Family Car Review: 2026 Toyota Hilux DUal Cab Ute

Quick Overview

How much does the 2026 Toyota HiLux cost and what are the options?

The 2026 Toyota HiLux is available across a broad range of grades, from the basic hose-out WorkMate through to the top-spec off-road focused Rugged X. All now have a diesel engine as standard, with electric and hydrogen versions coming.

I think the SR5 version I tested here is quite appealing for families. It gains the “multi-purpose” suspension tune (designed for a better ride), dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats and steering wheel, a cooled upper glove box, 18-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass and an electric park brake. On 4×4 double-cab automatic variants like this one, you also get a mild hybrid system, which helps smooth out the start-stop function and adds a small electric assist when pulling away from a stop.

An optional Premium Interior Pack adds leather upholstery, an eight-way powered driver's seat with lumbar support adjustment, and a fancy JBL stereo system with nine speakers.

How big is the tray of the 2026 Toyota HiLux?

The tray of the 2026 Toyota HiLux has some nice practical touches for families. The tailgate comes down as one single piece, and Toyota has fitted a tailgate damper with lift assist across all pick-up grades, so it lowers gently rather than slamming down. One thing to keep in mind: the tailgate sits at toddler head height when it's down, so you'll want to be aware of that when loading up with little ones running around.

Like the Ford Ranger and Kia Tasman the new HiLux has a step built into the rear side of the rear bumper, which makes it much easier to climb up and access the tray. The SR5 also gets a sports bar with a 20kg load carrying capacity.

I didn't have my full range of prams, shopping bags and duffel bags with me for this initial look around the Toyota HiLux, so tray-space testing is coming soon when I have the HiLux with my family. I'll do an updated review with all those results. For reference, the previous-generation HiLux Rogue held 29 shopping bags in the tray and the cab is the main part of the new HiLux that has been changed.

That would put it around the same range as the Ford Ranger (30 bags) and Mazda BT-50 (28 bags), though the Kia Tasman (31 bags) and Volkswagen Amarok (31 bags) are the current tray-space champions.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don't want to move around while I'm driving such as my daughter's lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it's not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don't move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum's life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually measurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

How good is the storage in the 2026 Toyota HiLux for families?

Storage throughout the cabin of the new Toyota HiLux is good for families. The interior has been completely redesigned and feels modern and purposeful, with a nice mix of soft-touch and hard-wearing materials.

Starting in the front, there are dashboard cup holders built in at each end of the dash, which I know are a favourite with families! These are great for keeping your coffee within reach while doing the morning school drop off, and being near the air vents means hot drinks cool faster and cold drinks stay chilled.

There are two more cup holders down in the central console area. The central console box is a good size and has both a household plug socket (220 volts) and a 12-volt socket inside, which is great for charging your esky and things like that while you're driving.

In front of the gear lever, the SR5 has a wireless smartphone charging pad, which is fantastic for keeping your phone topped up while driving.

The glove box is a good size and there's a second one up at the top of the dash, which is handy for storing phones or smaller items. On the SR5, that upper glove box is cooled, so you could pop a snack or drink in there on a hot day. The front door bins are a good size and will hold drink bottles and there is a glasses case in the ceiling, which is good. However, there are no lit vanity mirrors in the sun visors. The passenger side has an unlit mirror, but that's it.

In the back of the Toyota HiLux, SR grades and above get a 60:40 split-fold rear seat with a fold-down armrest in the centre that has two cup holders. These will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup, and kids' drink cups fit well too.

There are map pockets on the back of both the front seats and a bag hook and the door bins in the back are a good size and will hold drink bottles.

Throughout the cab, the SR5 has four USB-C charging ports (two in the front and two in the rear), plus the 12-volt and 220-volt sockets I mentioned.

How many child seats will fit in the 2026 Toyota HiLux?

This double-cab Toyota HiLux has ISOFIX in the two outer rear seats. They're not within plastic guides but nice and easy to access and connect to.

There are top tether anchorages for the rear outer seats only, so you cannot install a child seat in the central seat. The top tether anchorages use a wide woven loop of fabric that you pass your top tether strap through and connect to the metal anchorage behind the central seat headrest. Both outer seats share that one metal central anchorage point. The loop system can be a bit tricky for installing and adjusting child seats.

Two child seats fit in the back of the HiLux comfortably.

I installed one forward-facing and one rear-facing.

With forward-facing child seats installed in the back, the legroom is good. We found a 186cm driver could fit in front, which is great news for taller families.

