Toyota Land Cruiser reviews

Toyota Landcruiser. Whilst not being the most economical on fuel it equals any similar 4X4's. Also, it's reliability beats the competition. High driving position = excellent all round visibility, therefore enabling one to avoid possible dangers = safety. Extremely comfortable long distance cruiser enabling you to arrive fresh after a long journey. Excellent for towing and in snowy wintery conditions in the countryside. The best vehicle I've owned in over 40 years of driving. Downside - the government robs one of £475 just to sit on the road!!

My 1996 Toyota Landcruiser is quite simply the best piece of mechanical engineering I am ever likely to own. At 17 years old and 185k miles it is on the original engine, clutch and gearbox; the engine uses no oil and everything made in Japan still works. (Bits added in the UK are another story...) It has 8 seats, will easily pull 3.5 tonnes, and with diff locks all round + all terrain tyres will go anywhere that you could reasonably expect it to go. Snow and ice are also no problem - just as well as we live 1/2 mile from the public road and would otherwise get snowed in in winter. It's a bit ponderous and agricultural to drive, and very ill-suited to town life - why anyone in Chelsea would want a "chelsea tractor" is beyond me! However we live in rural Devon and we bought it to carry 4x children and 2x dogs while also towing 3x horses, which it did with consummate ease. It's also, unlike a Landrover Defender, comfortable and reasonably quiet. I happily drove it to Italy and back - not something I'd contemplate doing in a Landrover - and the aircon was great. The children are now grown, and the horses retired, but the LC continues unabated. It will be sad day when it finally dies.

The landcruiser gives a sense of almost total security and confidence. It is practical and for it's size and weight is reasonably economical, especially when towing a 1.7 tonne caravan. Over 200,000 miles it has broken down once with a faulty alternator, I've just replaced one section of the exhaust, not at all bad for a thirteen year old vehicle with over 200,000 on the clock. It looks almost as good as new and starts first turn of the key every morning without fail. It is true to say that if I won the Lottery tonight my first purchase would be a brand new Landcruiser Amazon.