Are you still waiting for the fully-electric addition to the local Toyota family? You’ll need to keep waiting. But if you don’t mind compromising with a ‘mild’ hybrid, Toyota’s refreshed Hilux 48V should do.

If you’ve got the necessary bucks to support the green revolution, that is. See, electric cars, even hybrids, as mild as they might be, aren’t cheap. And the Hilux 48V is no exception.

Theeeenks!

But we’ll get to that in a bit. It’s first worth seeing if Toyota’s claims about its 48-volt mild-hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) technology are all they’re cracked up to be. While not exactly a ‘full hybrid’, the Hilux 48V makes use of a low-voltage (48V) battery to keep the radio and A/C running, leaving most of the real work to a more traditional petrol or diesel engine.

“At low engine speeds, they can supplement the engine with a small electric boost during acceleration, but unlike full hybrids, the electric motor cannot power the car on its own, and they cannot drive in zero-emissions mode,” Toyota said.

Alright, it isn’t only keeping the radio and A/C going. According to Toyota, Hilux bakkies carrying a 48V battery (of which there are six, 2x Raider and 4x Legend) can reduce fuel consumption by at least 10% (compared to regular 2.8l engines) thanks to the fitment “of a stop-start system to the turbo-diesel engine.” It also generally speeds up the engine restart time, making for a more comfortable experience overall.

A mild-hybrid also comes in handy when decelerating, ultimately recouping some of that braking energy and funnelling it to where it might be more useful. It’ll also put in a shift in “areas of lower engine efficiency to increase responsiveness and smooth acceleration.” Toyota claims you’ll see a 12Kw power boost and 65Nm boost to torque, up from the 150Kw and 500Nm found in non-MHEV models, respectively.

Toyota Hilux 48V intext — Toyota Hilux Raider 2.8 GD-6 48V

Whacking in a 48V battery to your regular Hilux bakkie doesn’t come cheap, though. The regular Hilux Raider 2.8 GD-6 RB 6AT without MHEV tech involved, for instance, will set you back R769,900, while the 48V variant costs R785,400. That’s an extra R15,500 fee, on top of the original price. Is it worth it? We’ll let you be the judge.

Whether you opt for a cheaper, non-MHEV bakkie or something that’ll get you more cred around your environmentalist friends, you can expect some superficial changes to come your way. Toyota’s redone the entire front, sticking on a new front bumper, honeycomb mesh grille, and new bezels around the fog lamps (yay?).

There are also leather seats inside all 2.8l models now, though only those repping a 48V battery receive extra benefits such as jam protection, auto up/down on all electric windows, smart entry, and ‘Multi-Terrain Select’.