Spied: 2016 Toyota Hilux or Next Tacoma?

The race is on between spy photographers sitting in wait and a team of Toyota Hilux and Tacoma engineers doing high-altitude and hot-weather testing right out in the open. Many are speculating that popular midsize pickup platforms for the Hilux and Tacoma will not be separate for long; in fact, it's likely that all the recent spied vehicles caught on camera are hybrid test units in one form or another.

We're hearing that the 2016 models are likely to be an evolutionary improvement, rather than something dramatically different than the current trucks. No doubt Toyota will have a more aggressive Plan B ready for implementation just in case the new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon become the runaway hit parent company GM is hoping for. Here's the note our shooters just sent us.

"We have a new look at a prototype for the the 2016 Toyota Hilux pickup, caught testing in a revealing state of graphic camouflage. Given that a new Toyota Tacoma is due for the U.S. market on a similar timeline, we are left to wonder if these Hilux spy shots give us any sort of preview of the design direction we'll see on Toyota's redesigned midsize pickup.

"The current-generation Hilux saw a distinct design departure from the U.S. market Tacoma, with Hilux getting a more aerodynamic front fascia and cab design than the existing U.S. model. These new shots of an eighth-generation Hilux prototype reveal a truck that looks even less aerodynamic than the current model, looking more like a traditional American truck. The new lines look more consistent with something we could see in U.S. showrooms, which has us wondering just how much of the next Tacoma we could be seeing in this unauthorized look at the foreign-market Hilux prototype.

"We know that a new Tacoma is in the works for the U.S., with our earlier shots of a Tacoma mule caught testing in the southwestern U.S. That mule didn't give up any design details, but we could see that an all-new interior is in the works, along with what appeared to be a massaged version of the current platform with similar size and packaging.

"We are still on the lookout for full-on, U.S.-spec Tacoma prototypes to hit the testing scene on U.S. soil. For now, we're left to wonder if this Hilux prototype provides any foreshadowing for the new Tacoma that's coming to battle in a rejuvenated midsize pickup market in America."

KGP Photography images

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