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DAN EDMUNDS: The Toyota Land Cruiser
is an iconic offroader that's been around
for more than 60 years.
During that time, a lot of its competition
has morphed into crossovers, but the Land Cruiser
remains a dependable offroad vehicle
that's ready for adventure.
We're here in the mountains outside
of Salt Lake City, Utah, to see what makes it so special.
But before we get into that, remember
to use Edmunds next time you're ready to buy a car, truck,
or SUV, and click Subscribe for more videos like this one.
In 1960, the FJ-40 got the ball rolling in North America.
This two-door Jeep-like vehicle with a removable hard top
introduced us all to Toyota's bulletproof reliability and
offroad knowhow.
The FJ-55 came in 1967.
This is the FJ that was designed to be
a four-door wagon from the outset,
and its design was heavily influenced
by the requirements of the North American
and Australian markets.
The FJ-60 was rolled out in 1980,
and was a further refined model with a better interior,
more power, and more gears.
The term "sports utility" was just getting popular,
and this Land Cruiser was designed
to have even broader appeal.
The 1990s was the era of the FJ-80.
And by this time, the alphanumeric codes were Greek--
or I should say, geek--
to most people.
I'm in an 80-series Land Cruiser.
They have several older cruisers to choose from,
and I picked the 80 series because I
used to own one of these.
And I put about 100,000 miles on it, and I regret selling it.
It was a great truck.
And the thing about it is, when it came out,
it was kind of a notorious mall wagon.
And that was because it came out right when the SUV craze was
at its peak and everybody was buying
the biggest SUVs they could.
So a lot of people bought these and just drove them
around town.
But the thing is, this is one of the best ones for offroad use
because it's solid axle front and rear.
It's got triple lockers available.
And coil spring suspension, not leaf spring suspension,
so it's easy to mod, easy to lift.
It's really capable, even if people did
think of it as a mall wagon.
Now that I've driven this a little bit,
I got to have another one.
The FJ-100 was first sold here in 1998
and it broke a lot of new ground.
It was the first Land Cruiser with a V8.
All previous ones had a straight six.
It was the first with independent front suspension
instead of a solid front axle, and the first with rack
and pinion steering instead of recirculating ball.
All of this made it better for street use,
but it still had the offroad chops to outdo
what was left of its full-size SUV competition.
And that brings us to the 200 series,
which has been with us for over a dozen years.
This is a truck we know well, and Toyota
is celebrating over 60 years of Land Cruiser success
with this Heritage Edition.
There's a lot of changes on this truck,
but the one I like the most is this badge here.
It's the same one you'll see on the oldest FJs on the road
or in any museum.
It's really cool.
Other changes include BDS-forged alloy wheels,
no running boards, and this roof rack.
Other changes are merely cosmetic.
The mirrors are blacked out.
So are the backgrounds for the headlights.
And there's a darker chrome on the grill
and these fog light surrounds.
But then there's changes inside, too.
Inside, you'll find special perforated black leather seats
with contrast stitching that matches the wheels.
The cooler box has been deleted from the center console,
and you may wonder why they did that.
It's because they got rid of the third row
seat to make more room for gear, such as a cooler
or a plug-in refrigerator.
One thing I really like about the Land Cruiser,
and a lot of people do, is this tailgate setup.
You can get stuff out without anything falling out,
or you can open it for easier access,
or sit here and tie your boots.
And with the third row deleted, it's just a ton of space.
I'm a big fan of the 5.7-liter V8 that powers the Land
Cruiser.
It's got a lot of power, a lot of torque.
The 8-speed automatic that comes with it
just gives it all the right moves
when it comes to shifting.
And there's just no problem.
It could tow 8,100 pounds, too, so this is no slouch at all.
It is, though, a little bit thirsty--
14 miles per gallon combined.
13 city, 17 highway.
You're going to be pouring some gas into this thing.
This particular generation of Land Cruiser
has rack and pinion steering and independent front suspension,
and they combine to make it a great daily driver.
The Land Cruiser's really easy to steer,
and the driving position gives you
a commanding view of the road.
But it's not perfect.
I wish the seat went down a little bit more
and the steering wheel could telescope out towards me
just a little bit.
I feel like I am reaching for it,
and the steering wheel feels like it's
in my lap a little bit.
I'm not as impressed with the infotainment interface.
It's got a great big touchscreen,
but the graphics are kind of dated,
and it doesn't support Apple Car Play or Android Auto.
Those two systems got added to the 4Runner and Tacoma systems
this year, and they really transformed the experience.
But here, it feels a decade old.
We're in an offroad park outside of Salt Lake City, Utah,
and we're going up a little bit of a rocky hill right now.
