Toyota Land Cruiser

Speaking of comfort, the Land Cruiser is a very nice place to be in. If you can ignore the cheap looking (for the price of the SUV) soft plastics, it could be easily compared to the Lexus LX 570. In fact, a better trim is available at only a few grand more and should be seriously considered. You’re already spending so much anyways. There is ample space for 8 people and all their extremities – except somewhat in the third row. The second row also slides making more room for the passengers. The top of the line spec has some serious levels of equipment. There is a 10-inch infotainment system with another 10-inch screen for the second row. It also comes with a 14 speaker sound system, which is 8 more than what the cheaper variants come equipped with. These also have to do with moquette seats instead of leather. The VXR also gets multi-stage ventilated seats along with 4 zone climate control and a steering wheel that adjusts itself according to the specifications of its driver. Other variants have to do with dual zone climate control. All the variants, however, do get a cooler box in the center console along with a 4.2-inch color TFFT display for their instruments. Cargo space behind the third row is 455-litre. Fold these seats up (they won’t fold flat because of the truck like chassis) and it increases to 1200 litre. Fold the second row and it goes up to 2300-litre. There is even a handy tailgate to aid with loading. But the lack of a flat floor really hurts.

At 5,115 (L) X 1,980 (W) X 1,905 (H) mm, the most expensive VXR variant is big enough to make you wonder – is it too big. Toyota is aware of the size of its SUV and the styling does not try to hide it. The basic and reliable body on frame construction has survived the most recent update – much to the relief of off-roading enthusiasts. This is a departure from the current trend with SUV makers that are moving to more car-like monocoque construction. The off-roading inclinations are evident from the styling too. The body sits high above the ground. The muscular hood is lower and gels well with the utilitarian front end. The Chrome grille juts out yet mercifully sticks to a more conservative style. The headlight cluster incorporates sequential LEDs in the more expensive variants giving it a distinctly honest American look. The rest of the design is unremarkable. The rear might even be called ugly by some. Tire sizes start at 265/65 R17 and go up to 285/50 R20 for the highest variant. They also have massive sidewalls promising a comfortable ride.   

There are three variants and three engine options. Transmission is through a 6-speed automatic or an 8-speed automatic for the 5.7-litre. As usual, there is full time four wheel drive. The smallest engine is the 4.0-litre, V6, 24-valve, DOHC, dual VVT- I churning out 271 PS at 5600 rpm and 385 Nm of torque at 4400 rpm. The bigger 4.6-litre 32-valve V8 has a maximum power output of 304 hp at 5500 rpm and peak torque figure of 439 Nm at 3400 Nm. The biggest, however, is the massive 5.7-litre V8 which produces 362 hp at 5600 rpm with 530 Nm of torque at a low 3200 rpm. While these numbers may sound very promising, don’t forget that the Land Cruiser tips the scales closer to 3 tons than 2 tons. The V8 – especially the 5.7-litre still provides enough low down grunt. This equates to good towing ability and acceleration to those seeking it. However, this comes at the cost of abysmal fuel economy. The 5.7-litre delivers 5.5 kmpl in city and 7.6 kmpl on the highway.

All except the cheapest variant get dual front, side and curtain airbags. The highest variant also gets knee airbags. Apart from that a lot of the essential safety equipment is standard across all variants. These include anti-lock brakes with brake assist and brake force distribution, vehicle stability control, and tire pressure monitor. The VXR also gets more high tech safety features like hill start assist, multi-terrain select, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, parking sensors, adaptive suspension, pre-collision warning, lane departure alert and a rearview camera. The ride is typical for an SUV despite the many driver aids. Steering is light and turning radius is tight. There are extremely beefy anti-roll bars that put up a valiant effort when cornering hard. They are somewhat effective too. But that does not give this behemoth any sort of handling prowess on city roads. They do however come handy when the Land Cruiser is taken out to play on the sand dunes. Crawl control, terrain select and lockable center differential make it a really capable off-roader. But you probably already knew that. Does this capability make the high starting price of AED 215900 (that goes up to AED 350000) justified? You decide.