Toyota Land Cruiser (2009) CAR review

It’s almost 60 years old, five million have been sold throughout the world and, with this all-new model – cue drumroll – the UK will add, well, around 1200 units to that tally annually. You’re unlikely to see one over here, then, so take a good look at the all-new Toyota Land Cruiser while you can.

It looks familiar…

Evolution’s certainly the name of the game here, the new car looking much like the one that’s been around since 2003. Headline changes for spotters include a bigger front bumper with integral fog lamps, a new grille with vertical bars, revised headlights and rear LED taillights, plus more aggressively flared wheelarches.

The dimensions remain much the same, partly because there was always plenty of interior room, partly because Toyota didn’t want to swell the exterior dimensions for fear of reducing off-road manoeuvrability. So, it’s 45mm longer and 10mm wider than its predecessor while maintaining the same wheelbase and rear overhang. If you’re serious about your off-roading, you might be interested to know that the approach angle is 32 degrees, the ramp breakover angle 22 degrees, the departure angle 25 degrees.

The V8 Land Cruiser (introduced in 2008) continues to be offered here, but Britain will only take this bodystyle in five door, 3.0-litre TD trim – a seriously big four cylinder.

If it’s so similar, what’s the point?

Toyota’s aim has been to build on the Land Cruiser’s rugged, go-anywhere DNA, while also making it a far nicer drive on the road.

So, body-on-frame construction remains – it’s tougher, and, says Toyota, the separate body better resists the twisting forces exerted by serious off-roading than a monocoque does – and there’s all manner of acronyms to bail you out when the going gets tough: an LSD for the centre diff, A-TRC (Acitve traction control) MTS (Multi-terrain select), multi-terrain ABS.

However, there’s also extra sound insulation in the A, B, C and D pillars, plus the door sill and roof. There’s extra sound deadening inside too, an acoustic windscreen (a layer of film between the glass helps refinement) and extra attention has been paid to keep wind noise down. And it works. Once you’re up to speed and making only small adjustments to the throttle you’ll notice precious little wind-, tyre- or road noise.

I sense a ‘but’ coming on…

I prefer the word caveat, but yes. Accelerate hard and the engine becomes far more vocal, and it’s not particularly quick off the mark either. The Land Cruiser also rides with a lolloping gait, has very light and slow-witted steering and, while it’s generally composed, there’s too much thumping about over ripples and pockmarks for our liking.

However, the standard five-speed automatic shifts smoothly and, if you spec the top LC5 trim level, you’ll get three-way adjustable dampers that help to quell the roll and better absorb the bumps – although the sub-30mph ride still fails to impress.