Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series 2007 Review

What we liked
>> Refinement
>> Off-road competence
>> On-road composure

Not so much
>> Purchase price is getting steep
>> Still wouldn't want to be paying for fuel
>> Second row seat a bit flat and uninspiring

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

About our ratings

OVERVIEW
Americans often think of Australia as an 'alternate universe' sort of place. You know, toilet flushes the wrong way, health care doesn't cost an arm and a leg, Americans are welcome to visit -- that sort of thing. So imagine a place in Australia that's an alternative alternate universe. One where those things that are odd about Australia still apply, but further to that, Toyotas outnumber Holdens on the streets. Not your Corollas and Camrys, mind you. We're talking HiLux, Prado and LandCruiser.

The place is the Australian outback. And even allowing for Toyota's own pardonable exaggeration, it's true. We've met people who swear by their Toyotas.

There's the station owner who has literally lost count of the number of Toyotas currently in his fleet. He runs Prados for the family, the myriad HiLux for the heavy hauling and the LandCruiser for his rounds. Then there's the Catholic priest who asked and was granted permission to buy a LandCruiser to minister to his flock -- a flock spread thinly across the largest parish in the world. He's a man who covers up to 3000km of travel a week, across floodways, scrub, rock and sand.

These Toyota owners are -- if you'll pardon the expression -- legion, for they are many.

The LandCruiser occupies a special place in the culture of the Outback and is generally regarded as an institution. That's hardly surprising, given that over half a million have been sold in Australia over a fifty-year period. Compared with 'LandCruiser', 'Falcon' is a Johnny-come-lately.

The first LandCruisers were imported to transport workers and material around the Snowy River Hydro-Electric scheme in 1957. Those early LandCruisers had a tendency to break front axles and transmissions, but unlike other companies selling their offroad vehicles to the contractors, Toyota would send engineering staff from Japan to evaluate the vehicle's break-downs and send recommendations back to the head office.

So Australia and Toyota formed this symbiotic relationship. Australians gained from vehicles with a penchant for reliability and ruggedness and the Japanese firm could use lessons learned from supporting vehicles in a harsher environment to prepare for the big game -- exporting to America.

It's no wonder that the LandCruiser is legendary in Australia and its name is a byword for faithful service where durability is literally a matter of life and death.

Thus when Toyota announces a new LandCruiser, it's very big news Down Under.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
The initial response to the pricing structure for the new LandCruiser is one of shock (more here). An entry-level price of $69,990 for the petrol V8 LandCruiser GXL is a major hike over a similarly equipped 100 series model, superseded with the advent of the 200 -- and it's not like you can get a standard grade model coming in under the Luxury Car Tax threshold anymore.

But it's important to consider all the factors involved in the prices set. Firstly, there's no denying Toyota's assertions that the 200 series has a lot more to offer than the superseded model. It's a new design with a re-jigged petrol V8 and an altogether new turbodiesel V8, the latter driving through a six-speed automatic transmission, the former through a five-speed auto.

There's a Torsen ('torque sensing') centre differential, sophisticated new driving and safety aids (more here), substantially improved occupant safety, greater levels of refinement, better packaging and improved equipment levels across the range, offering convenience features such as keyless start.

So whilst the inclination is there to faint at the price, it is indicative of the new model's market position and standing.

What is a bit harder to justify is the difference in price between the (cheaper) petrol models and the turbodiesels. The oilers are all priced $10,000 higher than the petrol variants.

Toyota claims that the price disparity between the two different engines has been reduced from about $13,000 for the 100 series models. Even so, it's hard to follow -- particularly when the petrol models have 'Crawl Control' and the turbodiesels don't. Admittedly, the turbodiesels do have Downhill Assist Control, which works much the same way as Crawl Control, but on descents only -- as the name suggests.

Unfortunately for the Cruiser range, even the entry-level models are priced above the Luxury Car Tax threshold, so a significant slab of that extra cost is going to the federal government.

That entry-level model is the petrol GXL. As mentioned, the turbodiesel engine is available in all grades, for that $10,000 premium. At $79,990, the diesel GXL is priced the same as the petrol VX, the next grade up. The turbodiesel VX is priced at $89,990, which is $5000 below the petrol Sahara ($94,990) -- and then add $10,000 again for the turbodiesel Sahara ($104,990).

