Howling Moon rooftop tent vs CVT Mt Rainier — which suits SA conditions?
Running the Toyota Hilux 4x4 for 18 months now, 40989km on the clock including 4 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, Richtersveld 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 Gqeberha could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: ARB Summit bull bar (R8k fitted), Ironman suspension lift (R12k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R64k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my Gqeberha 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
Interesting points on the dealer experience. I had the same in Stellenbosch — 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.
What suspension are you running now? I have the same setup and am looking at Ironman 4x4 lift kit — 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.
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.
On the mod budget — R64k sounds like a lot but if you are amortising it over 8 years of serious use, it works out to less than R1,000 per month. And the safety improvement in a real recovery situation is not something you can put a price on.
Running the Toyota Hilux 4x4 for 18 months now, 40989km on the clock including 4 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, Richtersveld 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 Gqeberha could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: ARB Summit bull bar (R8k fitted), Ironman suspension lift (R12k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R64k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my Gqeberha 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.
— deon_kotze
The fuel consumption figures you mention match what I see. The AT35 diesel is thirsty when you push it. The issue for me is long-range touring — I fitted a Brown Davis 116L long-range tank to solve the range anxiety completely.