News

Toyota Landcruiser wins 4WD of (684)

Wholesale engineering improvements to Toyota's popular 79 Series double-cab chassis GXL have been rewarded with the rugged workhorse being named "4WD of the Year".

The prestigious award from 4x4 Australia magazine recognises the introduction of a full electronic safety package and revisions to the powertrain that resulted in lower fuel consumption, better responsiveness, more relaxed driving and fewer emissions.

Features made standard as part of the late 2016 upgrade include vehicle stability control, active traction control, hill-start assist control, brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution and cruise control, in addition to the existing anti-skid brakes.

LandCruiser's high-torque 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine gained a diesel particulate filter and piezo-electric injectors while the five-speed manual transmission's gearing was revised with taller second and fifth gears for enhanced touring capability.

The award for the 79 Series double-cab GXL follows an extensive test program during which the magazine said its eight judges "hammered" each of the contenders in mainly off-road conditions.

"If you want a big, capable 4x4 that you can be confident will take you and your family to the most remote parts of Australia and get you home again, you can count on the LandCruiser 79 to do the job," the magazine said.

"Effortless road ability, improved durability and elevated safety features make it a good all-round package whether around the country or on the job site."

Toyota Australia executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said credit for the award belonged largely with the company's local engineers who carried out extensive development and testing across the country.

"Our engineers undertook more than 100,000km of extreme testing, 70 per cent of which was conducted off-road, including in some of the harshest conditions in Australia," Mr Cramb said.

"As a result, miners, farmers, governments and many other users now enjoy the new safety and improved touring features in addition to the vehicle's unrivalled combination of reliability, towing, payload and off-road ability," he said.

The LandCruiser 70 Series range - which also includes single-cab, wagon and troop-carrier body styles - retains its ability to offer maximum payload and the maximum 3,500kg towing capacity^# at the same time.

The magazine noted that additional upgrades to single cab-chassis variants resulted in them achieving the maximum five-star ANCAP safety ratings.

Single cabs are now equipped with a larger and stiffer frame, two additional airbags (for a total of five), new or revised body panels and new front bucket seats that are more comfortable and help prevent whiplash.

The new frame is bigger and stronger with greater torsional rigidity due to thicker side rails and seven cross-members, including one that is new and three that have been re-engineered.

All vehicles in the 70 Series range are covered by Toyota Service Advantage capped-price servicing at $340 per service^*.

Australians have bought more than 250,000 of these rugged workhorse vehicles - or almost 20 per cent of the 1.3 million vehicles sold around the world.

^# Towing capacity is subject to regulatory requirements, towbar and vehicle design and towing equipment limitations.
^* Maximum payable for standard scheduled logbook servicing (normal operating conditions) until first of 3 years or 60,000km (whichever occurs first) (up to the first 6 services). Excludes Government & Rental vehicles. Contact your Toyota Dealer or go to toyota.com.au/advantage for other exclusions, eligibility and full details.

Read more about Toyota Landcruiser