This is steep enough to put it in low range, which
is easy to do.
But it's not really going to push this car to its limits.
Oh, I better not say car--
push this Land Cruiser to its limits.
The thing that we might notice is
that the stock mudflaps do tend to rub on rocks,
but it's no harm, no foul.
This truck has several features that give it
great offroad capability.
Its suspension layout-- it's got a five-length coil rear
suspension, independent upfront.
That part is debatable, but it works well.
But what's going on is it's a full-time four-wheel drive
machine with torsion center differential that you can lock.
On the pavement, it's unlocked, and it
distributes torque 40% to the front, 60% to the rear.
In a situation like this, you can push this button.
You can lock it.
Or if you put it in low range, it automatically locks it.
There are other things, such as crawl control, which
is a low-speed cruise control that works uphill
or down, forward or reverse.
There's also a multi-train select
that reconfigures the traction control
for different types of terrain.
But the thing that I really like is
something called Kinematic Dynamic Suspension System,
which is easier to say as KDSS.
And that's a set of stabilizer bars
that can sense when you're offroad
and basically disappear.
They disconnect using the hydraulic mechanism
so you have maximum articulation.
Then when you get back on the pavement,
they reconnect and you've got great control of body roll,
even on a winding road.
The tires on this vehicle are all-season, all-terrain.
They're good.
I'm not having any problems here.
I think if you were going to offroad full time,
you'd probably look for something with a little bit
more traction.
But the size is good.
And these are really nice forged BDS wheels.
I'd hate to replace those because they're really special.
But yeah, you might want more traction
if you did this all the time.
But if you're going to do it occasionally on roads
like this, they're fine.
One of the things the Land Cruiser has
that a 4Runner doesn't, for example,
is something they call turn assist.
It's a button here, and when you want
to make a really tight turn, what it does
is it clamps onto the inside rear brake
and that helps the turning radius
in a really tight situation.
And it's really a nice little tool to have in your tool box.
And that's really what it is.
When you have an offroad vehicle,
the more things you can deploy in different situations,
the more enjoyable and trouble-free
your experience is going to be.
The Heritage Edition, which is what we're in now,
has a few changes that are targeted
at the person who might take it offroad more
than the average person.
The contours of the front and rear bumper covers
are the same as a regular Land Cruiser,
so you still have the same approach, departure,
and breakover angle underneath.
And those are all good numbers to begin with,
and they're still the same here.
What's different about this that helps the offroader is they've
eliminated the sidesteps.
Now, if you're the kind of person
who drives in the street, the city all the time,
you may not like that move.
But if you're an offroader, you like that move.
The Land Cruiser's mission has changed a little bit over time.
It started out as a rough-and-tumble, dedicated
offroader.
And over time, it's become more and more family-oriented,
but at the same time, keeping really outstanding
offroad performance for a vehicle that can take
the family out on an adventure.
Of late, a type of offroading that goes
by the name of overlanding has cropped up,
and the Land Cruiser fits into that mold
really nicely because it's got the room to haul your gear.
It's got offroad performance that'll get you most places.
It's not a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon,
so it's not ultimate in terms of that.
It's not single-minded.
It's a good all-round vehicle that
has a very solid offroad foundation,
and a good ability to carry equipment and people there
and back, again, without breaking down.
This is a premium vehicle, and it's priced accordingly.
But if you look at the prices of a lot of large SUVs--
like you get a loaded Denali, GMC, or an Escalade,
or even spend a lot of money on something like a Suburban,
or an Expedition, and you'll be in the same price territory
as one of these.
It's a lot more expensive than, say, a 4Runner.
But the Land Cruiser has always been aimed at a more premium
audience.
They're not trying to sell 100,000 of these.
They're trying to sell a certain number that
appeals to a premium buyer who's looking
for the ultimate offroad nameplate.
It's kind of a rare vehicle.
They don't have an unlimited number to sell,
and that's because Land Cruisers are
made for all over the world.
They're sold in many, many world markets.
So we're in one of many countries
that's getting an allocation out of one plant.
And that kind of plays into Land Cruiser's mystique.
It's a rare, special vehicle that you don't see every day.
What have we learned here today?
Well, the Land Cruiser remains a comfortable daily driver
and it's a capable offroader for those
looking for a little adventure.
As for the Heritage special edition,
there's quite a few changes that give it a nod to the past,
but also increase its functionality
for those who would really take it offroad.
I really like it.
Do you?
Let us know in the comments.
And remember to use Edmonds next time
you're in the market for a car, truck, or SUV.
And for more videos like this, click Subscribe.