Toyota LandCruiser Sahara ZX 2022 Review

The 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Sahara ZX is the most tarmac-focussed member of the most famous off-road vehicle line-up in the world.

A new badge added with the arrival of 300 Series in 2021, the Sahara ZX is priced from a hefty $138,790 plus on-road costs.

It’s the joint range-topper in the LC300 line-up along with another new model, the off-road focussed $137,790 GR Sport.

While it’s got a slightly different job description than other LC300s, the Sahara ZX is still powered by the same 3.3-litre turbo-diesel V6 as the rest of the range and still has serious 4x4 capabilities.

Priced at more than $150,000 on the road, the Sahara ZX competes against some heavyweight opposition. It’s a lot more expensive than the Nissan Patrol Ti-L and more in Land Rover Discovery territory, as well as sneaking close to in-house rival the Lexus LX (itself a tarted up LC300). You could even throw the luxurious RAM 1500 Limited ute into this mix.

Being at the top of the range the Sahara ZX gets heaps of luxury comfort equipment.

Outside you’ll find projector bi-LED headlights as well as LED driving lights, foglights and front and rear sequential indicators, puddle lamps, chrome accents for doorhandles and mirrors, bespoke front and rear bumpers and wheel arch mouldings, a powered single-piece lift-up tailgate with kick function (no other model gets that), a tilt and slide moonroof, roof rails, the premium (read: not blacked-out) grille and 20-inch alloys (other LC300s get 18- or 17-inch wheels).

Inside, the Sahara ZX comes with four-zone climate control, a cool box and a steering wheel with heating and power adjustment. A carbon trim seems very reminiscent of woodgrain.

All seats are trimmed in leather, are eight-way powered up front and have heating and ventilation outboard. The driver gets power lumbar and memory.

Vastly upgraded infotainment is handled by an analogue instrument panel with digital centre readout, and a huge 12.3-inch colour touch-screen spread out across the dashboard that includes embedded sat-nav and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

There is wireless smartphone charging but not connectivity, a 14-speaker JBL audio system and dual rear-seat video screens. There are three USB points – one up front and two in the rear.

There’s also some spec bits that tell you it’s more on-road oriented than other LandCruisers. The 20-inch 265/55 Bridgestone Duellers are a lower profile than any other model (a full-size spare is standard btw), the bespoke front bumper cuts the approach angle from 32 to 24 degrees and the side steps are bulkier, meaning they will touch down sooner on the rough stuff.

These side steps are also alone in the range in being illuminated.

Unlike some cheaper LC300s, the Sahara ZX only comes with five seats. If you want a seven-seater then look to the GXL, VX and Sahara.

The LandCruiser Sahara ZX is covered by Toyota’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. Service intervals are short at six months and 10,000km. Over five years/100,000km they add up to $3750.

It starts getting more expensive after that with the 120,000km service costing over $1000.

There’s no mucking around when it comes to the safety spec of the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Sahara ZX.

A five-star 2021 ANCAP result includes an 88 per cent score for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child occupant protection and 81 per cent for vulnerable road user protection. In safety assist the score dips to 77 per cent, reflecting the sheer size and weight of the LC300.

Grouped under the Toyota Safety Sense banner, the Cruiser’s comprehensive package of driver assist systems includes autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection, active cruise control, lane departure alert with steering centring, road sign recognition and adaptive high-beam.

The LC300 comes with 10 airbags, but does not have a centre airbag to prevent front passenger head knocks.

A head-up display, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, reversing and 360-degree cameras and front/rear parking sensors are other safety features. There are three child-seat top-tether and two Isofix mounts.

All LandCruisers come with Toyota Connected Services including automatic collision notification, an SOS button and stolen-vehicle tracking

The technical story of the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser is well known. It’s underpinned by an all-new steel ladder frame chassis codenamed TNGA-F and is powered by a new 227kW/700Nm 3.3-litre turbo-diesel V6 that feeds all four wheels permanently via an Aisin 10-speed torque converter auto.

The chassis systems – steering, suspension and brakes – have also had a going over.

This is the first LandCruiser wagon not to increase in weight – in fact it’s actually gone on a bit of a diet, although the Sahara ZX is still a very hefty 2.61 tonnes.

At 5015mm, this is the longest LC300 and about 25mm longer than the old LC200 Sahara (the previous flagship). Ground clearance is 235mm, an improvement of 15mm over the old model.

The F33A-FTV engine has been the big talking point because it replaces the LC200’s much-loved 200kW/650Nm V8 turbo-diesel.

The V6 is a new ‘hot vee’ design. That means the turbochargers live within the vee created by the cylinder banks to reduce plumbing length and lag. Going hot vee is aided by the 90-degree angle between the cylinders. V6s are usually a narrower 60-degree angle.

It has a cast-iron cylinder block, double overhead cams, 24 valves and chain drive. Peak power is made at 4000rpm and peak torque from 1600rpm to 2600rpm.

The new engine not only has more power and torque than the old V8 but is claimed to be more frugal on all bar the urban fuel cycle, where it goes up by 0.1L/100km.

Just for the record, the Sahara ZX fuel claims are 8.9L/100km combined, 11.3L/100km urban and 7.6L/100km extra-urban.

Toyota says the Aisin AJA0F transmission helps improve overall fuel consumption because of its wider gear spread and also shifts quicker than the old 10-speed.

Manual shifts are available via the gear lever only. The LC300’s electronically-controlled 4x4 system includes a locking centre diff and low range gearing.

Speaking of diffs and underlining its on-road pretensions, the Sahara ZX misses out on the front and rear diff locks the GR Sport adds. Instead is the only model with a Torsen limited-slip rear differential, which is more appropriate for road use.