With a rear-facing child seat installed behind the driver, legroom gets much tighter. Only about a 176cm driver could fit comfortably in front. We did squeeze a 180cm driver in there, but he said he wouldn't want to drive like that for long! So if your family setup needs a rear-facing child seat or infant capsule behind the driver on a daily basis, this is something to consider. The Kia Tasman managed a 180cm driver with a rear-facing seat, which is a bit more generous.

With two child seats installed, there is space between them for an adult passenger to sit, which is fantastic news for families where a parent or grandparent needs to sit between kids.

The central seat footwell does have a small hump, so a central passenger has to straddle that. Headroom in the back is good for adult passengers.

How comfortable is the 2026 Toyota HiLux for families?

All members of the family will be kept comfortable in the new Toyota HiLux SR5.

In the front of the new HiLux you get dual-zone automatic climate control, and the controls are on the dash below the touchscreen as physical buttons, so you can change them while driving without having to dig through menus.

For rear passengers there are air vents in the back of the central console box, so you can keep little rear passengers at the right temperature while driving along.

There are handles above each of the rear doors, which are perfect for hanging a little toy to keep your rear-facing infant or toddler entertained on a long drive. There's also a light in the central ceiling that you can reach from the driver's seat, which is really handy.

I have found our daughter does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it's really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON'T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a 5-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it's not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

The front seats in the SR5 are heated, and the steering wheel is heated too, which is lovely for cold winter mornings. The SR5's seats have good bolstering and cushioning for long drives. The Rogue and Rugged X grades upgrade to an eight-way powered driver's seat with lumbar support.

The media system in the new Toyota HiLux is on a new central 12.3-inch touchscreen and it's a big step up from the previous model! There are handy shortcut icons down the right-hand side of the screen.

It has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can access your phone's navigation, podcasts, music and messaging apps without having to plug in. This is fantastic, because the old HiLux needed a cable, and with kids, you know how cables end up! It also includes built-in satellite navigation, which is handy if you're out of mobile reception and your phone's navigation app stops working.

You can go into the settings and customise the sounds in the vehicle. Being able to turn down or mute some of those beeps when the kids are sleeping, noise sensitive or you are a sensory-overloaded parent is super important!

When you put the HiLux into reverse, the camera image fills the screen, which makes it nice and easy to see. You've got the overhead view available too, and you can press a button to change the camera angle, which is really handy for hitching up a trailer or caravan.

The climate controls are physical buttons just below the media screen and not buried in the touchscreen, which makes them really nice and easy to adjust while driving.

How safe is the 2026 Toyota HiLux for families?

The 2026 Toyota HiLux comes with a five-star ANCAP safety rating, scoring 89 per cent for child occupant protection and 84 per cent for adult occupant protection. It also scored 82 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 82 per cent for safety assist. That 89 per cent child score matches the Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton (both 89 per cent), though the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok scored higher at 93 per cent for child occupant protection. See our safest utes for families article here.

The ANCAP rating applies to all HiLux variants except the Rugged X, which has a different front bumper and has not been tested separately.

The HiLux features eight SRS airbags as standard, including:

Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags that extend to the second-row passengers, plus a driver knee airbag and a centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes.

The 2026 Toyota HiLux comes with Toyota Safety Sense, which includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist and oncoming vehicle detection, as well as intersection collision avoidance support. You also get adaptive cruise control (ACC) with curve speed reduction, a lane support system with lane trace assist (LTA) and lane departure alert, and road-sign assist for speed signs.

New for this generation of HiLux is an emergency driving stop system (EDSS), available on SR5 automatic grades and above. This detects when the driver appears to not be operating the vehicle (such as passed out or suddenly seriously unwell), tries to prompt them with audible and visual warnings, and if there's no response, brings the vehicle to a controlled stop with the hazard lights on. Also new is acceleration suppression at low speed (think accidentally stomping the accelerator in a car park).

The driver-assist features also include forward collision warning, blind spot monitor (BSM) and rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA) as standard across the range, along with front and rear parking sensors (pick-up only), rear parking support brake, vehicle stability control (VSC), brake assist, tyre pressure monitoring (TPMS) on SR and above, automatic high beam, and anti-lock braking system (ABS).

The SR5 automatic pick-up and above also gets a panoramic view monitor (Multi Terrain Monitor), which is really handy for parking and off-road driving.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub's asleep!

What is the 2026 Toyota HiLux like to drive?

This initial review was mainly a static look around the HiLux, I only drove it up and down the filming strip, rather than a full driving test with the family on board, so detailed driving impressions are coming soon.

