ROAD TEST: Toyota Land Cruiser 200 4.5 D-4D V8 diesel VX
By: Denis Droppa
Johannesburg - Some SUVs are more equal than others, and in the busy animal farm of adventure vehicles the large and luxurious Toyota Land Cruiser 200 has always been one of the more offroad-capable of the herd.
Now the big Toyota’s ability to gallop through the great outdoors is boosted by a ‘see-through’ floor that exposes hidden objects lurking in front of the vehicle. The stuff that’s normally hidden by the bonnet from the driver’s view is now projected onto a video screen on the dashboard. These digital eyes employ four cameras to provide a 360-degree view of the vehicle surrounds, including a unique ‘underfloor’ view showing the ground surface ahead of the car. It’s a useful feature for determining wheel and underbody position in rocky and deep sand conditions, and also for summiting hills where you can earlier see what’s on the other side of the crest.
This so-called Multi-Terrain Monitor is one of several new gadgets recently introduced in the Land Cruiser 200 to improve both its offroad ability and on-road safety.
BUNDU BASHING TOYS
A new Multi-Terrain Select (MTS) system in the VX version allows the driver to twirl a knob and select one of six modes pre-programmed for different offroad conditiions including sand, rocks, and mud. There are a lot of buttons in this Toyota, and apart from being able to select between high and low range, and engaging the centre diff lock, there’s also a crawl function which guides the vehicle slowly and safely over very rough turf without the driver needing to touch the throttle.
All these electronic toys, together with a rock-straddling 230mm ground clearance and permanent four-wheel drive, make this Land Cruiser a very proficient adventure vehicle. It doesn’t, however, have the ability to raise its ground clearance like rivals such as the Land Rover Discovery and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Its entry/departure angles are also among the most modest in the class, and we scraped the front bumper on the entry point to a steep hill when offroad-testing the vehicle at Gerotek.
Bottom line is that it is a very effective offroader with some great skills, but it’s not foolproof. It has terrific engine torque, traction and ground clearance, but it could probably do with one of those aftermarket Evolution front bumpers to improve its entry angle.
FEATURES GALORE
Safety in the updated Toyota has been improved with a new Pre-Crash Collision Mitigation System which is able to detect a potential crash with an obstacle or vehicle. The system will firstly alert the driver of a potential collision; if insufficient evasive action is taken, the pre-crash system will automatically apply the brakes.
As before, the Land Cruiser 200 is available in two model grades: the five-seater GX and more luxurious seven-seater VX. Both versions are powered by the existing V8 4.5-litre turbodiesel engine with outputs of 173kW and 615 Nm, mated to a six-speed auto. The VX model on test here gets a number of extra features over the GX variant, including Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), which alerts the driver of approaching vehicles when reversing out of parking lots, and Blind Spot Monitoring.
The VX, which sells for R1 170 200 including a three-year/100 000km warranty and five-year/90 000km service plan, also has tyre-pressure monitoring and a radar-based automatic cruise-control function which works at speeds over 40km/h.
MODERN DESIGN TOUCH
As part of its upgrade Toyota’s big SUV wears a new face with a large chrome grille and restyled headlights adding a modern touch to the bold and beefy styling. The headlights feature Bi-LED technology on the upper-end VX model, which also gets an Auto High Beam feature that autonomously switches between low and high beam to avoid blinding other drivers.
A cabin revamp comes with improved ergonomics and metallic accents to raise the elegant ambience. A full-colour TFT Multi-Information Display gives fuel economy, vehicle mode, audio system info and Bluetooth display. Navigation’s standard too but it’s a rather user-unfriendly system and I usually took to using Google maps on my cellphone instead, even though it chomped data.
LARGE, LUXURIOUS CABIN
The huge and luxurious cabin, all leather-covered in the VX, seats four or five people comfortably while there are two additional jump seats in the back suitable for children. These fold up against the sides when not in use, exposing a massive boot offering a maximum 1276 litre luggage capacity. There’s a full-sized spare wheel mounted under the chassis. Lusty performance is provided by that big diesel V8, which has little trouble shifting all 2.7 tons of this hefty SUV. The test vehicle’s combined town/freeway fuel consumption averaged 11.8 litres per 100km which isn’t bad for such a behemoth.
Probably my favourite feature of this all-terrain Toyota is its cushy bump-soaking ride, which casually wafts over speed humps. Predictably it’s not the sharpest handling tool, but no one would expect it to be.
VERDICT
The Land Cruiser 200 VX is like taking your couch offroading. It’s a giant of a luxury 4x4 and its ability to venture off the beaten path has been improved with some clever new tech. Hopefully the next upgrade will include a user-friendlier satnav.
LAND CRUISER VS ITS RIVALS
Toyota Land Cruiser 200 4.5 D-4D V8 diesel VX
173kW/615Nm, R1 170 200
Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRDi Summit
179kW/169Nm, R1 051 990
Land Rover Discovery 3.0 SDV6 Landmark
183kW/600Nm, R1 110 729
Lexus LX 450D
195kW/650Nm, R1 393 000
Mercedes-Benz G350d
180kW/600Nm, R1 432 467
VW Touareg 4.1 V8 TDI Executive
250kW/800Nm, R1 020 000
Star Motoring