TOUGH LOVE
New engine, new tech for Toyota Land Cruiser 70: but it’s still the same 1980s icon
The new Toyota Land Cruiser 70-series has an automatic transmission! Plus autodipping headlights, Apple/ Android phone projection, autonomous braking, lane departure alert and road-sign recognition. It’s positively modern.
Not really. The basics of the 70 still date back to 1984 and it remains everybody’s favourite willfully retro workhorse. But the latest update has certainly injected a few worthwhile 2024 features into this spirit-of-the-80s 4x4 package.
The new powertrain is the really big news. The ol’ Cruiser has picked up the Hilux’s 2.8-litre fourcylinder turbo diesel, which also means you can have this generation of 70 with a two-pedal gearbox. It’s not the new mild hybrid unit, but the earlier diesel with a useful 150kW/500Nm.
Toyota is continuing to build the updated 70 with the 4.5-litre turbodiesel V8, but it’s only being offered in the cab-chassis for New Zealand at this stage. So it’s clear the new four-pot powertrain is the mainstay.
Are we better off? The new four has a snip more power and a whopping 70Nm more torque than the V8, although there will be those who prefer a manual in a vehicle like this, combined with the V8’s totally unstressed character.
As far as we 4x4/farm laypeople (might as well admit it) are concerned, the 2.8 is a much better drive, the 6-speed transmission powering through the gears with surprising enthusiasm when you put your foot down.
The four isn’t vastly more economical, mind: 10.6l/100km is a good showing for a vehicle of this type, but the big V8 still manages 12.0l.
The new 70 is still horrendous to drive on-road of course; you wouldn’t expect anything less. It’s bumpy and struggles to keep a straight path on tarmac without constant steering correction. Its sole purpose is to be the toughest Toyota 4x4 on sale: it has a better approach angle than the Prado or
300, ground clearance as good as anything the brand offers and up to 1380kg payload if you choose the right body style/specification.
The 70 is built upon incredibly tough underpinnings that are designed to be hammered over rough terrain all day long and come back for more. The Australian mining industry uses these things because they just keep going in circumstances where a Hilux would break.
The only real red flag among serious 4x4 types seems to be the
70’s difference in front and rear track. The former was widened by
95mm way back to fit the V8 engine, but the expense in matching the rear was deemed too great — at least to achieve the level of engineering integrity and durability required by the factory.
There are aftermarket companies that will space out the rear axle for you anyway.
Unlike conceptually similar long-running models such as the Jeep Wrangler, Land Rover Defender, Mercedes-Benz G-wagen (or even Suzuki Jimny), the 70-series is one heritage 4x4 that hasn’t crossed over completely into a fashion statement.
Awesome 4x4 credentials remain, but most have also evolved into vehicles also aimed at on-road drivers who would probably never dream of taking them into the rough.
Not the Toyota, which is unashamedly still a workhorse; although the styling upgrades certainly ramp up the retro appeal.
Inside it’s basic and durable, finished in school-shorts-grey with pretty terrible seats. But fully redesigned nonetheless and not without a bit of modern tech, which is where we came in.
We do love that the 1970s-look speedometer is called a “heritagestyle meter”.
And the wagon has neat tumblefold rear seats, which makes it a pretty practical SUV.
The cab-chassis is a whole other thing, of course. The wheelbase for the double- cab is 450mm longer than the wagon, and you’re free to put whatever you please on the back (tray, studio apartment, etc).
The updated 70 still falls way short in many respects as a 2024 SUV, but that’s not the point; or perhaps exactly the point, depending on your point of view.
Toyota has a bunch of better, more modern 4x4s if you’re after something still-tough but more rounded. The 70 is supposed to be a time capsule back to when the ultimate in off-road ability came way ahead of comfort or equipment in an SUV. With this new powertrain, it still rocks (and can go over big rocks).