Automotive Business Magazine – Q3 2026 – Digital edition - Flipbook - Page 87
Target audience:
Toyota expects
interest from
rugged industries
alongside wider
private appeal
Premium appeal, rugged aura
Despite its commercial focus, the
Land Cruiser’s passenger car origins
are obvious. This is evident in its bold,
utilitarian design, which harks back to
the style of the original ‘FJ’ Land Cruiser
of the 1960s.
It’s a good-looking truck, and it has
a premium appeal that puts it right up
there with the Land Rover Defender
Commercial, but with a slightly more
rugged aura – not dissimilar to that of
the Ineos Grenadier.
It’s offered in a single, well-specified
configuration. It features a five-door,
long-wheelbase body style powered by
a 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel engine
paired with an eight-speed automatic
transmission.
This combination delivers a mix of
performance and efficiency that’s
capable on-road and peerless off it.
Toyota has also confirmed that a 48-volt
mild-hybrid variant will be introduced
in the future, using the powertrain
from the new Hilux and promising
further improvements in efficiency
and refinement.
Inside and out
Inside the cabin, the vehicle retains
much of the comfort and technology
found in the standard passenger version.
This includes Toyota’s Safety Sense
suite of driver assistance systems,
designed to enhance safety and reduce
driver fatigue.
However, while these features are
beneficial on the road, they can become
a minor inconvenience in off-road
situations. Each time the vehicle is
restarted, the systems revert to their
default settings, meaning drivers may
need to manually deactivate certain
alerts when navigating rough terrain.
From a driving perspective, the Land
Cruiser Commercial is commanding and
quite entertaining. Although its ladderframe construction results in some body
roll, it remains composed and wellplanted on the road, more so than its bulk
and boxiness might suggest. Off-road,
however, is where this vehicle truly excels.
Equipped with permanent four-wheel
drive, selectable low-range gearing, and
advanced systems such as Crawl Control,
it is capable of handling challenging
environments with ease. Crawl Control,
in particular, is a sophisticated feature
that automatically manages throttle and
braking inputs, allowing the vehicle to
maintain steady progress over difficult
surfaces or steep inclines without
driver intervention.
The diesel engine delivers strong and
responsive performance, particularly
at higher speeds where it feels smooth
and refined. At lower speeds, it can
be slightly coarse, but this is typical
for engines of its type. The automatic →
Q3 2026
AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
87
