Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Series

For 70 years, the Land Cruiser is the pride of Toyota that boldly goes where no Japanese car has gone before. From the scorching sands of the Arab Peninsula, the Amazon rainforest, Death Valley, and even on the streets of London, Paris, and Tokyo, the Land Cruiser is a world-proven offroader that withstood the tests of time. In celebration of the Land Cruiser's 70th anniversary, the all-new 300 Series has been unveiled and it's ready to take on a brave new world.

2022 Toyota Land Cruiser GR SPORT

2022 Toyota Land Cruiser

At last, the all-new Land Cruiser 300 is now available in Japan with prices starting at 5,100,000 Japanese Yen (around $51,000), which is less expensive than the new Land Rover Defender, making it the bargain offroader of the decade or is it? Let's find out.

Beginning with the design, the Land Cruiser 300 Series features a more muscular design that is a major improvement compared to the previous 200 Series. From every angle, the new design has the stunning impression of a Rhino unit charging head-on. Sounds painful but this is what the new Land Cruiser is made for; something to inspire.

The GR SPORT, meanwhile, is about as off-road worthy as it can get because it features a lettered TOYOTA grille on the front, black front bumper, matte black 18-inch wheels wrapped in 265/65R18 tires fit for offroad use, and GR SPORT badging.

2022 Toyota Land Cruiser interior

2022 Toyota Land Cruiser GR SPORT interior

The interior has been heavily revised in the 300 Series and on the driver's side, the new model went for the minimalist approach with the touchscreen sat-nav system that is shorter than the one from the previous 200 Series, and for the first time, the start-stop button comes with fingerprint recognition for added security purposes because Toyota had enough with so much grand theft auto involved with this car. Some say that the added fingerprint recognition is a terrible idea and that gave them an impression of a one-account-per-person rule. It's a lot difficult setting up a new one in the case when your original account's in trouble, but anyway, long story short. Enough about fingerprint nonsense because when you talk about comfort, you're in because, with the TNGA platform, the new 300 Series Land Cruiser is roomier than the previous model and more spacious in the back as well when the rear seats are folded.

The new Land Cruiser 300 is offered with a choice of five or seven seats and because the Land Cruiser is not just being a family car made for the long weekend drive, it's fit for associates, bodyguards, and prospects escorting CEOs and VIPs, even politicians. It also works for delivering sensitive goods to valuable clients as well. It's business and pleasure that made the new Land Cruiser's expectations well and truly met.

If you opt-in for the GR SPORT variant, a GR steering wheel and a black-red interior theme is on the set but it still has the same impression that you expect from the normal Land Cruiser.

2022 Toyota Land Cruiser

Now we get to the performance part of the Land Cruiser and this is where it got speedo boys noticed. Under the hood, the glorious V8 engine of the past 200 Series has been thrown away and replaced by a more polar bear-friendly V35A-FTS V6 3.5L Twin Turbo engine that produces 415PS of power and 305NM of torque. That's almost a hundred more than the old V8 engine and looks like Toyota made the right move going the downsizing route although some are not happy about it. Of course, if you want some beef, there's an F33A-FTV V6 turbodiesel engine producing 309PS of power and 700Nm of torque. All of these engines are mated to a Direct Shift 10AT.

When you talk about fuel economy, the V6 twin-turbo petrol engine gets 7.9km/L while its diesel counterpart gets 9.7km/L based on WLTC Mode standards.

Thanks to the implementation of the TNGA platform, a first for a body-on-frame vehicle, the new model is now better to drive and more capable than the previous 200 Series thanks to its improved rigidity and reduced 200kg of weight.

The previous model's KDSS has evolved into an Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System. This world-first feature allows the new model to be more capable off and on the road. Both the front and rear stabilizers are electronically controlled independently and the effect can be optimized according to road surface conditions as well as the wheels.

With numerous features such as Multi-Terrain Select, Multi-Terrain Monitor, Crawl Control, Hill Start Assist Control, Downhill Assist Control, and others, the new Land Cruiser is almost as good as its main rival, the Range Rover.

The new Land Cruiser features the second-generation Toyota Safety Sense with Pre-Collision System and the new Parking Support Brake, among many others.

From the scorching sands of the Arabian Peninsula to the Amazon rainforest, from the streets of New York to Tokyo, the Land Cruiser truly withstood the test of time as the king of Japanese offroaders that boldly went where no Japanese car has gone before from the top to the ends of the earth. With the 300 Series, the Land Cruiser is prepared for the next 70 years with its new looks, interior, performance, and tech.

If you're asking for the downside, that will be the added fingerprint authentication on the start-stop button which is as troublesome as the one-username-per-account rule. It's no wonder why Toyota trusts its LC300 owners not to resell it for a year for security reasons but anyway, despite security reasons, the new Land Cruiser is ready to open its new story and continue its longstanding tradition as the only large Japanese offroader that boldly goes where no Japanese car has gone before.

Available colors: White Pearl Crystal Shine, Precious White Pearl, Gray Metallic, Black, Dark Red Mica Metallic, and Avantgarde Bronze Metallic.

Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation