Toyota LandCruiser GX 2021 Tow Test

Prices have headed north significantly with the 2021 Toyota LandCruiser, with the entry-level GX tow-tested here the only model to start at less than six figures at $89,990 plus on-road costs.

The GXL costs $101,790, the VX $113,990, the Sahara $131,190, the new GR Sport $137,790 and the top-shelf Sahara VX $138,790. Prices here do not include on-road costs, but using the Toyota website configurator and a Sydney post code (2000), the LandCruiser GX starts at $97,209 drive-away.

The 2021 Toyota LandCruiser GX is a five-seater (you need to upgrade to GXL, VX or Sahara to get a three-row seven-seater). Eight seats is no longer an option and the vertically-split barn doors of the old model replaced with a one-piece lift-up tailgate.

Although the LandCruiser GX safety features list (see below) is comprehensive, elsewhere it is quite basic. It’s not hard to drill down to key comfort and conveniences features, as there are not many, especially for a vehicle costing about $100,000 on the road.

There’s two-zone climate control, keyless start, remote central locking, manual driver’s seat height adjustment, vinyl floor covering (with rubber floor mats!), one-touch power windows, power-adjustable and power-folding side mirrors. Wheels are 17-inch steel and the GX is the only 300 Series model to come standard with a snorkel.

The latest Toyota Safety Sense package is standard on all 300 Series variants including the 2021 Toyota LandCruiser GX tested here. That includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as part of a pre-collision system that can detect pedestrians (day and night) and cyclists during the day.

All LandCruiser 300s also have 10 airbags, an alarm and Toyota Connected Services including automatic collision notification, an SOS button and stolen-vehicle tracking. A reversing camera with guidelines (including tow hitch centre line) and dusk-sensing LED headlights are standard on GX.

The LandCruiser 300’s ANCAP crash test results have not been announced yet, although it would be unusual for Toyota if it didn’t achieve a full five-star rating.

Technology is covered off with a central 9.0-inch colour touch-screen display, digital radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, one front USB port, two 12V accessory ports (one front, one rear) and one 220V accessory input in the rear.

The ground-breaking new 227kW/700Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbo diesel V6 fitted to all 2021 Toyota LandCruiser variants including the GX is generally smooth and refined, although at certain middling revs under load some vibrations can be felt though the steering wheel.

There is some lag off idle, which most owners will be able to drive around once accustomed to it. Except when cold, where there can be a clunky first-second shift, the new 10-speed automatic is smooth and quick-shifting.

During testing, the LandCruiser GX returned fuel consumption of just 8.9L/100km during easy solo driving on the freeway, but around town the figure climbed to 13.2L/100km.

With a 2800kg caravan behind, the GX returned 19.1L/100km. This is an improvement on the 200 Series, which consumed 20.7L/100km while towing a similar weight when we tested it in 2019.

With the 110-litre fuel tank (down from 138 litres in the 200 Series), you can tour for 525km (with a 50km safety margin) on a full tank of fuel, using our towing consumption average.

That’s a range of 91km less than the (thirstier) 200 Series as we tested it in VX form in 2019. The VX was slightly thirstier, but had an extra 28 litres to play with.

Our fuel figures (for both the 200 and 300 Series) were achieved in similar conditions on similar roads. While the figures were achieved while conducting towing acceleration and hill-climbing performance tests, the majority of towing was done at an easy 100km/h on the highway.

The 2021 Toyota LandCruiser GX weighs 2495kg – down a significant 180kg on the 200 Series GX. Yet it offers the same maximum towing capacity as the previous model – 3500kg with a 350kg towball download (TBM) maximum.

Payload is 785kg (up 160kg on the 200 Series GX), while Gross Combined Mass (total permitted mass of vehicle and trailer) is 6750kg – down 50kg on 200 Series GX.

In the case of the LandCruiser GX at least, you could theoretically tow the maximum permitted mass of 3500kg and have a payload just 30kg short of the maximum allowed (so that means a 755kg payload).

