One of my favourite clips on You Tube is Jeremy Clarkson’s piece on his attempts to destroy a Toyota Hilux 4WD.

Needless to say he has to set fire to it to administer the coup de grace, but prior to that it withstands driving down steep steps, crashing into a tree, being dropped by a crane, hit by a wrecking ball, submersion in the sea, and having a caravan dropped on it – and it still keeps going.

I think everyone who has been around 4Wheeling for any length of time will have marvelled at the Hilux’s ability to go on and on, and it’s no accident that they have become the working vehicle of choice for farmers, foresters and DoC.

However there are those who want a bit more than a utilitarian ute, something that not only gives a load bed at the back, but also room for the family, and with a few frills thrown in.

Enter the Hilux SR5.

The Hilux has been around since 1968, and I remember seeing some of these as a young man, small utes with 1.5-litre engines, and absolutely totalitarian in terms of comfort features.

However it wasn’t until the ‘70s that a 4WD version appeared, complete with a 2.2-litre normally aspirated diesel. It was bigger and stronger than that original 1.5-litre ute – much stronger, as Clarkson proved – and went on to chalk up impressive sales.

In fact the Hilux has been New Zealand’s top-selling ute since 1982, and in that time around 5,000 have been sold.

Over  the years like Topsy the Hilux has grown and grown, and now presents an impressive physique, tall and muscular, with lots of room for five people in the Double Cab version as tested.

The SR5 takes that a step further, with a large air intake on the bonnet to give it that feeling of power (and to feed the intercooler for the 3-litre turbo-diesel engine) plus heavy chrome trim on the grille and rear step bumper to give it a feeling of luxury and add “bling” as well as big fat wheel arches back and front.

Latest SR5 versions also get a new bonnet, new front bumper, new headlights, and new tail-lights.

This luxury feel continues inside, with features you wouldn’t see on a “working” ute such as  air conditioning, electric mirrors and windows, a 6 disc in-dash MP3/WMA CD changer/radio with four speakers, Bluetooth and an audio input jack, new fabric seat material, carpet floor covering - and a compass.

There’s also a new three-spoke steering wheel with a leather trimmed rim and satellite controls for the audio system, while a stalk on the right side of the steering column controls the easy-to-use cruise control.

Alloy wheels are standard, as are chromed mirrors and door handles, and there are aluminium running boards along the sides.

Getting into the SR5 one is struck by how car-like the interior is, with a neatly laid-out dash with a locking glove box, a small centre dropdown for the audio system and heating/ventilation controls – the latter by simple rotary dials – plus a three-dial instrument panel comprising speedo, rev counter and multi-dial for fuel and water temperature gauges.

Dual front airbags are provided, and the SR5 also gets ABS antilock brakes as well as front seat belts with pre-tensioners and force limiters, and child restraint anchor points.

The front seat is comfy and there’s tilt adjustment for the steering wheel, as well as height-adjustment of the driver’s seat, making it easy to find a comfy driving position.

Vision all round is good, and the 3-litre diesel settles into a steady throb which gives the right feeling of power without being intrusive.

Interior space is good, too, and the rear seats surprisingly comfortable – especially compared to those in some of its competitors.

On-road the Hilux feels remarkably refined for a ute, though there’s a bit of bounciness when it’s unladen, as with all of its ilk.

Handling is predictable, with understeer followed by oversteer if you care to go that far, and good “stickability” on dry tar from the fat 255/70 R15 steel belted radials, unfortunately in this case road-oriented.

It’s also a remarkably quiet ride thanks to its latest re-engineering, including modifications to the mirrors to cut wind noise and increased use of sound-proofing materials.

Looking around the cabin one quickly sees lots of comfort features – cup holders, door pockets, driver’s footrest, coat hooks in the back, remote central locking, warning lights for just about everything – all those features which we have become used to in a modern car.

But this is not a car, it’s a tough 4WD ute, with a lusty 126 kW 3-litre turbo-diesel engine that produces a whack more torque than the previous unit, at 343 Nm, and within a wide power band from a barely ticking over 1400 rpm up to 3400 rpm.

It’s all down to the variable vane turbocharger coupled with a water-cooled bearing housing and common rail injection system, thoroughly modern stuff.

So drivability is a big plus, giving the ability to pull the high fifth gear with ease from quite low speeds meaning fewer gear changes, a smoother and more carefree ride. On top of that, fuel economy of a high order, 8.3 litres/100 km average as claimed by LTNZ.

Loadability is, too. Although the wellside on the double cab is shorter than you get with a two-seater Hilux, Toyota says you can still stash a trail bike in there (corner to corner) and there are lots of tie down hooks to hold it firmly.

Access is via a big drop-down tailgate with a central one-handed opener, and as mentioned there’s a big chromed rear step bumper.

For our off-road test, given that this is a ute with big colour-coded front bumpers and those side steps, we decided to go a bit easy on the SR5 and instead of doing a rough and tough mud plug, took it along to Muriwai Beach west of Auckland.

This would at least take it somewhere owners can relate to, and we were lucky to get there at the same time as a bunch of guys out kite surfing – the sort of recreational use the SR5 would delight in.

One of the big plus factors for serious 4WD enthusiasts is that the Hilux still comes with a separate lever for selecting 4WD high and low ratio, so you know it’s in the right gear – and just in case Toyota has kindly provided a 4WD warning on the instrument cluster, too.

Obviously you need to be in neutral to change cogs, but on the upside you don’t have to get out to lock the front hubs – this is done automatically for you.

Gear selection, by the way, is a dream, smooth as silk.

We aired down for the drive up the beach, and a “play” on the

With all that low-down power we kept it in high ratio 4WD most of the time and only switched to low ratio to climb up the access point, where the sand is really thick and churned up by a daily parade of 4WDs taking people onto the beach.

At no point did we ever consider we might get stuck, such is our faith in the Hilux, and out previous experience with the vehicle has shown that its gear ratios are fantastic for off-road work, with a low first gear for descents coupled with that high-torque diesel engine making engine braking a dream.

In all, finally a ute I could happily live with.

Our previous article by David Caesar in the August 2008 issue showed what can be done to the SR5 to turn it into a tough truck for work and leisure while still retaining the luxury feel and comfort for family use.

But if you don’t want to go to all that trouble, well the SR5 will still take you most places you might want to go.