Behind the wheel Toyota Land Cruiser Utility

WHAT'S the most iconic off-roader of all time? Two names come to mind immediately: Land Rover and Land Cruiser. The former was best embodied in the Defender, which ceased production in 2016 – and had morphed largely into a pricey, fashionable status symbol. But the Defender had a loyal following among those who used it for its intended purpose: Off-roading, load-lugging and general dirty work. It's to these people that the new Toyota Land Cruiser Utility should appeal – people who don't care about fashion, but really need a car to perform flawlessly in the rough stuff for years.

Utility trim is new for 2018 and all about ‘less is more' – even more so in the Commercial variant we tested, which ditches the rear seats and blanks out the rear windows to create a makeshift van. That means all the lipstick applied to higher-end Land Cruisers is not present – so black plastic for the grille, door handles and mirrors, unadorned steel wheels and a fantastically basic interior.

All Land Cruisers offer the same brawny 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel engine. With 174bhp on tap, it's hardly a sports SUV, but what it does have is torque – and plenty of it.

Fuel consumption isn't great – this is a very heavy car with the aerodynamic properties of a block of flats - but with 35mpg within reach on a cruise, it's certainly no worse than the Land Rover Defender ever was.

The Utility holds a curious appeal for a certain type of driver, who'll find its rolypoly handling characteristics, light steering, manual ‘box and sheer heft a great deal of fun. For everyone else, it's inoffensive yet a bit rubbish on the tarmac, but nearunbeatable off it.

The separate chassis construction means the Land Cruiser shakes and shimmies on rough surfaces, but this is dampened somewhat by the tyres. Using dinky steel wheels and fat rubber means smaller imperfections are fairly well cancelled out. These tyres don't help the handling, though - push it too hard through a corner and you'll feel the Land Cruiser's weight pushing at the limits of the sidewall.

But this isn't how most buyers will drive the Land Cruiser and where it counts is the rough stuff. With its legendary all-wheel drive system, selectable low-range gearbox and enough ground clearance to drive over a pheasant without hitting it (we found this out first-hand and not on purpose), it's got the chops to handle many a rutted farm track.

We'll admit a bias at the outset and say we love the Land Cruiser Utility's looks – especially in this gawky, terriblyproportioned, three-door short-wheelbase form.