It also shares adaptive variable dampers with the GR Sport, but misses out on that model’s e-KDSS electronically controlled active roll bar system.

The Sahara ZX comes with electro-hydraulic power steering assist, retains an update of the LC200’s double-wishbone front and multi-link rigid axle rear-end and has a revised braking system with new discs and callipers.

Five drive modes – Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport S and Sport S+ – adjust the suspension, throttle, steering and transmission settings.

The Sahara ZX also comes with Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (or VDIM) that links traction control, electronic stability control, electric steering and other systems. Toyota claims this improves performance, responsiveness to driver input and safety.

There are six Multi-Terrain Select modes for off-road driving depending on the gearing range. Other off-road driving assistants include speed-adjustable crawl control, downhill and hill-start assist control and a turn-assist function. Controls are helpfully gathered together on the centre console.

The Sahara ZX retains the Cruiser’s traditional 3500kg braked towing capacity, has a 3280kg Gross Vehicle Mass and a 6750kg Gross Combined Mass. All LC300s are equipped with a trailer wiring harness and trailer sway control.

The fuel tank size drops in size by 28 litres to 110 litres compared to the old car. The 30-litre sub-tank now sits forward of the rear axle and – Toyota says – aids weight distribution and therefore handling.

The dynamic capability is also said to be helped by a lower centre of gravity. The smaller engine and an aluminium roof panel (most other body panels are still steel) are said to contribute to that.

Luggage capacity is massive: 1131 litres with all five seats upright and 2502 litres with the 20/40/20-split second row folded.

Hit the road in the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Sahara ZX and it actually turns out to have a split personality.

Much of it comes down to where you set the drive mode dial. In Comfort, this big, heavy, tall (1.95m) and wide (1.98m) SUV is blowsy and wobbly to drive.

It’s fine for the straight runs and long, open corners on the freeway. Combined with a hushed cabin, the Sahara ZX shapes as a beaut long-distance cruiser (pardon the weak pun).

But once a real turn appears – especially one with bumps – it rolls, rocks and vibrates in a way that suggests this suspension tune has little interest in body control. Early-onset understeer (front wheels pushing wide) is the norm.

But dial it up into Normal and things gets better. It becomes more of an all-rounder. Up in the Sport modes the transition in attitude becomes obvious. The rock and roll has been largely banished and the handling is more neutral. As a result the car feels a lot more engaged with the road.

At the same time the steering tightens up and there’s more feel. The engine response through the gearbox becomes much more alert. The change is substantial and definitely for the better if you appreciate some form of interaction with the vehicle you’re driving.

You’ll appreciate it even more if you switch off the lane centring. It must be the most intrusive system on the market!

But let’s not get carried away here. The Sahara ZX can handle very well by Cruiser standards but it’s definitely not the first pick for winding roads given its size and fundamental clumsiness. Its solid and certain rather than lithe and nimble.

It’s also not a car at the top of the list for dealing with city traffic snarls and tight carparks. There are easier vehicles to manouevre.

Through all this the engine remains your friend. It really does have depth of response, and does it all really smoothly and with a bit of growl.

Toyota claims a 6.7sec 0-100km/h time, which is commendable for a truck of this size. We ended up averaging 10.6L/100km in a week that included a fair bit of freeway driving.

For the most part the 10-speed auto stayed in the background, doing its job pretty surreptitiously and flexibly. It never demanded manual gear selection.

The only time it misbehaved was when cold, when it would drop into a dithering hole between first and second gear as it moved off. Once warmed up it was fine.

We didn’t go off-road in the Sahara ZX, but some time was spent on gravel roads where the 4x4 system kept things tidy. The braking system even scored a downhill test while pulling up for an errant Kangaroo. Thankfully, it passed. But more generally speaking, a decent press on the pedal is required to retard all this bulk.

Not getting the tick of approval is the way rear-seat passengers are treated in the Sahara ZX.

The legroom provided by the bench seat is not that generous and the screens protrude in a way that intrudes. It doesn’t slide fore-aft either. It also feels cramped in there because the screens stick out from the front seat head restraints.

Then, if you want to fold the rear seats flat, the headrests have to be removed because they will hit the screens. Nor are there levers mounted in the boot to flip the seats remotely. You can only do it at the seats themselves. Much cheaper cars have this convenient feature.

Less annoying but still not that convincing is the interaction with the infotainment touch-screen. It’s huge, has multiple menus and screen options, and is all a bit opaque in its operations. Ah well, just use your smartphone app.

An analogue rather than digital instrument panel in a $150K car is a bit underwhelming. Maybe that’s the microchip chip shortage biting?

On the upside, the seats are very comfortable, the driving position commodiously adjustable and there is lots of storage for passengers front and rear. The door bins seem a bit narrow though. Back in the boot there’s precious few storage options.

The 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Sahara ZX turns out to be a competent on-road drive once you figure out which mode to be in at what time.

It would be a very comfortable and refined vehicle for the long haul to the Alpine ski fields from the east coast, or from down south to a Queensland beach town.

But there are plenty of rivals at this nosebleed price that could do the same trips just as well, if not better. Around town on a day-to-day basis they would also be more useable and easier to navigate through congestion.

The clunkiness and lack of versatility of the Sahara ZX’s second row is also more than a bit disappointing considering this is supposed to be a family vehicle.

All of which means the Sahara ZX adds up to a niche offering. Most potential LandCruiser buyers should focus on other models in the range.

How much does the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Sahara ZX cost?
Price: $138,790 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 3.3-litre V6 turbo-diesel
Output: 227kW/700Nm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel: 8.9L/100km
CO2: 235g CO2/km
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2021)