1 week ago
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Popular Australian music group The Wiggles has a new ride, and it's one of the most popular models in the country.
World-famous Australian kids’ music group The Wiggles, have traded in their Big Red Car for a new set of wheels courtesy of Toyota.
Revealed in a new song and accompanying video titled ‘Big Red Ute’, the Wiggle-fied version of Toyota Australia’s second best-selling model – behind the RAV4 Hybrid – made its debut last month.
Billed as “a lively country-rock infused anthem”, the new song and brightly-coloured HiLux were announced alongside The Wiggles confirming their attendance at the 2025 Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Toyota Australia is a major sponsor of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, with next year’s event held in January, and other acts including Jessica Laird, Darren Carr, Gracie Gilbert, and The Whiskey Mount Boys.
Based on the HiLux Rogue variant, which is priced from $71,530 before on-road costs for new examples, the Big Red Ute wears a unique Wiggles-themed livery, including blue, red, and yellow body panels, as well as multi-coloured wheels.
The HiLux is equipped with a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, producing 150kW/500Nm – but the example driven by The Wiggles lacks newer models' 48-volt 'V-Active' mild-hybrid system, introduced this year to help reduce fuel consumption.
The lyrics incorporate features of the HiLux, including lines like “all the creatures comforts that you’d ever want, cupholders, off-road – you can’t go wrong” and “leather seats with lumbar support, hear the engine rumble, feel the torque”.
The video clip for Big Red Ute was filmed at Toyota Australia’s headquarters in the Melbourne suburb of Altona, using the brand’s in-house test track.
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
