The Land Cruiser Commercial has arrived and is coming to the National Ploughing Championships
A legend reborn, the funky retro look and vast specification simply confirm this as an unique ‘reputational car’, adding to the legend that is the Toyota Land Cruiser.
Legend is a word that gets overused, to the point where its edges are fraying. You’re a legend if you kick a ball about a bit better than others. A legend if you’re a good actor, or even sometimes a legend just for getting up on a Saturday to do errands. Surely that’s not enough to truly earn the status of legend?
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a legend, and what started in Japan — back in 1951 the first Land Cruiser was the first car to climb Mount Fuji — works brilliantly right here in Ireland too. The Land Cruiser has for decades been a vital cog in Ireland’s working life, in our small business, construction, and farming communities especially. Farmers, builders, and owners of SMEs utterly rely on their Land Cruisers to get them to their work, no matter the conditions, and carry all of the tools, boxes, and chattels that they need.
From photographers trying to get to a country wedding, to farmers bringing food to distant herds, the Land Cruiser is the glue that holds Ireland together.
It’s a car that’s truly earned the right to use that word; a legend in the truest sense. The Land Cruiser has been outperforming all others since it was first created in 1951.
Ireland may not have the climatic nor landscape extremes of Japan, the Australian Outback, or the Sahara, but we certainly have our challenges. What if it’s a dark, wet night and you need to get through steep, muddy fields to reach a sick animal? What if there’s only one road in and out of a forest, and it’s currently waterlogged? What if the construction site is currently a sea of dirt, mud, and slopes but you still have to get across it? Well, Land Cruiser is the answer.
The Land Cruiser’s legend is built on dealing effortlessly with these scenarios, and a hundred others like them. The latest Land Cruiser can, without any modifications, weave through standing water up to 700mm deep. It can climb a 32-degree slope, and it has up to 215mm of ground clearance under the body. Better yet, even if you’re not a wannabe Bear Grylls, the Land Cruiser can help take care of you when things become really tough, with an adaptive driving mode system that tailors the car’s responses to the conditions, and assistants such as Crawl Control, that helps you gently edge your way over terrain, and Downhill Assist Control that keeps everything safe and steady when heading down steep slopes. Ireland’s landscape is gloriously varied, but whether it’s the Mournes, Muckross, or Mullingar, the Land Cruiser is built to cope.
All of this bashing about in the wilderness is all well and good, of course, but the Land Cruiser is also designed to be just as good on smooth tarmac as on mossy boulders. The long-travel suspension irons out bumps, and the 204hp 2.8-litre engine is powerful enough for motorways, but it’s also economical and comes as standard with a smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox.
The Land Cruiser is also a haven of comfort. Inside, you’ll find big, soft armchairs for seats, and not only are they heated so that they warm you up in the winter, they’re also ventilated so that they cool you down in the summer. There’s a nine-inch touchscreen which allows you to wirelessly connect your phone via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, so you’ll always have your favourite music, podcasts, and audiobooks when you’re on the go, but there’s also plenty of proper, big buttons so that you can get to major functions when you need them. Or if you’re wearing gloves.
Behind, in the Commercial version, there’s more than 700 litres of load space, and the ability to carry up to 800kg of whatever you need — tools, animal feed, heavy equipment. Need to carry more than that? Easy — the Land Cruiser is able to tow up to 3,500kg on a braked trailer.
The Land Cruiser is also safe, using the much-praised Toyota Safety Sense package of electronic driver aids, including automatic braking which can detect pedestrians, cyclists, and motorbikes. There’s also radar-guided cruise control, and even a system which helps you steer away from danger in an emergency. There’s no use in having a go-anywhere car if you can’t go anywhere safely.
We also need to talk about the Land Cruiser’s style. Tapping into the history of the model, into the legend, this generation of Land Cruiser is a totally modern vehicle, but it’s been designed to pay some homage to the greats that have gone before it. You can choose from a retro-look round-headlight design that nods its head to the look of the 1970s FJ40 Land Cruiser, or a square-headlight look that’s closer in spirit to the 1980s FJ70 Land Cruiser, a car which is so amazingly tough and rugged that in some parts of the world, it’s never actually gone out of production.
Modernity always moves on. The world changes. Life goes on. But there’s one constant in all of this, and it’s the Land Cruiser. Perhaps that climb up Mount Fuji in 1951 isn’t quite so astonishing anymore. Perhaps there’s now lots of cars and 4x4s that could do the same thing. Maybe the Australian Outback, and the depths of the Sahara, and the wild edges of Connemara aren’t as inaccessible as once they were. You can probably get a 5G signal out there these days. But legends also change, also evolve, also improve. That’s why the Toyota Land Cruiser is still a legend, because it never stopped trying, it never stopped evolving and improving. It’s now a car that’s as luxurious to drive along the motorway as it is unstoppable across a flooded field or a rocky escarpment. After all, you don’t just become a legend — you have to earn it.
There are many ways you can find out more about the new Land Crusier. Why not visit your local Toyota dealership or you can chat with the Toyota Ireland team attending this year’s National Ploughing Championships in Tullamore, Co Offaly (block 5, row 17, stand 371) from Tuesday, September 16th to Thursday, September 18th.
If you decide the new Land Cruiser is for you, there are many ways to get your hands on one. Just one monthly cost includes the lease of the car, road tax, CVRT and NCT. Nationwide delivery, mileage, tyre packages, and fleet management are all included for your convenience.
Toyota are offering their customers KINTO ONE, which is an all-inclusive lease solution available to sole traders, partnerships, SMEs and limited companies. It’s a great solution for business as it has flexible contract terms of 24 to 60 months and also there is no initial capital outlay needed. Kinto One is available for both a single vehicle or an entire fleet; it can be tailored to a business’ particular needs.
For information on the new Land Crusier as well as KINTO ONE, visit www.toyota.ie/models/land-cruiser.
