Test Drive: Toyota Land Cruiser
What happens when an immovable force meets an unstoppable object? If the unstoppable object in question is Toyota’s Land Cruiser, chances are you just drive over it. At £81,000 it ought to be luxurious, rugged… but most of all, brave enough to compete with Land Rover’s Defender
Land Cruiser or Defender? It’s a more difficult choice than you might think. When Land Rover revealed the ‘new’ Defender in 2020, some initially dismissed it as just another luxury SUV, lacking its forebears’ inclination to carry hay bales and have its interior hosed out.
The thing is, any farmer or landowner who has that use case now invariably has a telehandler or a Gator-style UTV. And if they’re happy to have a single ‘dirty work’ vehicle, there are a range of pick-ups, most with a bit of luxury about them these days. The use case of the old Defender just isn’t there any more.
Defender’s prowess off-road surprised nobody, but the fact that it was so very good on-road was a very pleasant surprise all round. It’s been a runaway sales success for JLR, the highest-selling product in the company’s portfolio, selling around 115,000 units a year.
So anyone competing against it is going to live in its shadow, right? Not necessarily. Toyota’s Land Cruiser is arguably its most direct competitor, and dates back to 1951, with 14 major generations sharing the same name. Over 11.3m Land Cruisers have been sold and it’s favoured by organisations like the United Nations, Red Cross, and Médecins Sans Frontières.
The new Land Cruiser and the Defender both have plenty of off-road capability, very comfortable interiors, plenty of tech and tonnes of space… worldwide both are available with seven seats too, although the UK market favours Land Cruiser’s five-seat version.
The two arch-rivals are the same, but different… Defender is the more urban-looking of the two, but the Land Cruiser is just as charming, albeit in a more utilitarian way. Our test car came in a metallic sand shade, which is quite retro and divided opinion: I loved it as it suits the muscular vehicle; but some colleagues reckoned it was dated.
What’s not dated though is the off-road tech, and you can’t even say that the Land Cruiser is analogue in its off-road execution, like the Ineos Grenadier. The latter is an also-ran in this category, because it’s just too uncivilised on-road, and too compromised day-to-day compared to the Toyota and Land Rover.
The Land Cruiser has a dial to select on-road modes (Sport feels a bit redundant) and off-road terrain, but you can use a simple rocker switch to activate low-range gears, and push-buttons to lock centre and rear diffs, activate hill-descent control and detach the car’s stabiliser bars, enabling greater axle articulation.
For serious off-roading, Land Cruiser requires a bit more intervention than the ‘just let me handle it’ Defender. Does that make it better off-road? Perhaps, in extremis.
However, I’d point out that if you’re driving somewhere that even a Defender might not handle, you probably shouldn’t be there. Also, a good off-road driver in a less well-specified 4×4 will always be better than a brilliant 4×4 being piloted by a novice off-roader… and, your choice of tyres makes a huge difference too.
On-road, Defender rides beautifully on the 110’s air suspension, but the Land Cruiser, whilst a large vehicle, is still nicely set up, with body roll well-controlled, and suspension comfortable but with a nicely firm edge.
Whilst the Defender is available with a four-cylinder PHEV-augmented engine, it otherwise relies on six or eight-cylinder engines. Land Cruiser, meanwhile, is powered by a 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel mild-hybrid unit. Does that make it underpowered?
You’d think so on paper, but actually it’s a rather nice engine, with decent torque. It’s a bit gruff, but in a charming way, and whilst the Land Cruiser is never going to be a sports car (the Defender D250 reaches 60mph in 7.9 seconds compared to the Land Cruiser’s 12.3 seconds), its performance is still sufficient for overtaking.
What did impress me after a week in the Land Cruiser is its economy. The diesel engine settles to 1,500rpm on an A-road or motorway, and to a relatively quiet cruise. My average was 32mpg out of town, which is actually more than Toyota’s official WLTP figure.
Inside it’s more of the same… conventional compared to modern cars (especially EVs) which do everything via a touchscreen. The Land Rover and Land Cruiser each use physical controls for heating and off-road controls.
Land Rover’s touchscreen dominates the interior a bit more but the Land Cruiser’s driving position really is delightful. You sit high up, it’s all very chunky, and build quality is superb. The seats are supportive and have a very soft, supple leather as standard. Only one interior colour is available so you’d better like black, and there’s no multi-colour ambient lighting (that’s anathema to what the Land Cruiser is), but as a place to spend time it’s practical, logical and definitely worthy of the car’s price tag.
At nearly £81,000, the Land Cruiser is over £5,000 more expensive than a Land Rover 110 HSE. So which is better? There’s nothing between them when judged with your head. This is definitely a case of which appeals more to your heart: the chunky, endearing Land Cruiser with its no-nonsense approach, or Defender, the fashionable, modern iteration of a British motoring legend… on balance, I think I lean more towards the latter.
Toyota Land Cruiser
Invincible 2.8-litre MHEV
Price: £80,945.
Engine: 2.8 Diesel 48V, automatic, full-time 4×4 with high/low range gears.
Performance: 105mph, 0-60mph 12.3secs.
Economy: 26mpg, CO2 281g/km.
Equipment: Toyota Connect with wireless charging and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Heated and ventilated front and rear seats, full leather. Heated steering wheel, JBL-branded hi-fi, power tailgate, electric panoramic roof, electrically adjustable seats. Head up display, 360° camera, adaptive cruise.