Toyota Land Cruiser review

So what are we dealing with here? A full-size off-roader, for one thing. In length and height the Land Cruiser 250 sits between the Jeep Wrangler and the monumental Defender 110, and is closer to the Land Rover. The striking geometry of the body (straight lines are useful when you’re off-roading but also reference the early Land Cruisers) only enhances the size of the 250, though look closely and you’ll see that the corners are to some extent chamfered, to improve manoeuvrability.

Even so, the Toyota generally trails its close rivals when it comes to approach and departure angles, especially with that chunky rear overhang. To improve visibility, the A-pillars are also more upright than on this car’s predecessor, and the beltline is stepped, dropping at the front. A number of the body panels are made to be deformable, too, so that they can stand up to being bashed about, and if the bumper does need replacing, it can be done in sections.

Mechanically the Land Cruiser remains what you might call ‘proper’. It still has a ladder-frame chassis (now 50% more torsionally rigid than before, thanks to 84 extra spot welds and plenty of new adhesive bonding) and a live rear axle, but it’s no Luddite and borrows some innovations from the 300, as well as carving its own technological path forward. This is the first Land Cruiser to use electric power steering, which ought to make it easier to place on the road. It also has a disconnectable front anti-roll bar, which can increase wheel articulation by 10% (to add to the 10% by which the new car already improves on its predecessor).

Elsewhere, four-wheel drive still comes courtesy of a Torsen centre differential, while the electric locking rear diff has not only been strengthened but also now uses a solenoid-type actuation instead of a motor, which makes for an 85%-quicker response time and improved reliability.All of this does not come lightly. With its 80-litre tank brimmed, our test car trod the scales at 2503kg. In fairness, this is only 103kg more than the Land Cruiser D-4D LC5 we tested in 2009 (this for the first outing of the 250’s forebear), despite the newer car carrying far greater levels of equipment.

When you combine the car’s roll and heave with a somewhat brittle secondary ride (expect a degree of crashing and shimmying over poorly surfaced roads) and a rigid back axle that doesn’t always feel entirely obedient through direction changes, the result is a car that feels quite a bit less cohesive than the Defender, and certainly your mainstream SUVs. You need to dial into its size and pronounced movements, and get some feel for how it likes to be tipped into bends and fed out of them. It takes some acclimatisation, but do this and the Land Cruiser proves comfortable and controllable for a car of its type. Pick-up truck owners looking for something a little more refined would do well do try the Toyota out.

As for noise, that workhorse diesel motor, an upright windscreen and vast, square wing mirrors ensure the Land Cruiser isn’t what you would call quiet at speed. At 70mph we recorded a 65dBA noise reading, which is notably louder than even the Defender Octa with all-season BF Goodrich tyres (our test Land Cruiser wore road-leaning Dunlops). However, the Toyota is better mannered than the Grenadier, and makes decently short work of long journeys on smooth motorways, where its eight-way power-adjustable seats (which also have good lumbar support) and fine forward visibility come to the fore.

As for economy, the long and short of it is that we expected a little better from the car at speed, particularly given the unromantic approach Toyota has taken in regard to engine format, and the eight-gear overdrive proudly outlined in the official literature.

An as-tested touring economy of 30.7mpg results in a generous motorway range of 540 miles, though only because of the 80-litre tank. The ‘everyday’ economy is better: you can expect at least 35mpg in typical daily use. That said, in our experience, six-cylinder alternatives deliver similar figures, and with greater refinement – plus, of course, performance when you need it.