What I can tell you from the specifications is that the new HiLux has more modern electric power steering, which should make it lighter and easier to manoeuvre at low speeds (like school car parks and shopping centres). The turning circle is 12.6 metres, which is about average for a ute of this size.

The SR5 and above get the “multi-purpose” suspension tune, which Toyota says is biased towards comfort when driving without a heavy load. This was developed and calibrated in Australia, which is promising as I thought the old HiLux was a bit of a bone shaker! WorkMate and SR grades get a heavier-duty tune that's designed for big loads and towing.

The 3,500kg braked towing capacity on 4×4 models makes the HiLux capable of towing a caravan, boat or camper trailer for family holidays. The 80-litre fuel tank and Toyota's fuel economy claim of 7.2 L/100km on the SR5 4×4 automatic should give you decent range between fill-ups.

Toyota says it has also made improvements to reduce noise and vibrations inside the cabin, with all kinds of nerdy engineering changes and extra sound deadening materials. I'll let you know how this translates to real-world quietness (and whether the engine noise is likely to wake sleeping babies!) when I do the full family test.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and the kids have either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful.

Additional Information:

Toyota offers a five-year unlimited-kilometre warranty for the HiLux range. Service intervals and capped-price servicing details should be confirmed with your Toyota dealer.

The 2026 HiLux is also available in single-cab and extra-cab configurations for those who need a workhorse more than a family vehicle, though only the double-cab gets rear ISOFIX and top tether anchorages.

Toyota has also announced a first-ever HiLux BEV (battery electric), due in the first half of 2026, with an expected range of around 315km and a 2,000kg braked towing capacity. A hydrogen powered HiLux is planned for 2028!

Compare the 2026 Toyota HiLux:

If you are looking at the 2026 Toyota HiLux as a dual-cab ute for your family, you may want to consider the Kia Tasman, which has a bigger tray (31 bags), reclining rear seats to prevent head flop, and a seven-year warranty, though it also can't fit three child seats across. The Ford Ranger (30 bags, 93 per cent ANCAP child score) and Volkswagen Amarok (31 bags, 93 per cent ANCAP child score) are both strong competitors but again, they only have anchors for two child seats.

The Isuzu D-Max (25 bags) and Mitsubishi Triton (26 bags) are other popular choices in this segment, both with matching 89 per cent ANCAP child occupant scores, though neither can fit three child seats across either. For families who want ute-like off-road and towing abilities but also need seven seats, an SUV like the Toyota LandCruiser Prado or Isuzu MU-X might be worth a look.

BabyDrive Verdict on the 2026 Toyota HiLux

To sum up with the new Toyota HiLux, the interior is a big step forward! It's modern, practical and still has dashboard cup holders plus the new addition of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the much improved 12.3-inch touchscreen across the range. The 220-volt socket in the console is a nice touch for camping families too.

In the back you can fit two child seats, one in each of the outer positions. The loop-style top tether anchors are workable once you get the hang of them. There is space between the child seats for an adult passenger to sit in the middle, which is fantastic news for families.

The biggest consideration for families is legroom. With forward-facing child seats, it's good (186cm driver fits in front). But with rear-facing child seats, it gets tight, with about a 176cm driver being the comfortable limit. That's worth thinking about if your daily setup involves a rear-facing child seat or infant capsule.

I'll be testing the tray with shopping bags, prams and dogs when I have the HiLux with my family in the coming weeks, and do an updated review with all those results. I'm also looking forward to seeing how the new electric power steering and ride comfort improvements translate to the school run and weekend adventures.

Key Pros:

• Fits two child seats comfortably in outer rear positions
• Five-star ANCAP safety rating with 89% child occupant protection
• Eight airbags including curtain airbags to second row and centre airbag
• 3,500kg braked towing capacity (4×4)
• Dashboard cup holders at each end of the dash
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• 12.3-inch touchscreen standard across the range
• 220V socket in centre console (SR and above)
• 48V mild hybrid for smoother start-stop (SR5 4×4 auto and above)
• New emergency driving stop system on SR5 auto and above
• Heated front seats and steering wheel (SR5 and above)

Key Cons:

• Cannot install a child seat in centre rear position (no top tether)
• Legroom very tight with rear-facing child seats (176cm driver max)
• No lit vanity mirrors in the sun visors
• Central footwell hump for rear passengers
• Tray and pram testing still pending at time of this review
• WorkMate and SR grades miss out on dual-zone climate and heated seats