Remember when Top Gear tried to destroy a Toyota Hilux back in 2003? We submerged it in the sea, hit it repeatedly with a wrecking ball, rammed it through a shed, and dropped a caravan on it before ultimately setting it on fire...and it still ran. Well, it’s 2026, and Toyota’s got a new Hilux. So, you know what that means.
Toyota decided to recreate one of the challenges with its new Hilux BEV. The company went to reddit and asked users what they would want to see: a caravan drop or a wrecking ball test. The latter received more upvotes, so the brand set up the 760kg caravan 30 feet above the ground before dropping it on the pickup.
PHOTO BY Toyota UK
As you may have guessed, the Hilux survived and drove off quietly with a couple of bends, scrapes, and a broken window or two. Apart from the throwback, the brand wanted to show that adding electric power to the nameplate hasn’t diminished its durability. Toyota says the new Hilux’s development program included extreme tests like deep-water diving, total immersion of the battery, and various tests across rough terrain.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
Review: 2027 Toyota Hilux Conquest 4x4 A/T
This hawk is employed by a Ford assembly plant to deal with pigeon problems
So, what’s next? The demonstration only showed one of the challenges done with the old Hilux in 2003. Surely, it isn’t enough to prove the new Hilux is as tough as its predecessors, right? Well, Toyota seems to agree. That’s why they’ve handed over the keys to Top Gear to see what other creative ways we can try to destroy this pickup. In the meantime, check out the caravan drop test on the Hilux BEV down below.
Watch: Toyota Hilux BEV caravan drop testPHOTO BY Toyota UK