2010 Toyota 4Runner faithfully sticks to the formula it helped create

2010 Toyota 4Runner - Click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota has made some serious money over the past couple of decades by making safe, reliable vehicles. There have been a few models, like the Supra and Celica, that have appealed to the enthusiast, but the rest of America hasn't really seemed to care. New Toyota chief Akio Toyoda has promised to change that paradigm, however, pledging to inject new vehicles with much-needed soul. But do we have to wait a few years for Toyota's designers and engineers to come up with something new and exciting? Maybe not.



While the enthusiast-inspired products like the FT-86 coupe are still a ways off, off-roading types have a new Toyota to test drive: the 2010 4Runner. We've long known that the 4Runner has been perfectly capable of wrestling with a bit of mud, as it helped define America's sport-utility genre along with the original Jeep Cherokee way back in 1984. But this new model is at once bigger, more capable and more luxurious – and its styling has been designed to stand out in an admittedly thinning crowd of proper SUVs. We spent a week with a Magnetic Grey Metallic 4WD SR5 to see if Toyota has been right to stand by its mid-size mainstay while the rest of the automaking world has been busy turning its body-on-frame gas-guzzlers into pump-friendly softroaders.
Looking at our $37,649 tester from the outside, it's abundantly clear that Toyota has zigged when the rest of the world's utility vehicles have up and zagged. Our naked eye tells us the 4Runner is a cross between a GMC Terrain and Sloth from the movie Goonies. That's a nice way of saying that we find the 4Runner a bit hard to look at. Its flat nose, square-rigged proportions and bold side moldings won't win any beauty contests, but after a few days, its "more is more" look began to wear on us, if only a bit. One trait we just couldn't get used to are the bulging headlights and taillights that protrude from the sheetmetal by a good two inches. We're thinking there isn't a huge market for taillights that appear to have an inoperable growth jutting out to the sides.

The 4Runner's exterior definitely makes a bold statement, and that theme has been deftly carried over to the interior. Toyota has continued the big and bold theme inside the cabin, with oversized seats, a wonderful Delmonico-inspired steering wheel and a shift lever that could double as the barrel of a Louisville Slugger. Even the knobs are over an inch in diameter. The wide, squared-off center stack very efficiently packs in all the 4Runner's supersized buttons and switchgear, and ergonomics are surprisingly good. The 4Runner's overall length, at 189 inches, is three inches shorter than the Nissan Pathfinder, but the 4Runner is a far more useful 2.4 inches wider. That means more shoulder and hip room for passengers, more presence in traffic, and perhaps most importantly, more stability.



We liked the 4Runner's comfortable leather seats, commanding view of the road and roomy dimensions, but there were a few notable problems within this Toyota's cabin. First, one of the most amusing buttons we've ever seen in any vehicle appeared in our tester: the "Party Mode" button. Sadly, Ryan Seacrest's short and suited self doesn't pop out whenever we pressed it. Instead, the sound system's music goes from clean to heavy on the bass and over-modulated. The stereo doesn't actually sound that bad in "Party Mode," but we're not sure why Toyota has elected to place the button a foot away from the headunit and behind that massive steering wheel we told you about. We didn't see the button for the first four days behind the wheel and may never have stumbled across it if one of our other editors didn't alert us to its existence.

Interior quality is also a bit uneven, as the 4Runner's dash plastic is unyielding, and touchpoints at the door and center armrest are surprisingly harsh and rubbery. We understand (but don't like) the use of hard plastics on a meat-and-potatoes SUV dashboard, but touchpoints deserve a bit more love. An even bigger problem presented itself in the form of our tester's third row seat, which is a $3,570 option that included leather seating surfaces and third row curtain airbags.




Since the 4Runner has a body-on-frame architecture, when the third row seat is folded, the load floor actually sits a few inches higher than in the standard five-seat model. The fully collapsed seats don't exactly stow completely flat, either, and the slight downward pitch of the floor makes it next to impossible to throw groceries in the boot without something flying out when the tailgate is opened. There is no convenient way to access that third row when it's needed, either. We found that we had to unfold the third row split-bench from the second row, which certainly isn't the most user-friendly way to access additional seating.

