Toyota Hilux vs Audi A3 [2017-2020]

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.

Premium compact sedans were unheard of when Audi India brought along the A3 in mid-2014. Sharing market space with a few luxury hatchbacks at the time, the A3 ticked most of the right boxes for first-time premium car buyers and came with a good mix of luxury and performance. Fast-forward three years and this segment has expanded somewhat, allowing Audi India to burst on to the scene again with the updated 2017 A3.

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