Toyota defends 70 Series safety

Toyota has defended its move to upgrade only the volume-selling LandCruiser single-cab ute to achieve a five-star ANCAP crash test rating.

The move allows Toyota to continue to sell the 70 Series single-cab, which accounts for half of all LC70 sales, to large fleet buyers including mining companies and government departments that demand five-star vehicle safety.

All 70 Series models now gain electronic stability control, which was mandated for all new vehicles sold in Australia earlier this year, as well as an upgraded 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 that meets the Euro 5 emissions standard in effect from November 1.

Other range-wide additions include active traction control, hill-start assist, brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution, front seatbelt pretensioners, passenger seatbelt reminder, cruise control, auto-locking front hubs, a new fuse box and revised gearing that reduces fuel consumption.

However, none of the single-cab's other safety upgrades – which include a stronger ladder frame and the addition of side curtain airbags, a driver's knee airbag, new seats, under-dash padding, all-new body panels, single 130-litre fuel tank, relocated steering link and locally developed chassis tune – apply to other 70 Series models.

That means the family-focussed LC70 dual-cab ute, LC76 wagon and LC78 Troop Carrier, all of which can seat up to five occupants, continue to be 'unrated' by ANCAP. Previously, the LC70 single-cab achieved a three-star safety rating.

Toyota Australia, which was the "centre of excellence" for what it claims is the biggest upgrade in the 30-year history of the 70 Series, said the development program represented a "significant investment" in the model but would not divulge its total cost.

The company said the local development program, which results in a chassis tune that will be employed in all markets globally, began more than five years ago and involved 100,000km of testing, more than 70 per cent of which was conducted off-road.

Toyota Australia's manager of product planning Michael Elias indicated that despite the added production complexity of manufacturing two different 70 Series platforms, the investment was justified for volume-selling models – but not others.

"Ultimately we're the only market asking for a lot of those [safety] things and from a prioritisation perspective the first priority was to make sure the vehicle could continue [on sale]," he said.

"A lot of the media speculated that wouldn't happen, but our priority was the regulations, so this vehicle now meets Euro 5 ... and that's been rolled out onto every vehicle.

"With respect to ANCAP, we prioritised the high-selling grade – those grades where the customers actually request it and require it."

Asked if other 70 Series models would eventually be engineered to meet five-star safety standards, Elias said: "With respect to the market we're always monitoring what customers want and customer requirements."

The LC70's chief engineer, Sadayoshi Koyari, made it clear the late-life upgrade was primarily focussed on meeting emissions standards and corporate fleet safety requirements.

“So many times I wanted our public relations guys to tell you what we were doing, especially when I saw an article suggesting the 70 Series would stop," he said.

"Many 70 Series LandCruiser owners ask me ‘why have you made so many changes to this vehicle?’. I was a bit surprised at this question, so I asked them why they felt so. They told me that they love their LandCruiser, some of them have owned one for more than 20 years, and they don’t understand why Toyota is adding all this new gear.

“They say that curtain airbags for example will not make the LandCruiser a better workhorse. Of course. But I tell them that an employer has a duty of care for their workers, we have to meet changing regulations, with ESC, airbags and other features. I also tell them that active traction control really does make it a better workhorse.”

Toyota Australia vice-president Matt Callachor said the Japanese car-maker expects the upgraded 70 Series, which is between $3000 and $5500 more expensive than before, to attract a larger proportion of business customers, who now account for less than 60 per cent of sales – down from more than 65 per cent at the height of the mining boom.

"As the economy transitioned the proportion of private sales has risen in recent years. Private sales now represent more than a quarter, or twice the long-term average," he said.

"With the substantial upgrades and improvements we're launching today, we expect business sales will take a stronger share.

"Toyota's been communicating with many of its customers and potential buyers for at least five years. Toyota has been extremely lucky to have such a loyal customer base and now it's time for us to return their loyalty.

"The only alternative we faced was to walk away from this model and frankly that was never going to happen

"Feedback from our customers is that they're delighted – and to some extent relieved – that we've made a commitment to these important upgrades. They also understand that it's a significant investment by Toyota [that] will result in modest increases."

The 70 Series is a vital model for Toyota in Australia, which accounts for 20 per cent of the model's 1.3 million global sales since 1984, making it the fourth largest market. Toyota Australia has sold 260,167 LandCruiser 70s since 1985 and, of the 75,000-odd examples sold worldwide last year, Australian sales remained steady at around 7500.

With the Land Rover Defender and Nissan Y61 Patrol utes now discontinued, Toyota says the 70 Series is the only heavy-duty 4x4 remaining in the Australian market, excluding full-size locally converted US pick-ups like the F-Series, Silverado and RAM.

It also says the latest upgrade demonstrates its commitment to Australian farmers, miners and government departments, and that the rugged LandCruiser workhorse will remain in the local Toyota line-up "indefinitely".

However, Toyota has ruled out the all-new 70 Series that was "under study" as recently as 2013 and Toyota Australia is yet to commit to upgrading the 70 Series to meet Europe's even stricter EU6 emissions standard, which could be mandated for all new vehicles sold locally as soon as 2018.

"There is no [Australian] government timing for Euro 6, so that is not a current requirement or a company requirement," said Elias, who indicated that a Euro 6-compliant LC70 was not out of the question.

"We would have to study it, but the fact they're supported us with this...," he said.

Read latest Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series review