06/27/2024
Back in 2010, Top Gear aired the third and final part of a series where they tested the durability of a Toyota Hilux by trying to completely destroy it. Spoiler alert- they failed! When Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson purchased the Hilux from a farmyard It had 190 thousand miles (305 thousand kilometres) on the odometer.
Part I
Though it already had some body component corrosion, the tests on the Hilux began. The series of tests were: descending down a flight of steps (suspension, tyres, underfloor chassis damaged), making a sharp turns while damaging a building, including a piece of brick which fell off (body damage), sweeping through the high tides at Bristol Channel (whole body damage). After several hours at high tide the Hilux was partially buried so the workers had to bring it back to the surface. To prove it had been destroyed, the mechanic had to repair only using of basic tools. Astonishingly, the Hilux started.
As those methods weren't enough, he continued by dropping the Hilux from a crane, head-on collision through a wooden structure, crushing with a wrecking ball (body crushed as well as the bonnet, tailgate, pick-up bed, and other areas), dropping a caravan onto it , and facing fire through the pick-up loading bed, then later on the interior's cabin. Once more it is still able to drive, the first part ends as a cliffhanger.
Part II-III
Finally, Clarkson placed the Hilux at the top of the 23-story building slated for implosion. The clip plays after the demolition; the workers had to clear off the debris to recover the truck. Upon the recovery, the Hilux now suffers major body damage (except on suspension including leaf sprung, wheels/tyres still on near in shape, underfloor chassis, etc.). The mechanic goes to work again by using only basic tools and no spare parts to attempt to revive the Hilux, and to everyone's astonishment, not only did the Hilux start- it drove!
Credit: Top Gear