But just to put things in perspective, before I bought the Pug, I was looking to buy a diesel ute. I test drove a few 2nd hand diesel Hilux (non-turbo) and they have performance like a golf cart (my apologies to Hilux owners).

Hi Gewizztoo

Just to set the record streight about the Hilux.

I'm still running dino, haven't had the time to set up the DB Brewery yet, Mine is a 3.0ltr twin cab truck, non turbo, 2000 model, the ones you drove were probably needing a tune, My Hilux has heaps of power, 5th gear all the way up the mountains to home, take off in third gear by mistake if your not paying attention without any trouble, 11.5klm per liter, yes they are a bit noisy when you get over 120klm/h but thats because the tight arses put only minimal sound deadening in the floor, I have extra and it's nice and quiet, they are comfy to drive over long distances, nice light steering but not to overpowered, run the aircon with only a minimal loss of power and fuel, about 5% extra fuel, although they are a bit bouncy on rough roads, needs some double acting shocks to fix that, put 500kg in the back and you don't even know it's there, also a nice simple and easy to work on engine bay it also blows little or no black smoke, I wouldn't hesitate to recomend one

Hope this is helpful to any prospective hilux buyers

The Fat Man