Toyota claims that the turbodiesel GXL, in addition to being closer in price to the petrol GXL than was the case for the superseded LC100, offers a $6400 improvement in value, although the optional KDSS will set you back $2500.

For the money, the GXL is fitted with an MP3-compliant six-disc in-dash CD audio system, Bluetooth connectivity, cloth trim, electric mirrors, electric windows, 60/40 split-fold second row seat, six airbags (front, front side-impact and curtain), dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, 17-inch alloy wheels and Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System ('KDSS', optional for the turbodiesel model).

VX specification is as for the GXL, with leather trim in lieu of cloth, leather-bound steering wheel, electric adjustment for the front seats, remote control electric windows and 'moonroof', triple-split folding second row seat (40/20/40), front fog lights, tinted 'privacy' glass at from 'B' pillars back, alarm system and 10 airbags.

Building on the VX specification, the Sahara comes equipped with wood-and-leather steering wheel, satellite navigation, six-disc DVD entertainment system with nine speakers, remote control audio (steering wheel mount), electrically adjustable steering column, four-zone climate control, headlight cleaning, electro-chromatic mirror and a coolbox.

If you've have further need of luxury, you're probably not looking in the right place. That said, in the first quarter of 2008 Lexus will release its LandCruiser-based LX570.

MECHANICAL
The LC200 was developed by the same team working on the new American market Sequoia and Tundra models, so there's some significant cross-pollination between the three vehicles.

Engines, transmissions and transfer systems are shared and the LandCruiser's front chassis rails are a modification of those on the Tundra. In developing the chassis, Toyota has improved torsional rigidity by 40 per cent and bending resistance by 20 per cent, making the whole structure highly rigid, which helps passive safety, vehicle dynamics and NVH.

Both vehicles are built on a full chassis, with the V8 engines sitting 'north/south' and driving through longitudinally-mounted automatic transmissions.

The DOHC petrol V8 is equipped with variable valve timing and measures 4.7 litres. Peak power of 202kW is produced at 5400rpm and peak torque of 410Nm occurs at 3400rpm. In combined cycle testing according to the ADR81/01 standard, the petrol LC200 returns 14.5lt/100km.

The turbodiesel V8 also features a DOHC valvetrain and measures 4.5 litres. With direct injection and an air-to-air intercooler, the diesel returns a combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 10.3lt/100km. Peak power of 195kW occurs at 3400rpm and a whalloping 650Nm of torque is generated from as low as 1600rpm.

Toyota claims that the diesel V8 is more economical and produces fewer CO2 emissions than the old six-cylinder diesel from the 100 Series.

The petrol V8 drives through a five-speed automatic and the turbodiesel V8 is coupled to a new six-speeder, which is curious when the diesel develops roughly 50 per cent more torque than the petrol engine and is substantially more economical.

All vehicles are fitted with a lockable centre differential, which is a Torsen type, transmitting varying levels of torque to the front and rear for normal driving, or a fixed 50/50 split with the diff locked. The dual-range transfer is switchable from the driver's seat with a rotary dial adjacent the steering column.

Suspension is by means of a double-wishbone system at the front and a live axle and Panhard rod set-up at the rear. Coil springs keep the Cruiser off the ground at both ends and there's the KDSS system already mentioned, to reduce body roll and optimise wheel articulation for different working environments.

Steering is a power-assisted rack and pinion system and the LC200 can make an 11.8m turning circle.

Brakes are ventilated discs, front and rear, modulated by a multi-terrain ABS system, which integrates EBD and Brake Assist, as well as providing the infrastructure for the stability control program (VSC) and traction control. In '4-low' range, VSC is disabled and the traction control and ABS work through the engine management system for the 'Crawl Control' function, the DAC ('Downhill Assist Control') and HAC ('Hill-start Assist Control'), where fitted.

HAC is fitted to all models. Crawl Control (which works uphill and downhill, forward or reverse) is fitted to the petrol models only and DAC is available solely on the turbodiesels.

HAC comes into play when moving off from a stationary start on a hill. Crawl Control is described by Toyota as "off-road cruise control" and can be set to one of three speeds (low, medium, high). It moves the vehicle forward or back in '4-low' and applies braking or torque as the conditions demand. With Crawl Control selected, the driver need not operate the pedals at all.

Crawl Control is not available for turbodiesel models because of the stall characteristics of diesels. To compensate, Toyota has fitted the diesel variants with DAC, which works like Crawl Control, but on descents only and purely through the braking system.

