Mightiest of the mighty!
Clever electronics bring the Toyota Land Cruiser 200 into the modern world. Damien O’carroll reports.
The Land Cruiser 200 Series is still the mightiest of the mighty when it comes to 4WDS – big, rugged and sitting on a “proper” ladder chassis, the 200 is now also bristling with clever electronics and assists. While it is ridiculously capable off the road, the levels of comfort and luxury the 200 Series also brings to the party are equally impressive. The 200 Series shares its big diesel V8 with the even more rugged and capable 70 Series, but with two turbos strapped to it, instead of the 70’s single hairdryer. That means more power and torque, namely 200kw and 650Nm for the 200. The diesel V8 not only provides plenty of power and torque to push the 2,740kg 200 Series along in an effortless fashion, it also sounds fantastically like a big rig, with a deep, resonant diesel bellow issuing forth every time you press the accelerator pedal to the carpet. And to be honest, at a fraction under 5m long and almost 2m wide (and high), the 200 Series feels like a truck as well. It is thoroughly massive and, now with its reprofiled, squarely chiseled bonnet, the view out from the driver’s seat is even more truck-like as well. But this is exactly as it should be, because the Land Cruiser 200 is unapologetically a big, hulking truck. And it is exactly this sheer, blatant massiveness that brings a large part of the 200’s luxury and a huge part of its big character. The 200 Series has long pushed towards Lexus levels of luxury, and this model is no different. Although, it must be said, that Lexus has since upped its SUV game, pushing the Land Cruiser-based LX up even further into the luxury stratosphere. But back down at a more earthly level, the 200 Series still provides a serious amount of luxury, even in “base” VX specification. But then, at $121,990 (climbing to $143,990 for the VX Limited), the 200 ain’t cheap, and a fair amount of luxury is expected for that kind of money. Fortunately, the 200 Series more than delivers here, but also throws in some prodigious off-road ability as well. While some would question the sanity of taking $100,000 plus worth of 4WD through the sort of terrain that the Land Cruiser is capable of tackling, that’s a lot of the reason for buying one in the first place. There are a lot of similarly priced SUVS floating around that aren’t capable of the off-road extremes of the Land Cruiser, and yet the big Toyota is just as luxurious and well-equipped, and its on-road capabilities are just as good as these so-called “road-focused” SUVS. The sort of person who buys the Land Cruiser would question the sanity of buying $100,000 plus worth of 4WD and NOT taking it through the sort of terrain it is capable of tackling. And THAT is the difference.