Toyota Hilux and failure are poles apart

By Steve Orme on Feb 10, 09 09:23 AM

Surely it is the ultimate slap in the face for the rainbow worriers. A Toyota Hilux has reached the south pole.
Imagine the consternation as little penguin tells mummy penguin insurgents from the Middle East have turned up to shoot daddy because he smells of fish.

According to Toyota: "The expedition also demonstrated that Hilux has advantages over snowcats when it comes to being a sensible transport choice. It can travel much faster, uses significantly less fuel and can carry more passengers - in more comfort, to boot. And thanks to the quality of Toyota's 3.0 D-4D engine, CO2 emissions are lower."
So that's good news for the ice cap than. Er, not really, the Luxes were fitted with a system to melt snow while on the move, using heat from the engine.
Hilux models were requested as support vehicles for the Amundsen Omega3 South Pole Race, a 483-mile skiing challenge celebrating the historic rival expeditions of explorers Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott. The Hilux Double Cabs were prepared for the extreme conditions by Arctic Trucks, the Reykjavik-based company which also fettled the Top Gear challenge machines.
I have owned a Hilux for 14 years now. The same one, in fact. Women faint and children run indoors when I haul it into town. It has been beaten, battered, dogged, shot at and submerged. It still starts on the button and always passes the MOT. Mind you I do use a garage in Helmand Province.
As society spirals downwards into famine, poverty and post-bonus apocalypse I would be keen to suggest that a Hilux is as much an essential part of household kit as fishing tackle, snares and a shotgun.
Some will survive and they won't be swanning about in a BMW 3-Series.