But while the interior wasn't exactly up to snuff, there were some considerable surprises once we got behind the wheel. The first area of delight came courtesy of Toyota's 4.0-liter V6 engine. This writer just finished a week in a Tacoma with the same displacement V6, and we came away from that tester wanting far more power. The six-pot beneath the hood of the 4Runner is a different beast altogether, with dual independent variable valve timing helping to achieve 270 horsepower at 5600 rpm and 278 pound-feet of torque at 4400 rpm. The extra horsepower (up from 236 ponies in the Tacoma) makes the 4,700 pound 4Runner feel surprisingly fleet-footed, and Toyota claims an impressive 0-60 mph time of 7.1 seconds. Perhaps more surprising than the 4Runner's perkiness is the impressive 19.5 miles per gallon we managed during a week of mixed driving (EPA figures: 18 mpg city/23 mpg highway). Not bad for a two-ton SUV with a five-speed transmission and large-displacement V6.



Our tester also proved to be very comfortable on the highway and around town, with the V6 providing reliable power and the chassis remaining well-controlled. Steering is a bit numb and could use a bit more heft when tooling around town, but it's about what you'd expect in an off-road capable SUV. It's true that the 4Runner's ride quality tends to get a bit bouncy when encountering less-than-ideal roads, but that's largely to be expected in a steel-spring off-roader like this.

The SR5 also has a not-so secret weapon in its very capable part-time four-wheel-drive system. On the highway, it can cruise comfortably using only the rear wheels for propulsion, but when the traction conditions turn foreboding, the driver can simply shift into Four High to keep momentum strong. When dirt turns to rock, the 4Runner can articulate over some pretty formidable terrain. Simply work your way into Four Low and let the 9.6-inch ground clearance, 25-degree approach angle and 24-degree departure angle work to your advantage. Toyota also has an even more rugged option in the form of a Trail package that includes a terrain response system, a locking rear differential, and skid plates for still more off-roading ability.



We rarely find ourselves short on fun when we're off the beaten path, and here the 4Runner revealed itself to be a very capable partner. Substantial P265/70SR17 tires and above average wheel travel made most pits feel like small potholes, and the 4WD system proved to be very difficult to overwhelm. One problem we encountered was that it was fairly difficult to switch the 4Runner's floor-mounted 4WD system shifter into 4WD High and Low. We got better with a bit of practice, though we'd much prefer a simple button or switch that interfaces with the 4WD system.

The Toyota 4Runner may be every bit as safe and reliable as Toyota models of the past, but it also has a bit of attitude in its design and capability, and that's a good thing. And with the Chevrolet Trailblazer gone and the Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango about to reinvent themselves as crossovers, the 4Runner has very little competition in a segment that just a decade ago surpassed well over one million units per year. In the end, customers will have to decide if they really do want to go off-road every now and again. The genre's sales may be dwindling, but with the 4Runner's history spanning a quarter of a century and 1.5 million units sold over four generations, we're guessing that Toyota will find enough loyalists who still think a bit of grit under their fingernails – and tires – is an attractive thing.
source by autoblog

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Three Toyotas latest to earn IIHS Top Safety Picks

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just announced that a total of three new Toyota vehicles have been given Top Safety Pick awards. Both the 2011 Toyota Avalon and 2011 Toyota Sienna were awarded the institute's highest ratings in front, side, rollover and rear crash tests. The 2010 Lexus RX also nabbed a Top Safety Pick nod. All of the vehicles come with electronic stability control as standard equipment – another parameter for receiving the award.



Toyota's Sienna earns the honor of being the first minivan to receive the Top Safety Pick since the IIHS added rollover data to its list of crash criteria in 2010. The news is likely to come as music to the ears of Toyota engineers and dealers, both of which have had to stand by and watch their brand's quality and safety reputation erode under a hail of recalls. Thanks for the tip, Eddie!

[Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

READ MORE - Three Toyotas latest to earn IIHS Top Safety Picks

2009 Toyota Camry XLE

2009 Toyota Camry XLE – Click above for high-res image gallery

A recent night of excitement: driving the Camry XLE to the Super Wal-Mart. So lame, but that's not the car's fault. Like Wal-Mart, the Camry has been excoriated as a work of Satan, antithetical to all that is American, never mind where it's built. Despite the gleeful way everyone always lobs shots at Toyota's midsizer, there's a lot of virtue here. After all, there has to be some kind of hook to this car attaining such vaunted status, besides the bounce-lending automotive cult of personality. Since nobody actually reviews the Camry – we just complain about it as it outsells everything else – we rustled up an XLE powered by Toyota's 2.4-liter four cylinder and tried it out.


