Reliable, simple and good-looking, the third-gen Toyota Hilux Surf is quintessentially a cult classic.

Toyota builds the most robust vehicles in the world.

Take a look at the challenges that Top Gear UK put its Hilux through. You’ll find a Toyota Hilux on someone’s farm, on a builder’s construction site, and even at the forefront of war. It is a legendary nameplate that is synonymous with hard yakka.

During the late 1980s, the sport utility vehicle became a thing. These original wagons were robust 4x4s built with the best bones of a commercial vehicle, albeit with much-needed luxury and amenities. This example’s 1990s solution for a reverse camera—a mirror that pops out from the spoiler at the press of a button—is both handy and fun to use.

Past the gimmicks lies a genuine 4×4 tuned for excellent road manners, with a lengthened wheelbase, a widened track, and coil springs all speaking to this notion. The petrol 2.7-litre 3RZ engine is an absolute workhorse and won’t let you down.

The idea of an off-road-based wagon was a novel concept that birthed a whole segment of vehicles, with the most closely related being products like the Toyota Fortuner.

Nothing hits like the original, though, with its era-specific styling and old-school workhorse powertrain.