PACKAGING
Very few vehicles feel as large when parking as a LandCruiser. With the 200 series, Toyota has scaled the LandCruiser up once more but even with that extra length, it's still not as long as the Nissan Patrol.

The difference is 100mm. That's likely to be roughly the difference in length between one of the Nissan's long sixes and the shorter Toyota V8s.

Toyota has converted that recovered length from the engine bay into extra interior space, and since the LC200 is 60mm longer and 30mm wider than the LC100 (and 30mm wider than the Patrol, for that matter), that spaciousness will be markedly better than the superseded model's.

LandCruiser's only other competitor in the large SUV segment is the Jeep Commander and the Toyota has comprehensively out-grown the Jeep. It's larger in every external dimension, including the ground clearance.

The one problem with being larger in every dimension is that one of those dimensions is the wheelbase. Surprisingly, despite the Jeep's shorter wheelbase, this does not help it beat the Toyota for breakover angle.

There's plenty of head and legroom in both the front and rear of the vehicle. Second row seating for the VX and Sahara is a triple-split folding configuration and is handy for that facility, but as far as seats go, they're a bit flat and won't hold people in place very well during off-road work.

There are three rows of seats with three-point (lap/sash) belts for eight all up. The three positions in the third row seat are really for kids only, in spite of the second row's fore/aft travel to free up room for the third row.

To put the LandCruiser's interior dimensions into perspective for buyers, we experienced sitting in the second row seat of a Prado followed by the same exercise in a LandCruiser. Where the Prado will happily sit three skinny teenage/20-something blokes without them rubbing shoulders, the LandCruiser will seat three 40-something journalists-with-spare-tyres without rubbing shoulders.

GXL models come with a 60/40 split-fold second row seat and the higher grade models feature that triple-split folding seat in a 'ratio' of 40/20/40. In either configuration, the seat can also fold forward for extra luggage capacity. On that point, Toyota has measured the LC200's luggage capacity according to the VDA method (top of the second row seat with the seats in place and not folded forward). The resulting figure is 700 litres, which is fairly substantial when measured by that standard.

Interior presentation is generally clean and uncluttered. The matt finish woodgrain trim of the VX model is a bit 'chintzy' and in some ways, the GXL is more attractive. The VX does have chrome embellishments and an upmarket instrument panel in its favour.

SAFETY
In as far as full-chassis SUVs can be made crash-friendly, the LC200 is near the top of the tree. The dual front airbags are of the two-stage deployment type, meaning they'll deploy with less force in lower speed collisions. These are fitted across the range, as are front seat side-impact airbags and head-protecting side curtains which cover all three rows of seating.

The VX and Sahara models are also fitted with knee airbags for driver and front seat passenger and side-impact airbags for the second row outboard seat occupants. Seatbelt pretensioners are fitted to the front seats and the outboard seats in the second row. As already mentioned, lap/sash (three-point) seatbelts are fitted to all seating positions, including the centre of the third row seat.

On the active safety front, the LandCruiser comes with standard ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, traction control and the VSC stability program.

COMPETITORS
It's a simple scenario to determine the 200 Series LandCruiser's competitors. They've already been mentioned: the Jeep Commander and the Nissan Patrol (not necessarily in that order).

The Patrol is the problem for the new LandCruiser. Buyers can entertain the purchase of a Patrol for nearly $20,000 less than the entry-level LC200. At that price, you're getting the 3.0-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder, of course.

And here's where we get bogged down in that 'my spec is better than your spec' argument. The LC200 with turbodiesel offers far more torque than the Patrol diesel and the LandCruiser is more economical than the Patrol, according to Toyota, but don't forget, there's another $10,000 on top of the $20,000 you're already paying extra for the purchase price of the petrol LC200 over the most basic Patrol.

So any economy gains from the turbodiesel Cruiser are going to be amortised over a period of possibly decades rather than years.

As against the whole performance and economy issue, the Patrol has a live axle front end, versus the Cruiser's IFS set-up. Some will prefer that for off-road work, although the Patrol has a front anti-roll bar and the Toyota's wheel travel is unfettered, thanks to the KDSS system. There's probably not going to be that much between them -- with the further qualifier that the Toyota would almost certainly be the better of the two on-road.

What of the Jeep? It has better approach and departure angles, but the Toyota's breakover angle and ground clearance are both better.

