable thing.

* Toyota Hilux PreRunner: The 2WD story behind the name

**

The 2WD SR5 Cruiser is definitely your townie’s ute – the accessories Toyota slathered across it certainly confirmed that.
The 2WD SR5 Cruiser is definitely your townie’s ute – the accessories Toyota slathered across it certainly confirmed that.

While the SR5 Cruiser gets the new, bolder grille that is a hallmark of the latest facelift, the Workmate makes do with the older grille, but gets a re-profiled bumper that removes the worst of the boat-faced effect, but won’t have the ‘latest model’ driveway cred. But then that’s most assuredly not what the Workmate is about.

If you thought the SR5 Cruiser was loaded with accessories, check out the Workmate. But then it only costs $29,990, so you can afford to go wild with the options.
If you thought the SR5 Cruiser was loaded with accessories, check out the Workmate. But then it only costs $29,990, so you can afford to go wild with the options.

It’s a basic, 2WD version of the Hilux that isn’t jacked up to pretend 4WD ride height and literally does what it says on the box. And I think it looks brilliant, albeit in a “is that really a new one?” kind of way…

The SR5 Cruiser on the other hand leaves you in no doubt it is the latest and greatest, with some seriously bold grille and fender work going on that just screams “I am top spec and most certainly not your dirty old workhorse”.

While you certainly can’t compare the two directly, the honest “I’m a work ute, deal with it” approach of the Workmate holds more appeal for me. I like me a good, basic ute.

INSIDE

On the inside the differences are less than you might expect.

While the basic design, layout and materials used on the top half of the cabin are the same (although the Workmate gets a urethane steering wheel, while the SR5 gets a leather one), the Workmate gets a far more rugged and serviceable lower half, with basic fabric seats and rubber floor coverings for that muddy worksite.

Even the basic entry Workmate gets the full Toyota Safety Suite however, as well as a touchscreen infotainment system, so you certainly aren’t left wanting in the entry vehicle.

The SR5, as you would expect, packs in some higher quality materials and actual carpet, with some slick leather-accented heated seats, keyless entry and pushbutton start (the Workmate gets a good old-fashioned key you twist in the ignition), climate control air conditioning and a front cool box.

Both are, however, impressively comfortable, which racks up big points for the Workmate, because you are simply not necessarily expecting it from the workhorse.

UNDER THE BONNET

Here’s where the biggest difference lies between the Workmate and SR5 Cruiser – the SR5 comes with the expected 150kW/500Nm 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel turbo engine and six-speed automatic transmission found in every Hilux.

Well, every Hilux except for the Workmate, that is, because it packs a 122kW/245Nm 2.7-litre four-cylinder petrol engine hooked up to the six-speed auto.

It is a distinctly odd experience driving a petrol-powered Hilux after so many years of diesel, and the overriding first impression is of how quite and refined it is.

It’s not a particularly refined engine, of course, but after the traditional rattling and vibrations of a diesel, it sure seems like it is.

It is noticeably lacking in the diesel’s big torque, however, but is a surprisingly drivable unit around town, only feeling a little breathless on occasion on the open road – you probably don’t want to try any optimistic passing manoeuvres uphill, put it that way.

ON THE ROAD

Both the Workmate and the SR5 Cruiser are capable and adept on the road, with the Workmate having the edge in handling due to its lower ride height and ride comfort smaller due to its smaller 16-inch steel wheels.

They are both still utes, of course, so car-like dynamics aren’t to be expected, while neither scores particularly well on the planet-o-meter, as the diesel is, well, a diesel and the petrol engine needs to be worked quite hard in the Workmate, making Toyota’s claim of 10.4L/100km for the combined cycle a tough ask to see in the real world.

VERDICT

So what does comparing the top and bottom tell us about the 2WD Hilux range? Basically they confirm our decision to give the Hilux our Top Ute award last year, as both offer a capable package that is seriously good value for money.

The $29,990 Workmate offers the rugged utility you expect from a basic workhorse, but then adds in high-spec luxuries like the infotainment system and the excellent Toyota Safety Suite driver aids.

The SR5 Cruiser, on the other hand ticks all the top-spec lifestyle boxes, looks tough, is surprisingly comfortable and comes packed with equipment, but because it isn’t 4WD and is sold under Toyota’s Drive Happy fixed pricing policy, it is only $48,990, which gives you a hell of a lot of ute for comparatively little money.