Go anywhere with the added advantage of stacks of room and comfort in a new Toyota LandCruiser 200. New technology like Smart Entry and Smart Start, an advanced Bluetooth communications system, four-zone air-conditioning (Sahara), an Electro Multi Vision system, Crawl Control, Hill Start Assist, a central limited slip differential, two-stage SRS airbags, Active Traction Control and Vehicle Stability Control give the Toyota LandCruiser 200 a strong bid for the world’s best 4X4.
I think where the latest LandCruiser 200 excels, like all previous models, is in raw 4×4 capability, reliability and comfort. Only a Nissan Patrol can match the LandCruiser for day-in day-out reliability.
Nothing really causes the LandCruiser 200 to baulk – short of a cliff face. You just know that the Cruiser can do the business, and that’s what I like about it.
With a reputation that speaks for itself, Toyota has excelled once again with the new Land Cruiser 200. Setting Toyota’s reputation for longevity and durability aside, the Land Cruiser offers unsurpassed versatility for not only its everyday bad-weather drivers but the serious off-road adventurer. No surprise, then, that the Toyota Land Cruiser 200 scooped Drive.com’s 4WD of the Year award in 2007.
The Land Cruiser comes with either a powerful 4.7 litre dual overhead cam electronic fuel injected V8 petrol power plant or else a 4.5 litre twin turbo diesel V8. Of these two, the diesel is the torquier unit (often the case with diesel powered 4x4s), notching up 650 Nm of torque as opposed to the petrol’s 410 Nm (which ain’t bad either). With power, however, the petrol takes the prize, pumping out 202 kW to the diesel’s 195 kW. The petrol also has the advantage of coming with the CRAWL 4×4 control system. But both the diesel and petrol are full-time 4x4s. The big beast is fitted with Hill Start control and Downhill Assist control, making the Toyota Landcruiser 200 a very surefooted animal indeed.
Safety is nothing to scoff at either, with multi-terrain ABS brakes, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and brake assist. In the VX and Sahara model of the Toyota Landcruiser, ten airbags are strategically placed around the capacious cabin. The entry level GLX has six. Toyota also beefs up the side impact door beams to provide more protection if hit from the side.
After you run your eye over the massive exterior of the Toyota Landcruiser 200, it’s time to look at the interior. Here, the Toyota Landcruiser may remind you somewhat of an old-fashioned cowboy: tough on the outside, butter soft on the inside. The seats are pretty cushy in all models, but the Sahara and VX take it to a new level with leather trim. To tickle the ears, the Toyota Landcruiser 200 comes with a 6-speaker audio system, a 6-disc in-dash CD player and auxiliary jack – and the Sahara variant boosts this with a 6 DVD system, 9 speakers and EMV navigation. A dual-zone climate control with pollen filter comes standard across the range, while the Sahara goes beyond most other vehicles, offering a four-zone climate control system – now that will end the “I’m hot – I’m not” debates on long journeys, even in the back seats.
The leading edge technology that is used in the fantastic drivetrains makes the Landcruiser an extremely rugged go-anywhere vehicle. Reliability is always on your side, so why not off-road in style? Off-road in the exceptionally refined Landcuiser.
Current model series include:
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