So why does the Camry sell so well? Because it's a solid car that offers good value. The trunk is big, the four is thrifty, it comes well equipped. We thought there might be some personality hiding in there that would win us over during the Camry's stay. Nope. The best thing about the Camry's half-pretty styling is the anonymity afforded by the glut of them on the road, and the car itself tries very hard to avoid offending anyone.

It's exterior styling is more expressive than previous Camrys; one could even get away with saying the styling was a motivating factor in the purchase of a Camry. The front end has a suggestion of feline to its face, and the hood has some well developed surface detailing that plays light nicely. Out back, the trunklid rises up out of the rear quarter panels, giving the Camry a high poop deck. The Camry is not unattractive, and while it blends in due to the surfeit of Camrys on the road, this iteration has far more flair to the sheetmetal than its forebears.

Inside, the XLE is equipped with everything you'd ever want. For entertainment, a JBL audio system with multi-disc capacity, .wma and .mp3 capability and satellite readiness occupies a place of prominence on the center stack and provides plenty of NPR and angry-guy talk radio. When tuned to music, the sound of the system is annoying, despite the speakers' JBL pedigree. A severe high-frequency resonance from the tweeters that sounds like metal-on-metal made us feel like we'd been listening to a dog whistle.

The HVAC panel is lower down in the "Plasmacenter," and offers up dual-zone climate control. Every time we started the Camry, the HVAC would come on in recirculate mode. If you neglect to manually select fresh cabin air, the windows have a tendency to get foggy, especially if it's humid. The recirc default may be less of an issue if you rely on the automatic functions of the climate control, but for anyone who likes to be master of his or her machine, it's an annoyance that quickly gets old.

The power adjustable, leather trimmed seats are comfortable for most anyone, and the ergonomics are well-considered with everything easy to find. A couple of minor niggles; one of the center stack's lower pieces didn't line up, and its turquoise stripe pattern glows far too brightly at night. Back seat passengers find plenty of legroom, thanks to the Camry's large footprint, and the rear seatbacks even recline. We'd happily trade their reclining trick, however, for seats that fold offering more access to the trunk than just the large pass-through. The trunk itself is a veritable cavern: big, accessible, eminently useful.

While we found the Camry an innocuous place to while away the hours, it feels like the low end of its class in terms of materials and design. In a turnaround of monumental proportions, the Fusion and Malibu slay the Camry's interior. Even in the XLE with its leather upholstery, it's disappointing. The dash and door panels are styled in a spare fashion, and when swathed in gray like our tester, the feeling is drab. Fake wood inserts in the center console and on the doors is overly shiny and reminiscent of bad old sedans from dark days gone by.The XLE is not the base model, but it didn't feel as niced-up as a new Hyundai Sonata in comparable trim, and the Detroit brands are better still.

Inoffensive is the order of the day when you point the Camry into traffic. The 2.4 liter four cylinder is plenty powerful and revs smoothly all the way to its redline while generating 158 horsepower. An available V6 offering 100 more horsepower is entirely unnecessary, especially when the torquey four returns an EPA highway rating of 31 mpg, brag-worthy for a car this size. Part of the good mileage is an automatic transmission that aims for fifth gear and takes a search warrant to find a downshift. The autobox is recalcitrant, if efficient.

Sport is not the mission here, but some less flaccid chassis calibration would be fitting, like fitting the SE's "sport-tuned" shocks and extra bracing to the XLE. Feeling both underdamped and undersprung, the Camry doesn't impart the impression of buttoned down security like we desire in a family stormer. Light steering devoid of feel keeps mum about what's going on with the tires, and the Camry feels nervous on the road. The ride is soft, overly soft, possibly as an effort to please every rump. You can dance the Camry if you're up for a challenge, though, it is capable enough. VSC is part of the Option B package that includes power adjustable seats with leather upholstery and heaters and mats for the floor as well as the trunk, and Toyota's aggressive stability control calibration means it'd take a ton of nerve to get in trouble.

After spending a week with the Camry, we now understand why it's such a good seller; it's a good car with a great reputation. Unlike 15 years ago, the Camry's not just duking it out with the Accord anymore. Domestic brands are turning out cars that we find far more compelling in terms of styling, price and features, not to mention initial quality, and let's not forget Hyundai's juggernaut Sonata. The Camry XLE isn't a screaming bargain for the $28,000 our sample unit cost either, but Toyota has a track record of impressive reliability and longevity with the Camry, important for buyers looking for an automotive sure thing, and that's a huge check in this car's plus column for the average consumer.
source by autoblog

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Toyota Camry Solara Convertible saved from Gallows Pole

Did Toyota get some silver? Did it get a little gold? What did it get, to keep the Camry Solara Convertible from the Gallows Pole*? According to Steve St.

