2017 TOYOTA Land Cruiser Review
Channel: Auto Today
Date: 2017-01-06

2017 TOYOTA Land Cruiser Review. Some long-running automotive nameplates are constantly updated in an attempt to remain relevant. Not the Toyota Land Cruiser. The Land Cruiser scoffs at change.

Aside from ditching its old-school solid front axle and venerated inline six-cylinder back in 1998, the Cruiser’s updates have largely focused on creature comforts and sheetmetal revisions. When the current iteration (a J200 in Toyota-speak) appeared in 2008 with a 5.7-liter V-8 replacing the previous 4.7-liter V-8, it had been nearly a decade in the making. Toyota performed a mild refresh in 2013, whereupon it took the opportunity to cram it chock-full of nearly every infotainment and electronic safety-nanny feature in the Toyota canon.

For the 2016 model year, Toyota decided to get really crazy and update the Land Cruiser with a revised front fascia, front fenders, and lighting elements, making it look fresh—from the windshield forward, at least. It also swapped out the six-speed automatic for an eight-speed unit and brought the electro-wizardry up to date again. Change may come slowly to the Land Cruiser, but the king of the off-road mountain can’t stand pat while others innovate.

The Crown Rests Heavy

At 5926 pounds as tested, there’s no getting around the Land Cruiser’s heft. But as with a classic revolver or a quality hand tool, every ounce earns its keep. You notice it instantly. The interior door latches, for instance, feel and operate as if they were designed for demanding environments. A high, flat floor to allow ground clearance necessitates a “legs forward” seating position, and while there is elbow and shoulder room to spare, headroom can be a little tight for those much over six feet tall. The beltline is low and your torso high, providing what they referred to in the early days of SUV-mania as a “commanding view.” The second row is spacious enough to seat a trio of corn-fed Midwesterners in relative comfort, but while Toyota says the third-row seats also offer room for three, our experience indicates their use is best reserved for dire predicaments such as having young children who need to go somewhere. That said, we find their distinctive fold-to-the-side functionality a nice nod to the Cruiser’s past, even if they aren’t as space-efficient as some fold-flat third-row setups. All passengers, regardless of seating position, will enjoy the standard leather interior surfaces.

With 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque on tap from the naturally aspirated 5.7-liter V-8, the Land Cruiser will never be in danger of ending up on a podium at the drag strip. But just because it can’t keep pace with the likes of the 6.2-liter-equipped Cadillac Escalade doesn’t mean it’s pathologically pokey. Employing the well-spaced ratios of the new-for-’16 eight-speed automatic, we managed to hustle it to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds utilizing the time-tested brake-torque technique for the best launch. The quarter-mile fell in 15.1 seconds, the Cruiser clearing the traps at 93 mph. For the record, that’s 0.2 second slower to 60 mph but the same quarter-mile elapsed time (albeit 1 mph slower) as when we tested a six-speed Cruiser back in 2008. All the same, getting to 60 mph in less than seven seconds is impressive for a vehicle initially conceived as a wheeled alternative to the pack mule.

Speaking of pack mules, the Land Cruiser still relies on its time-proven, full-time four-wheel-drive system, with driver input limited to the choice of either high- or low-range selections via a console-mounted dial. The limited-slip center differential is a Torsen unit that runs a default 40/60 front-to-rear torque split but can send more grunt fore or aft as needed. Toyota’s Active Traction Control (A-TRAC) employs both brake and throttle intervention to help control wheelspin, while a collection of driver-selected settings (Multi-Terrain, Mogul, Crawl, Downhill Assist, and Hill-Start Assist) can optimize the drivetrain for different types of tough terrain. We found a muddy riverfront area to play in but couldn’t find a hole messy enough to stop the Land Cruiser, let alone necessitate the use of low range. Later, we barreled through a typical Michigan freak spring snow/hailstorm at highway speeds in quiet, secure comfort. For our final act of derring-do, we darted down an abandoned railroad siding, which, based on our relatively low contusion count, underscored the finer points of an independent front suspension and tall-ish tire sidewalls when negotiating rough surfaces.


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