Toyota Hilux vs Renault Koleos [2014-2017]

I'm smitten by pickup trucks and their versatility. So, there's no second guessing what I chose when the Toyota Hilux made it to the line-up of the fourth edition of CarWale's annual off-road day. In fact, it was the only massive pickup amongst SUVs here. To cope with the bulk, it has a 2.8-litre turbo diesel engine producing 200bhp and 500Nm of torque. All this power is routed through a six-speed torque converter automatic to the four-wheel-drive system. The latter gets High (H4) and Low (L4) range paired with electronic 2WD/4WD control. Despite the length, it has good approach (29.22degree) and departure (26.36degree) angles and runs on stock Bridgestone tyres (265/60 R18). Let's see how it performed.

At the time of launching the Fluence sedan, Renault had announced its intention of launching a slew of vehicles for the Indian market. Now, the second of those vehicles is already here – the Koleos SUV. With a five-seater format and a diesel engine it will challenge the like of Hyundai’s Santa Fe. The Koleos brings with it a certain French flair into that segment, which is quite refreshing even though some may find the vehicle a tad oddball.

To celebrate what we have left, we gather a bunch of true-blue 4x4s every year and give them hell!