Angelo, president of Toyota's Kentucky operations and of no relation to Robert Plant, Toyota got a lot of grief from customers and dealers who didn't want to see the drop-top swinging from the Gallow's Pole. The Hangman was supposed to come for the Solara 'Vert this month, but production has now been extended for two full years. Automotive News reports that Toyota only sold 28,479 units of the Solara Coupe and Convertible in all of 2007, and while the majority were likely 'verts, the number still seems too low to argue that demand was high enough to give it two years' worth of extra production. St. Angelo also didn't clarify if the Solara Coupe would enjoy the convertible's amnesty or not. Regardless, the Hangman's wrong on this one and the Solara should be swinging.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

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Toyota, Hyundai refute report of discontinued models

2010 Toyota Matrix – Click above for high-res image gallery

In a U.S. News and World Report story distributed via Yahoo dubbed "The 10 Best Discontinued Cars," author Rick Newman spoke with an unnamed analyst at Kelley Blue Book in an effort to help new car shoppers find


exceptionally deep discounts on new cars. Here's where it gets hazy: As part of that process, Newman sought to:

"...identify models likely to be discontinued over the next couple of years. For some of these models, the manufacturers have confirmed that the car is being axed; others made the list because of strong indicators that they're being discontinued, such as manufacturing changes or declining shipments to dealers."

Note the word usage of "likely" and "next couple of years" coupled to that very misleading title. To Newman's credit, he notes "unconfirmed" when discussing vehicles that haven't been officially killed off, but to our eyes, the title is misleading and the execution of the list itself strikes us as disingenuous, particularly as it mixes vehicles that have already been officially nixed (Honda S2000, Mercury Sable, Pontiac G8, Saturn Sky, Volkswagen Jetta GLI) with end-of-life models that are likely to be replaced or die out in due time (Chevrolet Colorado, Lexus SC430), as well as nameplates that have been facing declining or slow sales (Toyota Matrix and FJ Cruiser, Hyundai Veracruz). We spoke with Curt McCallister, Toyota's Midwest Public Relations Manager about the fate of the Matrix and FJ Cruiser, and he offered us the following guidance:

"There are no plans to discontinue either model. The Yahoo story is erroneous in that it was based on conjecture from unnamed analysts from Kelley Blue Book. The reporter (Newman) was informed of the factual errors in his story, multiple times yesterday. He was also questioned on why we weren't allowed to confirm or deny these assumptions. It was poor reporting that unfortunately has an Internet reach."

Click through to the jump for the rest of the story, including a comment from Hyundai.
[Source: U.S. News and World Report via Yahoo]

We also spoke with Hyundai spokesman Dan Bedore, who told us that the 2010 Veracruz is "an important part of the Hyundai lineup as our only three-row crossover" – he informed us that unlike last year's model, the facelifted 2010 Santa Fe will only offer two rows of seats.

One final thing: We note that in "The 10 Best Discontinued Cars," Newman also says that General Motors is "streamlining" its Buick lineup, something we can't find much evidence of. The brand only has three vehicles for the 2010 model year (Enclave, LaCrosse and Lucerne) and while the latter is likely to disappear, GM is actually expanding the TriShield's lineup, with the soon-to-arrive 2011 Regal, an upcoming entry-level sedan and likely a small crossover.

READ MORE - Toyota, Hyundai refute report of discontinued models

2008 Toyota Highlander Sport

2008 Toyota Highlander – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Highlander's undergone a nearly Kafka-esque transformation from its start as essentially a Camry wagon with all-wheel-drive and extra ride height. For 2008, Toyota's middle-child 'ute has been bulked up into more of a maxi-cruiser than previously. At first glance it appears what's emerged from the chrysalis is a grotesquely overinflated Forester, but the new Highlander is more butterfly than cockroach.


The styling does bear an uncanny resemblance to the Subaru Forester, but in person the scale of the 2008 Highlander separates it from Fuji's small CUV. The stance is far more purposeful than the previous Highlander, and there are plenty of little easter eggs hidden in the lines that will delight for months. One of the marks of good design is that it continues to surprise as it reveals itself over time, and living with the Highlander is punctuated by regular moments of "hey, look at that!"

