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What amazes me about the Hilux – and this may sound a bit ridiculous – is its sheer size. The almost cosy confines of the cabin do not equate to the dimensions on display outside. It’s a fair walk around the long-wheelbase brute, for example, and my six-foot plus self needs both the running board and the handle above the driver’s door to alight into the cabin that stands nearly two feet off the ground. Soon I’m belted up though, and after selecting third on the five-speed automatic transmission we’re off into the dunes. And, as it turns out, straight into the dunes.
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I’ve barely gone thirty feet before the tyres start to spin and I’m leaping off the accelerator, not wishing to exacerbate the situation. My failed attempts to ascend a steep dune with only half throttle do mean though that we are resting on an incline, and Ingrid is soon back on terra-sorta-firma. I try the dune again, only for the same thing to happen. And this does throw me a little.
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It turns out that the suspension settings on the Hilux, although configured for rugged terrain, are more suited to ice rather than heavy sand. Similarly the engine, whilst certainly powerful enough, has been setup to optimize 265lb-ft of torque rather than the 170hp. On the ice, extra horsepower would just see the tyres (at 2PSI and thus almost completely deflated) spin out uselessly. On the dunes though, with our tyres comparatively bulging at 12PSI, more speed means more momentum, and more momentum means there’s less chance of the wheels digging in. Today, where our top speed is no higher than 50kph, a few more horsepower would make a big difference.
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But whilst it’s tempting to heap all the blame onto the 4×4, it’s fair to say that my efforts haven’t exactly been awe-inspiring either. Hoping to remedy this ASAP, I ask Hjalti for some off-roading tips.
“The dunes aren’t like the ice: they don’t drop away unexpectedly at the top. Usually – not always, but usually – elevation of the sand dunes will be similar on both sides, so just make sure you use enough acceleration to get up but not so much that we go flying over the top. Also, don’t work the wheel too hard. Let the car do the work. And try not to roll it.”
I’m sorry. Roll it? Hjalti nods.
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Right…so that wasn’t what I initially thought to be a joke. Completely under my control then, I have an ex-Top Gear vehicle that could actually could roll onto its roof and end up stranded in the desert.
Right. Okay…
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Somewhat more gingerly than before, I set off again towards the less hilly bits. After a good five minutes, I’ve got just enough of my nerve back to try another dune, and having pointed Ingrid nose-first at the summit, I give the accelerator a belt, leaving my right foot where it is until lifting off just before the summit. Ingrid creeps her nose over the parapet then gently begins her descent down the other side. No fuss, no histrionics. A bit of a wail from the engine, but since we’re in low range four-wheel drive that’s only to be expected. And it’s all so very…easy.
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Slightly more bullish now, I try the next dune, the massive ground clearance and good throttle response rendering the obstacle in our path almost insignificant. Three or four more dune topes later and I’m really starting to enjoy myself. The view, now that we’re deeper into the plains, is quite breathtaking.
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Hjalti’s warning about rolling over though comes back to me out of nowhere. Having ascended a dune, we begin our descent down the other side only to find that the drop on the driver’s side of the Hilux is far sharper than that on the passenger’s side. We’re moving at a slow pace, but Ingrid is balancing at a truly terrifying angle, and it seems that only the seatbelt and driver’s side window are stopping me from falling out of the door.
