Trusty Japanese workhorse an Aussie cult hero after nearly 40 years of service, however would you actually wish to purchase one?
How a lot does the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Sequence Ute value?
At a time when pricing transparency is scrutinised by the Australian authorities’s client watchdog, and automotive firms are compelled to print drive-away costs alongside their rubbery really helpful retail record costs, you may throw all that out the window of the 2023 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Sequence.
All you get on the Toyota web site is “please contact your most popular seller” and an announcement concerning the dire provide scenario, which implies you may’t place an order however you may, umm, really purchase one from varied sellers with only some kilometres on the clock (making it a ‘used’ automotive) – in case you’re ready to pay greater than $100,000 for it.
The official record value for the LC79 GXL Single Cab Chassis on check right here is $76,650 plus on-road prices, however listings on carsales on the time of writing present the market value to begin from about $105,000 plus statutory prices akin to stamp responsibility. You would possibly pay a bit much less for the lower-spec GX or WorkMate, extra for the equal LC70 dual-cab.
A good bit of what you’re paying for right here is intangible. Heritage, fame, reliability. You’re actually shopping for a lightweight truck designed for onerous graft and conversion. Miners, farmers, tradies and 4×4 fans all swear by them.
An enormous attraction is the confirmed 4.5-litre V8 single-turbo diesel that drives by way of a five-speed guide gearbox and part-time four-wheel drive system with locking diffs and low-range. This 1VD-FTV unit, too, is ripe for conversion to spice up its 151kW/430Nm outputs.
Uniquely in immediately’s automotive panorama, you additionally get a troublesome ladder-frame chassis, live-axle entrance and rear suspension, 316mm of floor clearance, 3500kg braked towing capability and a 1295kg payload now out there with the current GVM (gross automobile mass) improve to 3510kg.
This MY23 replace additionally introduced a switchable autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system, which provides to the fundamental security spec – a contentious space with LC70 over the previous decade – comprising traction/stability management, hill begin help, digital brake-force distribution with ABS and brake help, twin entrance airbags, a driver’s knee airbag and facet curtain airbags.
And because of ladder body reinforcements utilized solely to the fleet-friendly single-cab model again in 2016, the two-door ute examined right here is the one 70 Sequence that comes with a five-star ANCAP security score, albeit one which expires quickly.
The GXL on check right here is the one mannequin grade with fabric trim on the ute’s bucket seats and door panels, and with carpet. The sprint holds a 6.1-inch touch-screen show together with sat-nav with visitors updates, a USB enter (including to 2 decrease charging ports) and Bluetooth connectivity.
Our assessment automotive has the elective metal tray and towing package (tow bar, ball and wiring harness), whereas the 16-inch alloy wheels, snorkel, facet steps and chrome utilized to the entrance bumper, grille and roof drip rails are commonplace.
What’s good concerning the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Sequence Ute?
There’s tons to love concerning the 2023 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Sequence, examined right here in LC79 GXL Single Cab Chassis guise, however its work ethic stands it aside.
Primary, rugged, sincere, agricultural at coronary heart. Place it right into a rural setting and the LandCruiser ute will revel within the day by day routines just like the devoted household canine. Give it a quiet open street to walk alongside, room to show, hundreds to shift, paddocks to cross, and all can be nicely.
The inventory engine is brawny at low to medium revs, simply as much as the duty of carrying near the utmost payload and untroubled until it’s taken out of its consolation zone, like making an attempt a fast and slick overtake. The diesel’s throatiness and bellow are lovely noises.
The journey is cushiony, visibility nice, halogen headlights efficient, cabin refinement higher than you would possibly count on.
The seats are spongy and comfortable, the analogue instrument gauges straightforward to learn, the steering wheel totally adjustable and refreshingly freed from switchgear (only a separate stalk for cruise management). You’ll smirk once you work out that you should decrease the home windows and place the door mirrors by hand.
Different throwbacks to a different period increase a smile and fall comfortably handy: the lengthy guide gearstick, sliding temperature controls, high-mounted digital clock, powered antenna with very helpful top adjustment. You’ll be able to lock the glove field. Placed on a CD. Hell, you may even gentle a cigarette and stub it out in an ashtray.
This doesn’t really feel like a automotive you’ll commerce in earlier than the guarantee expires. After all, you might have already waited a few years to get into it. Besides, the 70 Sequence seems like it’ll keep within the household and be handed down by way of generations.
What’s not so good concerning the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Sequence Ute?
Take the 2023 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Sequence out of this relaxed rural setting, pack it off to the massive smoke, and it doesn’t transition nicely.
The steering is obscure at greatest and the turning circle merely huge at 14.4m, with 4 full turns of the tiller from lock to lock. Metropolis visitors breaks its stride, the simple, languid gait disappears, the assured method misplaced.
Gas consumption is excessive, cruelling the 13.3L/100km we averaged out of city. The comparatively straightforward guide shift and clutch motion develop into a chore. Parking is a joke.
Compromises within the cabin, the sheer lack of mod cons, begin to put on skinny. The doorways are just too shut for consolation, there’s no arm relaxation on the left facet of the driving force’s seat, no straightforward touchdown pads for telephones or free change, no lights on the decrease console to find charging factors and so forth at evening, nowhere to retailer larger stuff besides out within the open tray.
Don’t hassle searching for automated headlights or wipers, auto-down window management on the passenger’s facet, one-touch indicators, map lights, vainness mirrors, a reversing digital camera or sensors. The 2-speaker stereo is weak; conversations through Bluetooth can develop into a shouting match. The infotainment display is small. The onerous plastic surfaces are simply knocked and scratched.
Toyota is all too nicely conscious of this, in fact. The incoming 2024 replace is bringing an even bigger and clearer central sprint show, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, a visit pc, lane departure alert, street signal help, automated excessive beam and, sure, a redesigned centre console space to correctly maintain your telephone and different small issues.
Don’t you simply love the best way automotive firms say they’ve labored onerous to revamp the inside for “improved ergonomics, visible ease and practicality” – as if that wasn’t a precedence earlier than. Come to think about it, with LC70, possibly it wasn’t…