Bear in mind that towball download becomes part of vehicle payload, so again, using the maximum allowed 350kg TBM, you are left with a usable vehicle payload of 405kg – a big improvement on the 275kg you’re left to play with in 200 Series GX.

Toyota recommends that the LandCruiser 300 be driven at no more than 100km/h with a heavy trailer, and that a weight distribution hitch and, if required, a friction coupling be fitted.

As with most of our towing tests, we did not use a WDH, so we could better assess stability when towing.
We wanted to test the LandCruiser GX with a trailer of similar weight to the one we last tested behind the LandCruiser 200, so a Millard Toura off-road van was borrowed from RV Connection at St Marys, NSW.

All three water tanks (two fresh and one grey water) and gas bottles were full. This bumped up the as-towed weight to 2800kg, with a 300kg TBM.

While the reversing camera screen has good resolution, the centre marker guide (to help you line up the towball with the trailer coupling) wasn’t accurate.

Each time we lined it up using the guide, the towball ended up alongside the coupling, not under it. Lining up the towball as depicted on screen instead presented no problems.

The LandCruiser has a nose-down attitude when unladen; with the van hitched it dropped 70mm at the rear and rose 10mm at the front.

We couldn’t use the magnetic door stabilisers for our towing mirrors, as the LandCruiser 300 has aluminium doors.

And with the LandCruiser’s teardrop-shape side mirror shells, the towing mirror clamps tended to work their way along the shell when buffeted, loosening their grip. The LandCruiser 300 is by no means the only vehicle with this problem, but keep this in mind when selecting towing mirrors.

The lag present when unladen is less obvious when towing, and it was clear from the point we accelerated away from the caravan dealership that the 300 Series feels even more responsive when towing a heavy trailer than the 200 Series.

This eagerness was also displayed in roll-on conditions on the freeway. We straightened up on our (level) freeway on-ramp and buried the right foot, to see what happened. To our surprise (and probably the traffic around us) the LandCruiser 300 took off like it was towing an empty box trailer.

It settled quickly into a 100km/h cruise in eighth gear at 1800rpm. The GX would shift up a gear or two while towing downhill, but seemed happiest in eighth.

Our usual 90km/h test hill was subject to road works and restricted to 80km/h on the day of testing, so we were unable to exactly replicate the usual 90km/h start speed.

In any case, while the 200 Series dropped from 90km/h to just 85km/h, the 300 Series maintained 80km/h with full throttle applied. In fact, that was on our second attempt up the hill; on the first we were baulked by traffic.

Despite that, the 300 Series built up plenty of steam and accelerated from about 60km/h to the posted 80km/h – on the steepest part of the hill. No issue with towing performance, then.

Engine braking was also very good, only creeping up 3km/h from the 70km/h start speed on our steep, test descent.

The transmission, like many modern autos, would automatically downshift a gear or two to peg speed on hills, but still needed manual gear selection to hold speed down for steeper descents.

Ride quality while towing is very similar to the 200 Series – sometimes a little too firm on sharp bumps or ripples at low speeds and a bit soft at the front on the highway, but generally well contained and comfortable.

Stability was very good; the 300 Series feels as solid as the 200 Series did and did not yaw or sway when buffeted by passing trucks, although on some parts of the freeway crosswinds did make the big ’Cruiser flinch a little.

Those who were concerned about what the downsized diesel engine in the 2021 Toyota LandCruiser GX would do to towing performance need not worry; the new ’Cruiser is simply better in that regard.

Fuel consumption is a bit lower too, and weight carrying capacity with a trailer behind (or not) is also improved. Stability when towing is also very good.

The only negative is that touring range when towing a heavy trailer is slightly lower than before.

How much does the 2021 Toyota LandCruiser GX cost?
Price: $89,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.3-litre V6 twin-turbo diesel
Output: 227kW/700Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 235g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested