10 March 2016
Backed by 60 years of development and rugged use around the world, the Land Cruiser 200 still has the ‘go anywhere, do anything’ mentality of its predecessors. I felt invincible on the Northland back country roads on a recent family road trip. We drove across mixed surfaces in the dark and placed our trust in the GPS to navigate us to our destination. I picked the shortest route and avoided main roads - in the back of my mind, I replayed the recent news article about the family that got lost and stuck down a single lane farm road in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully this didn’t happen to us.
Ample road viewing
Back in the big city (Auckland), the road presence of the new Cruiser is nothing but huge. I felt like I owned the road and was confident every motorist could see me because I could definitely see them along with the road ahead.
Failing my own parking test in our carpark, there’s no denying that this truck is certainly large. I had to perform the odd 3-point turn to avoid leaving marks of Merlot Red paint on the concrete pillars.
Smarter on-road and off-road technology
The 4WD system has the usual high and low ratios that are accessed through a rotary dial in the cabin. The Torsen centre dif (type of limited-slip differential) feeds power to the front and rear axles with assistance from the 6-speed automatic transmission.
The Land Cruiser has now learnt to crawl with CRAWL control - an off-road cruise control system. This is managed through the engine and brakes, maintaining a low and uniform speed which helps minimise damage to the drive-train and terrain. All models are also fitted with a multi-terrain select, which has an automatic mode to alter the 4WD’s operation to suit the ground you're driving on.
The Land Cruiser 200 is available in two grades - the VX and the VX Limited. While they both offer the option of the leather and power seat package, the VX Limited is the only model that offers this as standard (for the VX it’s an extra cost).
The 200 has similar suspension to its smaller sibling the Prado; double wishbone and stabiliser bar at the front and 4-link coil springs with a stabiliser bar for the rear. On the VX Limited, Toyota’s Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) is fitted to the stabiliser bars to adjust their tension with hydraulic cylinders. Rigidity is improved for on-road performance, while more wheel articulation is allowed off-road for better traction.
The VX has eight seats, while the VX Limited has gained slightly more cabin room by downsizing to a 7-seater. Standard features on both models include keyless entry remote control central locking, push button start and retractable side view mirrors. The steering wheel is covered in leather and features audio, MID and Bluetooth voice controls. The A/C has a four-zone climate system which can reach every seating position and can also be controlled by passengers seated in the centre row.
5-Star safety
Both the VX and VX Limited have ABS with brake assist and EBD safety features, as well as 10 airbags. This, combined with Safety Sense™ (a newly developed active safety package that merges Pre-Collison System with, pre-crash brake, automatic high-beam headlamps, dynamic radar cruise and lane keep assist), has helped the Land Cruiser 200 gain a 5-Star ANCAP safety rating.
Price
Pricing is $121,990 for the VX, while the VX Limited costs $143,990. If you’re interested in the leather and power seat upgrade then this costs an extra $6,800.