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Toyota Land Cruiser takes the smooth with the rough
publication date: Nov 14, 2009
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author/source: Robin Roberts & David Miles
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There is a saying in some parts of the world that if you want to get to the back of beyond, take a Land Rover. If you want to return, take a Toyota Land Cruiser.
Unkind?
Possibly, but there is no denying that the Toyota Land Cruiser is the
dominant off-roader in the global 4x4 markets, and its heritage matches
that of the British marque.
It is also true that despite a falling
off the cliff for residual values among many off-roaders, those which
are really needed and appreciated have withstood the storm of the
recession and sniping by environmentalists and governments.
In the
UK where the anti 4x4 lobby, high fuel prices and high levels of
automotive tax have taken their toll, 2008 sales of all dual purpose
(SUVs/4x4s) totalled 136,525, a drop of 22.5pc. In the first six months
of this year sales fell by another 22pc.
In the UK the Land Cruiser
doesn’t dominate and with the all new versions going on sale from 1
December Toyota GB estimate they will sell between 1,100 and 1,200 in a
full year. In the UK’s heavyweight 4x4 sector the Land Rover discovery
dominates sales with a 35pc market share according to Toyota.
However
a high proportion of Land Cruiser owners, around 25pc, do regularly use
their vehicles for off road work and more use them for the vehicle’s
highly rated 3,000kg towing performance.
Significantly, most new
Land Cruiser sales are to existing owners of the models, who value
their refined ruggedness and seeming indestructabillity and prefer
performance over posing.
Now extensively revised, the longer and
wider new five door Land Cruiser range consists of LC3 five seat and
LC4 and LC5 seven seat models all using a 3.0-litre, four-cylinder
171bhp turbodiesel engine with a five-speed automatic transmission.
There
is a push button and menu scroll operated sophisticated new all wheel
drive train that includes Vehicle Stability Control, Active Torque
Control and Downhill and Hill-start Assist Controls. Extra grip at the
touch of a button.
The LC4/5 versions also have an automated
suspension for a more controlled and comfortable ride on-road and more
suspension articulation off-road. As before the Land Cruiser has a body
on a ladder-frame chassis construction for strength and durability with
rigidity improved by 11pc.
Prices range from £29,795 to £44,795
which for the main selling LC4 version represents a 20pc price increase
over the outgoing version and a 15pc price hike for the top of the
range LC5 model. In today’s economic climate that is a lot and we will
have to see if it sticks.
However, Toyota says this significant
price increase is justified because of the advanced technology and much
higher specification offered by the new models. Toyota GB estimates
that 65pc of Land Cruiser customers will opt for the LC4 version, 25pc
for the LC3 and 10pc for the top spec LC5.
The even larger Land
Cruiser V8, 282bhp diesel models, priced from £54,990, remains
unchanged and around 500 of these are sold in the UK annually.
| | FIRST DRIVE | The latest Land Cruiser is really a story in two parts. It’s on road persona is vastly different from that off-road.
This
time, the Toyota engineers really concentrated on improving its ride on
metalled roads while enhancing its legendary off-road abilities. It has
worked.
Despite the chassis refinements to tauten the handling
on-road, there is still considerable bodyroll during cornering and it
floats along never fully engaging with the driver and the steering
feels vague but the ride is comfortable. It does well with high levels
of standard equipment and build quality.
The new models use a
3.0-litre turbodiesel power unit but unusually for this capacity it is
only a four-cylinder unit with 171bhp power and 410Nm of torque output
via a five-speed automatic transmission. That is not much power to haul
the Land Cruiser around, even before you add a trailer.
The result is a vehicle which never feels eager and which when extended can sound harsh and throbby.
All
three versions of the Land Cruiser have a full-time AWD system with
torsion limited slip differential which automatically adjusts front to
rear power distribution from 50:50 to 30:70 depending on grip.
For
LC3/4 versions there is a driver selectable centre differential lock,
LC5 models also gain a rear differential lock. There are four driver
selected modes to tailor vehicle settings for different off-road
surfaces – mud and sand, loose rock, mogul (deep mud) and rock.
There
are also hill-start and downhill assist settings, crawl control, active
traction control, mud-terrain ABS braking and vehicle stability
control. All these functions are operated by pushbuttons, a turn
control switch and a menu type scroll down bar. Not as simple as some
rivals’ systems for changing running modes.
As for the suspension
system; double wishbone at the front, four-link live axle at the rear,
the LC4 and LC5 versions have what Toyota call a Kinetic Dynamic
Suspension System (KDSS) which through antiroll bars reduces bodyroll
and is supposed to give positive steering response on-road. It does in
part.
Off road the new system by virtually disconnecting the
antiroll bars increases wheel articulation (suspension travel) for
maximum grip.
The top LC5 version has as standard adaptive
variable suspension and active height control, cleverly this adjust the
firmness of the suspension according to the speed being travelled on
road and the height of the vehicle for optimum ground clearance off
road.
The LC5 also has a Multi-Terrain Monitor, a system of
external cameras give combined or separate real time views of areas in
front and to each side of the vehicle that cannot be seen from the
driver’s seat. These only operate in multi-terrain mode at speeds below
6mph. It is very clever and useful knowing what direction your
vehicle’s front wheels are pointing driving in thick mud and to make
sure you are not going to scrape a tree or rock with the side of the
vehicle. It also allows you to see around blind corners when joining a
main road in town, which is possibly where it will be used the most.
It’s wading depth is good but not as deep as the Land Rover products.
There
is no denying the latest Land Cruiser is a big step forward for the
series, but in some ways it is still playing catch up with competitors. |  |
Fact file:
Toyota Land Cruiser LC4 3.0 D-4D Auto £40,395.
Engine/transmission:
3.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbodiesel, 171bhp, 410Nm from 1,600rpm,
5-speed auto, all wheel drive, multi-mode settings for a wide variety
of off-road terrain.
Performance: 109mph, 0-62mph 11.7 seconds,
34.9mpg (26.5mpg actual on-road), CO2 214g/km, VED Band K £215.
(Proposed first year VED rate from next April £550 then £245 annually),
BIK tax 35pc.
Insurance group: 32E (new scale).
Dimensions/capacities:
L 4,760mm, W 1,885mm, H 1,890mm, 7-seats, load capacity
621-1,151-litres, maximum braked towing weight 3,000kg.
For:
World’s best selling 4x4, tough, reliable, workhorse towing ability,
impressive and safe off-road ability, comprehensively equipped, well
made.
Against: Refined but underpowered four-cylinder diesel
engine has to compete with six-cylinder units in this sector, road
manners better but not the best, expensive to run. |
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