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We Dare You to Find a ’90s Toyota Pickup as Clean as This One

A time capsule of a Toyota truck so clean, you could eat right off of it.

Rear end of a red Toyota truck with white "TOYOTA" lettering and V6 badge on the tailgate.StevensCarsPNW via Bring a Trailer
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A black and white portrait of a smiling man with short, dark hair. He is wearing a light-colored blazer over a collared shirt. The background is plain and unobtrusive.

By Chris Chin

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Updated

As legendary as ’80s and ’90s Toyota trucks and pickups are, they aren’t without their faults. Which is why today’s Bring a Trailer find is beyond remarkable.

Originally for sale was this incredibly clean, 33,000-mile, all-original 1995 Toyota Pickup Xtracab DX V6, complete with a five-speed manual. As expected, it commanded a high price, with the auction gavel slamming down and closing the top bid at just over $30,000.

(If you were wondering — yes, that’s more than what it sold for brand new, which was around $22,550.)

America’s last true Hilux import

Red Toyota pickup truck with extended cab and V6 badge parked indoors on a concrete floor.
None of us at the GP Motoring desk can recall seeing a ‘Yota Pickup this clean, outside the company’s own heritage collection.
StevensCarsPNW via BringATrailer

Today, Toyota sells two pickup trucks, the Tacoma and the Tundra. Both are successors to the original “Pickup” seen here in the BaT auction.

And both are related, but not direct imports of the Toyota Hilux globally sold today. That’s because when Toyota introduced the Tacoma in 1995 and the Tundra in 1999, they did so to more closely align with American tastes and demands.

Red Toyota pickup truck kicking up dust on a dirt road with mountains and a lake in the background.
Even though it’s forbidden fruit today, the last Toyota Pickup was actually a Hilux federalized for North America.
Toyota

While both can trace their lineage to the original Hilux, this ’95 Pickup is actually the last Hilux Toyota was imported and directly sold on North American shores.

So, while some may lust for the global Hilux on our shores, it previously wasn’t forbidden fruit. We actually did get the Hilux up until the first Tacoma and Tundra.

Red Toyota pickup truck with silver stripe decal parked on desert terrain with rocky background.
Not many original Toyota Pickups are around today as they’ve met their demise from years of use and/or rust.
Toyota

This ’95 Pickup on BaT was the last of the Hilux breed to be sold on North American shores. Toyota simply marketed it as the Pickup.

As clean as old Toyota Pickups get

Red Toyota pickup truck with extended cab and 4WD mud flaps parked indoors on concrete floor.
It’s so clean, it could be a museum piece.
StevensCarsPNW via Bring a Trailer

Toyota’s Pickups were widely popular in the ’80s and ’90s, and many met their demise from years of rigorous use and rust. After all, they didn’t develop their reputation for reliability, ruggedness and durability by being garage queens.

Front view of a red Toyota truck with chrome bumper and V6 badge in an indoor garage.
There isn’t even a sign of pitting on the original chrome bumpers.
StevensCarsPNW via BringATrailer

Owners typically used and abused their Toyota Pickups, as utilitarian vehicles should be. It’s what makes this pristine example really something to admire.

Close-up of a vehicle's suspension system showing a shock absorber, control arms, and tie rod ends with visible bolts and dust.
No rust on this absolutely beautiful example.
StevensCarsPNW via Bring a Trailer

One of the biggest problems with these old Pickups is rust. So much so that despite their reputation for being tough, they’re also known to be really susceptible to the elements (somewhat ironically).

Open red truck door showing gray fabric front seat and gray interior panel with handle.
It’s like a brand-new Pickup, inside and out.
StevensCarsPNW via Bring a Trailer

And that makes this example even more miraculous. Because there isn’t even a single spec of visible rust, even after this Pickup supposedly lived most of its life in the Pacific Northwest, where they do use road salt in the winter.

Car dashboard showing speedometer at 0 MPH, odometer reading 032767, fuel gauge near full, and battery indicator.
The seller verified the mileage from its CarFax history.
StevensCarsPNW via Bring a Trailer

That said, it does show low mileage compared to other well-used examples.

Red pickup truck with white stripe detailing and Goodyear tires in a garage.
In addition to the frame, rust often shows up first at the rear wheel wells.
StevensCarsPNW via Bring a Trailer

The icing on the cake: this was effecitively the most loaded Pickup one could spec from the factory, aside from the manual transmission and the steel wheels, versus the upgradable alloys.

Still, we can’t help but love how minty fresh this Pickup is. We can only hope its new owner will preserve its condition as an artifact of a bygone era.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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