The Jeep is about $15,000 cheaper for the base model with the 4.7-litre V8 -- an engine surprisingly close to the Toyota's for power and torque. The Toyota is a little more powerful, but torque is about line-ball. One telling point about the LandCruiser, with its DOHC VVT-i engine, it's significantly more economical than the Commander's.

ON THE ROAD
For the local launch of the 200 Series model, Toyota chose Alice Springs as the venue. The Red Centre set the stage nicely, offering up two or three days of rain beforehand, just to make the roads sloppy in parts, but not impassable.

Many of the roads we travelled were flat, but muddy. Those that were steep grades were frequently dry, due to the water run-off, so it wasn't always the most thorough-going test of the LandCruiser's capabilities. Nonetheless, Toyota did cram a lot of different grades and bogs into the drive program.

From very early in the program, the turbodiesel engine proved quiet and refined, somewhat noisier than the petrol engine. It emitted a discernible V8 note, even with the typical diesel 'thrumming'.

At open road speeds (130km/h in the Northern Territory) the LandCruiser was poised and secure in its handling. The KDSS contributed to that secure handling, by allowing the anti-roll bars to work to their optimum level.

Whenever the vehicle was thrown into a bend at speed, it would just track through with the bare minimum body roll and negligible change of attitude. By the standards of a large passenger sedan, the anti-roll bars are a bit on the soft side, but not by the standards of a heavy-duty offroad wagon. Body roll was more prevalent at speeds above 120km/h.

On most typical Australian roads (those outside the NT, in other words), the Cruiser's steering and handling will be a revelation. With familiarity, this vehicle feels not much larger than a RAV4, to drive on the open road.

If the on-road dynamics are well above the pack, the offroad ability of the standard LC200 on road-going tyres impressed even hard-bitten 4WD journalists during the drive program.

The first thing noticed about the Cruiser was its exceptionally composed ride over corrugations and its stability over 'jump-ups'.

KDSS allowed levels of wheel articulation rarely seen in modern SUVs. Toyota advises that the development goal had been to ensure that all four wheels are on the ground as often as possible for optimum traction -- even if that means some unseemly angles on the wheels, relative to the vehicle's body.

With its IFS, the Cruiser 200 is probably something of a balancing act; the live rear axle bending and swaying a little more to make up for the front end's more constrained geometry.

Whatever the case, we watched as a standard pre-production car clawed and scrabbled its way up a rock-strewn gully worthy of the Rubicon Trail (according to one journalist who has driven the legendary American offroad track).

With the electronic driving and safety aids, the LC200 is very capable of tackling treacherous bogs and intimidating grades, as well as deep, sandy tracks.

Toyota has specified LC200 with a multi-terrain ABS system, which automatically detects different road surfaces and recalibrates the ABS to suit, on the fly. At one point, the system did let us down and we understeered through a very boggy corner under brakes. In defence of the vehicle, even ABS won't save you when there's no grip at any wheel. In this case, the LandCruiser's 'road' tyres were almost literally out of their depth.

VSC is disabled when '4-low' is selected. In '4-high' through a boggy section of track, it worked seamlessly with the Cruiser gently throwing the tail out as the wheels adjusted levels of torque independently.

Crawl Control also worked very well. The low-speed setting reduces momentum to less than walking pace. Both this system and the DAC fitted to the turbodiesel models are fairly noisy systems. The consensus was that when working, either system sounded like a pride of lions mauling violins. Still, you're left in no doubt that the vehicle is looking after you.

With DAC enabled (or Crawl Control for the petrol models), taking your foot off the brake pedal once the vehicle is already on a steep descent is a test of faith, but that faith is quickly rewarded as the system works out in fractions of seconds which brake to apply and DAC is probably safer in all likelihood than all but the most proficient offroad driving expert.

One of the perennial problems encountered driving offroad is the field of vision from the driver's seat. Generally speaking, the LC200's is pretty good, helped somewhat by the 'pontoon' sculpture lines in the bonnet which help to define the leading corners of the vehicle.

This translates well for on-road driving too. LC200 feels smaller than the LC100, even though it's actually longer and wider.

Tellingly, migrating to V-configuration engines has led to a shorter nose -- which plays its own part in improving the view from the 'command position'.

Did the Cruiser impress? Yes, undeniably. For its combination of refinement and competence, it's deserving of the appellation, 'King of 4WD'.

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