The Swedish publisher initiated a moose test on the best-selling commercial truck in Australia. Unfortunately, the Toyota Hilux did not pass this evaluation. The publisher had then reported that something is not right with the vehicle and this brings a lot of problems as drivers and potential buyers surely didn’t expect results like this.
In this test, the car was loaded with 830 kilograms (about 1,750 pounds), and it was driven at 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph). The driver is expected to perform extreme “moose test” maneuver, swerving vehicle from left to right rapidly. Apparently, the Toyota pickup seemed to have gone haywire with the sudden swerve.
Oskar Kruger was the driver who maneuvered the truck during this test. An image of the red vehicle that he was driven was captured, and it was horrible. This picture shows how the Hilux had tilted and that its tires on the right side had no contact with the ground before Kruger was able to steer it and control it so it would get back to the ground.
The moose test was made to mimic what they call an extreme evasive maneuver. The term “moose” was deliberately chosen for the naming of this test because of the many instances that vehicles had to perform such dangerous maneuver to avoid moose crossing the roads of the outback.
The evaluators blame the lack of an anti-rollover mechanism, advanced stability control and a tire grip for the unpleasantly dangerous result. The Toyota Hilux had 18-inch wheels, and the test vehicle was running on 265/60 tires. Another car with 265/65 tires with 17-inch wheels had better results on the same test. Although its wheels still lifted when the car was suddenly steered.
Competitors of the Toyota Hilux were also tested in the same test. Rivals like Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Ford Ranger, Volkswagen Amarok and Isuzu D-Max experienced nowhere near problems even when running at a slightly greater speed.
Nothing much has changed with the Hilux compared to its previous generation. This had also been tested in 2007, and it got similar unsatisfactory results. They are questioning the Hilux’s nine years of development, and it seems that the vehicle had not seen any progress through those years. At least when we talk about “moose test”.
The evaluators argue further that this extremely dangerous circumstance happens when cars are running at 37 mph. The Navara and Amarok were able to surpass that test at 42mph without the slightest hint of struggle. Hence, they concluded that the Toyota pickup indeed has a problem.
However, the company representatives stated that they had also conducted safety tests on the vehicle during its assembly and have proven that the Hilux is a safe truck. The company also assures that they are taking the recent test results seriously and will use it to deliver improvements to their product line.