The Highlander has been bulked up considerably, occupying a similar space as the 4-Runner. Measuring just an inch shorter than the 4-Runner (188.4 vs. 189.2 inches), the Highlander is just as wide and nearly as tall. As you'd expect, the unitized construction of the Highlander pays dividends once you move inside. All the measurements that equal passenger comfort; headroom, legroom, and hiproom are superior to the body-on-frame 4Runner. Only third row hiproom in the 4Runner is superior to the Highlander, which bests its truck-based stablemate significantly when it comes to accommodating the human form.

The Highlander is exceedingly well thought out for the way people use their vehicles. At every turn, the details have been considered and that's a joy for the end user. The interior is a big improvement over its predecessor, and the materials and design have taken a sizeable step forward. The four shower-sized knobs for the radio and ventilation system are wonderful in practice, and their damped motion feels expensive when you give one a twist. From where the driver sits, there's command over the three-zone HVAC system. The front seat passenger gets his own temperature knob, and folks in the rear also get their own climate controls, able to be engaged or disengaged by driver's master controls. The up-down button for the blower fan would have been better executed as a small knob, as would the mode switch to direct airflow.

Also marginally maddening is the integrated audio/navigation system. The menus are moderately Byzantine – it took three days to find the radio presets, for example – and the navigation system itself is only okay, in our opinion. The map display and operation isn't as easy as a Nissan or Ford nav, and loading or using the CD changer is confusing. You have to endure the self-animated LCD screen when adding or removing discs, and it's a bit of a fiddly routine to have to sit through just to get to the music.

While we didn't immediately love operating the entertainment system, that doesn't make it bad. The JBL speakers spread about the interior are augmented by a subwoofer, and it sounded great pounding out our favorite Little People songs while cruising around with the family. Families are definitely Toyota's bogey for the Highlander, and it's got the function and features to please. It starts with the little things, like the four cupholders in the front compartment, two with rubber inserts to secure smaller beverages, the light effort it takes to deploy or stow the third row, even the slick way the latch in the 2nd row's center position self-retracts with a hidden cable when you fold it down to an armrest. There's another alternate center armrest for the second row that hides away in its own drawer. The alternate offers cupholders and cubbies, a nice bit of versatility. There are remote levers in the cargo area that allow you to drop the 2nd row seats down with a light tug, too. The load floor is large and flat when you hide the seats, and the cargo area levers are a nice touch when you're loading 2x4s at the home center in a driving rain. Also nice in a deluge is the motorized hatch, which might be mistaken for supreme laziness until that time you've got your hands full of stuff. Convenience is the Highlander's strong suit.

The seats in all positions are comfortable, though the legroom drops off in stages as you move toward the back of the vehicle. The third row can accommodate adults, just not tall ones. The manageable (but still large) dimensions of the Highlander mean that you can either fill it up with people or stuff, but not both. The third row consumes the cargo area when in use. The retractable load cover and very nice carpeted mat also presented a challenge when using the third row. They're best left at home if you've got seven people to cart, but you don't always have advance warning when you're going to have to go into "mass transit" mode. We ended up rolling up the mat and wedging the cargo shade in (just barely) behind the hatch.

Even without a full frame and heavy-duty differentials underneath, the Highlander weighs about the same as the 4-Runner. Both vehicles are over 4,000 pounds; a four wheel drive Highlander Sport like we drove weighs in at 4,255 pounds, says Toyota. You feel that weight from behind the wheel. The overall feeling of the Highlander was very reminiscent of some full-frame vehicles we've driven. There's a vibratory sensation you get from behind the wheel – the steering column quivers a bit over bumps, for instance – that struck us as a tip of the hat to manly truckness, rather than any type of structural deficiency. Handling was good, though. Body roll is present, of course, but well reined in, and the ride is comfortable. Here's where that car-based platform pays dividends. The Highlander may be big and heavy, but it carries its avoirdupois differently than a truck-based hauler, leaving the end user with a vehicle that rides smoothly and can round corners at moderate velocities without requiring outriggers to stay upright.

There's plenty of power on tap, delivered in smooth fashion from the 2GR-FE 3.5 liter V6. The throttle can be twitchy when puttering around town or pulling away from stops, sometimes snapping everyone's head back when you just wanted to pull serenely out of the coffee shop parking lot. Mileage is also a bit trucky, high teens to low 20s is about all you can expect. The five-speed automatic is a smooth operator, although it's among the ranks of trannies that hate kicking down. It used to be that a little squeeze moved the kickdown cable enough to effect a snappy downshift, especially with the Aisin Warner units in Toyotas. No more. Modern-day electronically-controlled autos sometimes take an eternity to deliver what you've requested.

