Toyota Land Cruiser
How to avoid bits falling off
MILEAGE 19,357
WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if a utility vehicle is an endearing everyday vehicle
Ever wondered why you see serious off-roaders with their front numberplates relocated to the roof rack? Well, now I know. And for this enlightenment, my gratitude to Mitch Mccabe, Autocar videographer and a man who, very kindly, agreed to wade the Toyota Land Cruiser Utility very gently along the edge of a shallow pool while I took a couple of panning photographs.
On the return leg, he thought the pictures would look a bit more splendid if he took a run-up. He was right. So as well as getting a more dramatic picture, I’ve had a front numberplate to reaffix, which means something else to write about – an always-welcome bonus for a long-term test car keeper.
Two things to sort, then. The water pressure proved too much for the numberplate fixings – diddy plastic screws (white, black and yellow, available from all good motor factors) that sacrifice themselves sharpish in times of crisis.
But also it pulled a lug, into which the plate holder screws self-tap, out of the bumper. The plate holder and its screw were intact, ditto the lug. So I unscrewed it, placed a large washer behind the new small hole in the bumper, and screwed it all back together with the washer plugging the small gap. And you’d never know.
It has reminded me, though, of the need to unscrew the numberplate before we start any off-road exercises. It shouldn’t have taken that long for the penny to drop, to be honest – I’ve sunk my hands into enough freezing, muddy puddles over the years trying to retrieve numberplates. But lesson finally learned.
Otherwise, life with the Land Cruiser is as stress-free as always. The miles rack up and it gives me no niggles in daily life, except I have to be incredibly diligent when pressing the clutch pedal to the floor to get the engine to start. If the pedal’s a millimetre away from the carpet, the push-button starter just won’t have it.
The 20,000-mile service will have taken place by the time you read this. It’s a full one rather than the 10,000 interim, and I’m told it’ll take twoand-a-half hours once they get into it. I haven’t had to do much mechanical work other than clean it since the last service, although while the Land Cruiser didn’t drink any oil before its first service, it has wanted a litre of 5W30 over the past 10,000 miles.
Recently, I was starting to become nervy about when the Adblue warning light would come on again. I checked the fuel log we keep, which suggested it was about time the car would request a top-up. And ping, right on cue, a day later, there the orange light was. You get about 1500 miles’ notice, just in case you’re in the middle of touring Namibia and the local garage doesn’t stock Adblue. Anyway, I’ll fill it myself before the service, so that it won’t need any when it gets there.
At 4.5 metres long, the 3dr Land Cruiser is a short vehicle for a big 4x4 with a longitudinal engine and a long front overhang, but I’ve eased some 2.4-metre long battens into it recently, by passing them into the front passenger space. Some wider, 1.5-metre yew planks squeezed between the front seats, so I haven’t needed to leave the rear hatch open, though that’s always an option. Or you could fit a roof rack. Ideally, I suppose, one with space for a numberplate.