ARB Summit bull bar vs Ironman Apex — is the price difference justified?
Running the Toyota Hilux Raider for 8 months now, 75424km on the clock including 10 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the off-road capability straight from factory surprised me. I have done Sani Pass, Baviaanskloof and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 2.8L turbodiesel is 10L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: the dealer experience left something to be desired. Also the dealer here in East London could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: Ironman bull bar (R14k fitted), Dobinsons shocks (R15k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R72k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my East London dealer was R680,000 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
5 Replies
Running the Toyota Hilux Raider for 8 months now, 75424km on the clock including 10 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the off-road capability straight from factory surprised me. I have done Sani Pass, Baviaanskloof and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 2.8L turbodiesel is 10L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: the dealer experience left something to be desired. Also the dealer here in East London could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: Ironman bull bar (R14k fitted), Dobinsons shocks (R15k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R72k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my East London dealer was R680,000 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
— morne_du_toit
Good honest review. My experience with the LC79 has been similar — the factory setup is a solid base to build from. The tyres are always the first thing that needs changing regardless of which bakkie you buy.
Interesting points on the dealer experience. I had the same in Lydenburg — 9 week wait for a service part that should have been in stock. This is why I budget for a proper extended warranty and use an independent workshop that specialises in 4x4s rather than the franchise dealer.
Running the Toyota Hilux Raider for 8 months now, 75424km on the clock including 10 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the off-road capability straight from factory surprised me. I have done Sani Pass, Baviaanskloof and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 2.8L turbodiesel is 10L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: the dealer experience left something to be desired. Also the dealer here in East London could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: Ironman bull bar (R14k fitted), Dobinsons shocks (R15k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R72k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my East London dealer was R680,000 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
— morne_du_toit
Interesting points on the dealer experience. I had the same in Limpopo — 6 week wait for a service part that should have been in stock. This is why I budget for a proper extended warranty and use an independent workshop that specialises in 4x4s rather than the franchise dealer.
> Running the Toyota Hilux Raider for 8 months now, 75424km on the clock including 10 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
>
> The good: the off-road capability straight from factory surprised me. I have done Sani Pass, Baviaanskloof and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 2.8L turbodiesel is 10L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
>
> The bad: the dealer experience left something to be desired. Also the dealer here in East London could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
>
> Mods I have done: Ironman bull bar (R14k fitted), Dobinsons shocks (R15k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R72k. Worth every cent.
>
> Price paid at my East London dealer was R680,000 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
>
> Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
> — morne_du_toit
Good honest review. My experience with the LC79 has been similar — the factory setup is a solid base to build from. The tyres are always the first thing that needs changing regardless of which bakkie you buy.
— danie_myburgh
What suspension are you running now? I have the same setup and am looking at OME BP51 bypass shocks — around R11k fitted at my local workshop. Keen to know if the ride quality improvement on corrugated gravel roads is as significant as people claim.
The fuel consumption figures you mention match what I see. The V6 Raptor is better than the official spec suggests in real conditions. The issue for me is long-range touring — I fitted a Brown Davis 119L long-range tank to solve the range anxiety completely.