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I thought it was known as the Tacoma in North America?

Tacoma looks the same but it is overall weaker than the Hilux

My understanding is that the (no longer produced) T100 is the closest equivalent NA gets to the Hilux, it has a fully boxed frame and was offered in a 1-ton form (with larger brakes).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_T100

Are you sure about that? The Wikipedia articles for the Hilux[1] and the Tacoma[2] make no mention of this. The Hilux article heavily implies the Tacoma is the same truck, just under a different name.

Ah way down in the sixth generation section it says: "The Tacoma frame differs from the Hilux frame, although both appear similar from the outside. Both the Tacoma and Hilux variants are sold in Mexico."

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Tacoma

The Hilux has a solid front axle while the Tacoma has a wishbone suspension, IIRC. The latter while good for high speed travel on road and sand, lacks performance in wilderness and rocky terrain. It is the reason the Hilux outperforms the HUMVEE in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As well the Tacoma does not have a diesel option (one of the main reasons it survived submersion).

On another note the Suzuki Samurai is another off-road vehicle that is virtually indestructible.

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