A very small percentage of people will actually want this version of the Land Cruiser. Here鈥檚 why.
The Takeaway
The Good:聽After clocking 950 miles and traveling over nine聽high-altitude mountain passes (on聽and off-road) during a car-camping road trip from Denver to Mesa Verde National Park, we aren鈥檛 surprised the Land Cruiser is the go-to choice for NGOs, governments, and global companies doing business in Africa, the Middle East, South America, and regions where smooth roads are few and far between. The Land Cruiser is a reliable, rock-solid, go-anywhere, pull-most-anything beast.
鈥婽he Bad:聽At almost two tons, it鈥檚 not nimble. And its gas-guzzling V8 engine puts up atrocious numbers in city and suburban traffic (12 to聽13 mpg). Our model was packed with a lot of superfluous gadgets (like a DVD player and聽LCD screen in the second row) that only drove up the price.
The Verdict:聽If you can afford $90,000,聽tax and license included, plan on driving it for 20聽years both on聽and off-road, and if you like all the creature comforts you can buy, this eight-passenger Land Cruiser is a solid bet. It聽will take you anywhere and should run for hundreds of thousands of trouble-free miles. If you don鈥檛 meet all that criteria (and few of us do),聽look elsewhere.
Specs
笔谤颈肠别:听$84,820 (base, as tested)
鈥婨苍驳颈苍别:听5.7-liter V8
鈥妇谤颈惫别迟谤补颈苍:听8-speed automatic;聽4WD with聽4WD-Low
鈥婩uel Economy:聽13 mpg combined; 18 mpg city/15 mpg highway; 18.6 mpg observed
The Engine
A 381-horsepower聽gas engine with full-time 4WD powers this giant rig. That鈥檚 plenty to pull the Land Cruiser out of deep sand and聽mud and up mountains鈥攖ire traction permitting鈥攐r pull a trailer weighing up to 8,100 pounds. On the highway, all that power translates into a smooth cruise at 80 miles per hour. On our trip, we saw fuel economy top 19 mpg while rolling along two-lane highways between Durango and Crested Butte at 65 mph.聽
During an off-road jaunt over the 11,250-foot Paradise Divide above Crested Butte, we put the Toyota into 4WD-low, using the low gears for torque on the climb and to slow our speed when rolling downhill. We also took advantage of the Multi-Terrain Select dial, choosing the mud/sand setting to reset the traction control and automatic transmission to best suit the terrain. It was here that we finally felt like the Land Cruiser was in its natural habitat: fording creeks聽and crawling over rocks, deep gravel, and mud. It was also here where our gripes about the sticker price melted away.
The Ride
With a rigid, body-on-frame construction (think pickup truck), the Land Cruiser is built for abuse and longevity, not comfort. Still, thanks to its heft and supportive front seats, it drives relatively smooth. Off-road, those features lessen the jolts and jarring one would experience in a stiffer and lighter vehicle like a Tacoma pickup. Nine inches of ground聽clearance and a relatively clean underbody mean you can take the Land Cruiser into rocky and uneven terrain.聽(For聽comparison, a Jeep Wrangler鈥檚 ground clearance is 8.3 inches.) The commanding view from the front seats is also a welcome throwback to the days before auto designers started squashing front window height聽for the sake of a sleeker design.聽
Cargo
With the seats folded down, there isn鈥檛 nearly聽as much floor space as we鈥檇 like. Latches, sloping floors, and hinges also muck up the surface area, so it鈥檚 hard to stack your gear neatly. There is, however, a lot of vertical space. I was able to stand a bike in the rear with the front wheel removed. Another inexplicable problem in today鈥檚 world of gadget-packed vehicles: the Land Cruiser has only one USB聽port for charging.
The Big Picture
We get a raw deal in the United States when it comes to the Land Cruiser,聽because Toyota offers only聽the ultrapremium version packed with expensive gadgets we don鈥檛 need. The company already sells a Lexus version of the Land Cruiser here in the States; we think that should be the go-to for anyone who wants 4WD and DVD players in the same car.
What we鈥檇 really like to see is Toyota offer a bare-bones and middle-tier version of the Land Cruiser that offers dependability and toughness聽and a more digestible price tag.