The Toyota Hix is a South African produced vehicle that costs around $28,000 and has a V6 diesel engine producing 144 horsepower. The car gets to 62 mph in just 12 seconds, making it an impressive speed for its price point.

However, the Toyota Hix is not just any ordinary car. It's also part of a special edition model produced here in South Africa, with a 416 horsepower engine that can take it to 62 mph in just 6 seconds. This car has been specifically designed for the demanding Dakar Rally, one of the most grueling motorsport events in the world.

The Dakar Rally is known for its extreme conditions, and the Toyota Hix has proven itself to be a formidable competitor. Just recently, the car finished an amazing second in the rally, after returning from South America. The team behind the car, Toyota Motorsports South Africa, was formed just four years ago but has already achieved three podium finishes, making them Toyota's most successful ever driver outfit.

To understand the capabilities of the Toyota Hix and its driver, Janal Diler, we need to hear from him directly. "If only we had somebody who's a really good passenger they could tell us what it feels like," he says with a chuckle. However, Janal is not just any ordinary passenger. He's a true Dakar Rally legend, having won the event in 2009 with VW and achieving top 10 finishes in 11 of his 12 appearances.

Driving at high speeds can be uncomfortable, even for experienced drivers like Janal. "The quicker you go with this car the more comfortable it feels," he says, although he acknowledges that the experience is not without its challenges. The longest stage he's ever done was 11 hours, with an average of 10 hours per day. This requires a level of physical endurance and mental toughness that few people can match.

The Dakar Rally is known for its difficult terrain, including sand dunes and rocky obstacles. To navigate these challenging sections, the car needs to be high off the ground to avoid scraping against rocks or getting stuck in the sand. Janal describes this as "like surfing," once you get into a rhythm it's actually quite exhilarating.

Despite the challenges of the Dakar Rally, Janal finds it incredibly rewarding. "You also get to see the most beautiful places in the world," he says, referring to the 52,000km trek that took the 560 vehicles through Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia this year. The rally is a huge adventure, with competitors facing a range of obstacles, including sandstorms and treacherous terrain.

One moment that stood out to Janal was when he almost slippedstreamed his main competition on the Salt Flat, resulting in an incredible speed boost of over 200kph. This was part of a tense battle for position, but ultimately, they missed the narrow road by just 600 yards and struggled for 20 minutes to find their way back.

The Dakar Rally is dominated by big German teams like Volkswagen and Peugeot, but Janal's team has punched above its weight, achieving impressive results despite being smaller. The car itself is built in South Africa, with 99% of the components coming from local suppliers. Janal credits his team for their hard work and dedication, saying "we really work very hard to move up that one more step."

As the rally approaches its conclusion, Janal reflects on the journey so far. The car is feeling strong, and he's confident about their chances of success. With the experience of driving at high speeds and navigating treacherous terrain, Janal knows that his team has what it takes to win the Dakar Rally.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is a Toyota hux this South African produced version costs around 28,000 has a V6 diesel engine producing 144 horsepower and gets to 62 mph in 12 seconds this is also a Toyota hux and it's also produced here in South Africa think of it as a special edition model because it's got a 416 horsepower engine that gets it to 62 in just 6 seconds and as you've probably guessed it's not been built for lugging around bags of cement but this the dear rally the most grueling Motorsport event in the world in fact this very hux has just returned from South America where it finished an amazing second it was developed here here in kyami by the Toyota Motorsports South Africa team they only came together four years ago but have already achieved three Podium finishes making them Toyota's most successful ever dhar outfit but alongside a great car you need a great driver janal diler is a true dhar legend having won the event in 2009 with VW and achieved top 10 finishes in 11 of his 12 appearances so what does it actually feel like to be in the car are driven by janal if only we had somebody who's a really good passenger they could tell us well we got Tiff but you didn't tell me about that did you there's a couple of bumps here but bumps that's not a bump get H what what there plenty of Tiff should be having a ball though he's really not very good if he's not behind the wheel the best thing actually on the bumps you know the quicker you go with this car the more comfortable it feels yeah well I can assure you you go quite quick enough oh you do this for how many hours a day well the longest stage I've done is 11 hours but on average 10 hours a day you have got to be out of your tiny mind like anything you know you get used to it how long do it take you to recover from 2 weeks of doing this 11 hours a day takes me about 2 weeks genuinely to recover and be back to normal again we throwing it around like a little limo rally car and we're in a 2ton truck it doesn't seem physically possible for us to Corner the speeds we're doing without ending up on our roof the car needs to be high for the desert condition you know you have cross to cross dunes and you know know all sorts of obstacles so you need a lot of ground clearance who we're rolling over again it feels worse than it is my head's about to fall off my shoulders cuz my neck's giving up to Ghost and you're about to attack a load of whoopy dupes in fifth gear and whatever speed but I will need to speak to my osteopath as soon as I get off the plan home my back I've just timed janil on this 4 km track and he's on a 1 minute 55.2 six after a few laps I needed a break from the torture what makes janal dilas so good at doing the deer obviously you need speeds but I think you know Durk and myself have got a good recipe to to stay focused and uh we try and limit the mistakes that's the main thing and how do you appra these Dunes I mean you see a wall of sound you have no idea what's on the other side it is the most challenging part of of the race but driving in the dunes is like surfing um you know once you get into that sort of a rhythm it's actually unbelievable you see these picture these people with shovels and Spades it's 100° Centigrade or whatever and what's the longest you've spent trying to dig yourself out of a doom I think about 40 minutes is the longest and um especially in the beginning uh you know you get stuck and then then you dig yourself out spend 20 minutes 15 20 minutes and then 2ks later you stuck again and you got to do it all over again and I mean it is it's such a big Challenge and it's a huge adventure of course um you also get to see the most beautiful places uh in the world this year's 52,000 M Trek took the 560 vehicles through Argentina Chile and Bolivia but there was one moment in particular that interested me on the Salt Flat believe it was it with your main competition you almost joined him to slipstream together to pick up some speed after 80k on the Salt Flat which was 130 km I decided I have to try and do something to to get some of us away because we all five of us were together heading for a narrow road there was a narrow road at the end and I pushed him uh we went 15K an hour faster uh almost doing 200k an hour and uh we made two minutes on the rest of the guys but that was a bit of touring car style this year was close it was just like two or three days before the end where you tried to take a gamble on a trip and you just missed a way point yeah it's it's it's complicated you know that specific day there was also a big uh Sandstorm so you have no point of reference of where you are and uh we navigate by ways of the road book and also uh we've got GPS in the car but it only comes on when you're within 800 M radius of the point and if you don't get the point you get a huge penalty an hour 2 hour whatever and we were just 600 yd too far to the left and we struggled for 20 minutes to get the the point but you know that's the race now of course J you were part of the big Volkswagen team for while that that dropped out but now you know the sport is always dominated by the big German teams and there's Persia as well coming in there with their new rear wheeel drive buggy you're really little guys punching above your weight you must be proud of that fact it's been a great journey and the car is built in in South Africa 99% of the car is is South African and we really work very hard to uh you know to move up that one more step kick right kick left into the double Apex stay thir hardly any power got throttle open but now I feel the Boost coming boost boost boost\n"