The Hilux has gained a reputation for exceptional sturdiness and reliability, even during sustained heavy use and/or abuse, and is often referred to as "The Indestructible Truck". This was further reinforced on the BBC motoring show Top Gear, when a 1988 Hilux with 190,000 miles (310,000 km) on the odometer was subjected to extraordinary abuse (in series 3, episodes 5 and 6). This consisted of driving it down a flight of steps, scraping buildings, crashing headlong into a tree, being washed out to sea, and being submerged for four hours, driving it through a garden shed, dropping a caravan onto it, hitting it with a wrecking ball, setting its cabin and bed area on fire, and, finally, placing it on top of a 240-foot (73 m) block of apartments that was next destroyed by a controlled demolition. Although it was now suffering from severe structural damage, the truck was still running after being repaired without spare parts, and with only typical tools that would be found in a truck's toolbox, such as screwdrivers, motor oil, and an adjustable wrench,however WD-40 was used to get the engine going after it had been recovered from the sea. The Hilux currently rests as one of the background decorations in the Top Gear studio.

In the TV series of 2006, (series 8, episode 3), a Hilux was chosen by Jeremy Clarkson as his platform for creating an amphibious vehicle. With assistance, Clarkson rigged the truck with a massive outboard motor, ironically made by Honda, and steering mechanism in the pickup bed. The truck, redubbed the "Toybota", was driven by Clarkson over several miles by road and 2 miles (3.2 km) across open water, before capsizing (three metres away from the finish) during a quick turn. Once recovered, the vehicle was moved back to the Top Gear Studio, where a confident Clarkson stated that he would be the only one capable of driving his truck home, since it was the indestructible Hilux. However, Clarkson could not get the Hilux started - which led his co-hosts to believe that Clarkson had finally destroyed the "indestructible". When Clarkson turned the engine over, it produced a puffing and hissing sound as though the injectors or the heater plugs had been removed.

In 2007, Top Gear ran a special program in which Clarkson and James May raced a customized 2005 model Hilux to the 1996 magnetic north pole from Northern Canada against Richard Hammond using a dog sled, and won. This episode, known as the Top Gear Polar Special, made the truck the first motor vehicle to make it to the magnetic north pole. The Hilux used was slightly modified: larger wheels and thicker tyres were installed, a thick sump guard was installed, the front suspension was moved forward, a gun mount was installed, some powerful front lights were installed (although they were not needed, as it was still polar daytime at 11.30pm) and a toilet seat (called the 'Bumper Dumper' by Clarkson) was mounted on the rear bumper.

In 2010, the Top Gear host James May drove a modified Hilux, one which had served as the camera crew's vehicle during the 2007 polar special, to approach the summit of an erupting Icelandic volcano and retrieved a fragment of volcanic lava. The Hilux was modified for this task by the installation of a simple metal "umbrella" and alcohol cooling drips for its tyres. This was filmed shortly before the stopping of all airline flights in that area due to volcanic ash expelled by the volcano (Series 15, Episode 1).

Outside of TV programs, these vehicles have been known to exceed 300,000 miles (480,000 km) with regular maintenance. It is also notorious for being used as an improvised fighting vehicle–a "technical" – by militias and irregular military forces, especially in Third World conflicts.[12] The Toyota War between Libya and Chad was so named because of the use of Hilux trucks as light cavalry vehicles by the army of Chad. These vehicles have also been used in the Iraq war as Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). Militias have been known to outfit this vehicle with stolen, post-Soviet Union missiles and equipment. The Toyota War saw use of the Hilux as a towing vehicle, serving to tow aircraft and tanks, including the T-62 heavy tank from the former Soviet army. There are currently 37 customized Hiluxes used by the People's Liberation Army in the Southern region of China. The Toyota Hilux has been widely used by Pakistan Army. However, Mitsubishi L200s were bought instead of seventh-generation Hilux recently to replace worn out vehicles. The New Zealand Army currently uses the Toyota Hilux for its troops in Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. US Special Forces also use specially modified Tacoma and Hilux in Afghanistan.

In October 2007, the Swedish auto magazine Teknikens Värld performed an evasive manoeuvre (a moose test) that revealed that the manoeuvrability of Hilux pickup truck was deficient for turning sharply at moderate speeds. The truck failed the test and only the driver's skill prevented it from overturning. After the test Toyota stopped the sales of Hilux equipped with 16 inch wheels in Europe.

A world record was achieved by the support crew for the participants in the 2008/2009 Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race. The crew travelled in specially adapted Toyota Hiluxs modified by Arctic Trucks, completing a trip of over 5000 km from Novo, a Russian Scientific Station in Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole and back again, making them the first 4x4s to reach the South Pole. The return journey of 2500 km from the South Pole to Novo Station was completed in a record 8 days and 17 hours.