The steering is needle-bearing smooth, with a precision feel from lock to lock. There's not much information from the road surface making its way up to the wheel rim, but you don't miss it here. Highway slogs are a little busy when you're manning the Highlander's helm. The steering demands frequent small corrections, keeping the driver working harder than is necessary. Maybe a couple camber and toe tweaks in the front alignment would help, but we doubt that anyone's going to experiment. As far as gripes go, our complaint about the steering is relatively mild, and when you're surrounded by the rest of the goodness baked into the 2008 Highlander, it's easy to become an optimist.

The thing with the Highlander is that it's a great station wagon in the vein of the Wagon Queen Family Truckster. Nobody makes a full-size three-row wagon any more, and it's doubtful that one would sell very well, anyway. People still need a vehicle with space to haul bodies and boxes, so every manufacturer has whipped up a trucky-looking wagon-thing. Big wagon utility without the wood-paneled stigmata of yore has the crossover segment hotter than the core of a nuclear reactor. The popularity of the segment, plus Toyota's improvements to the Highlander figure to make it a popular buy in the high 20's to mid 30,000 dollar range. source by autoblogger

READ MORE - 2008 Toyota Highlander Sport

2009 Toyota Land Cruiser - A SUV good enough for Dr. Evil and his wife

2009 Toyota Land Cruiser - Click above for high-res image gallery

Once upon a time, if you were expecting company and they drove a Toyota Land Cruiser, you'd have Teva prints in your carpet and the smell of patchouli filling your house. Their refrigerator cheese selection probably included one with the word "Whiz" in it, and if things got too warm, your guests would unzip their Vatican pants at the knees and stuff the legs into their oversized shorts pockets. No more. With a starting price of $64,755, the 2009 Toyota Land Cruiser is a certifiable luxury proposition that only gets close to grime when tackling a grass-covered hill at the local little-league soccer field. Yet in spite of its juggernaut proportions and new personality, after a week in the 'Cruiser, it's obvious why Toyota's biggest SUV sells: it's a giant Camry that seats eight and eats volcanoes.


Before we begin we should probably put the eigth generation Land Cruiser in context. With a price matching that of a Cayenne S (once you option the Porsche comparably), U.S.-spec Land Cruisers are usually bought by people who won't treat it like U.N. peacekeepers. In fact, much the same way as its upscale Lexus LX570 cousin, not only do Land Cruisers not get dirty, they often look brand-new years after they've been bought. That encourages some folks to call them out for being one of the chosen chariots of suburban moms, the kind who fill their 5,700-pound, eight-person earth-mover with nothing more than a purse and a bottle of water.



But that's the wrong way to look at it, because the U.S. 'Cruiser isn't about utility anymore. Oh, it remains obscenely spacious and monstrously capable, but utility isn't the bulls-eye it once was. Crazy as it might sound, it's better to think of the Land Cruiser as a Range Rover, or even a Ferrari or Bentley. It's a halo vehicle by Toyota's own admission, cashing in on the decades of unstoppable credibility it earned back when wealthy mothers wouldn't have anything to do with it. It even sells in halo vehicle numbers: there were 3,801 examples sold in 2008. That's roughly three months of Range Rover sales, and about 500 fewer units than Ferrari and Bentley's combined sales. And with that comes halo-car reasoning – anyone spending $65K on an SUV isn't doing so because he or she really needs it...



So what does a Land Cruiser buyer get for all that dosh? Off-road, they get a vehicle that strides through the wilderness as ably Mother Nature herself. The 'Cruiser remains a body-on-frame truck, and the frame has been bolstered with beefier, high-strength-steel longitudinal sections. Between the frame and the road are double wishbones with coil-overs up front, and a four-link coil-spring with a solid axle and Panhard rod out back. Suspension travel is 9.05 inches up front and 9.45 inches in the rear.



The real coup, though, is the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS). Two interconnected hydraulic control cylinders are located in the front and rear of the vehicle. They take their inputs from the vertical positions of the front and rear wheels, and they control the engagement of the stabilizer bar. When the Land Cruiser is on the road and the front and rear wheels are level, the pressure in both cylinders is equal and the stabilizer bar remains engaged in order to cut down on body roll. Off-road, on uneven terrain, when the pressure in the cylinders is unequal, the mechanical movement of the hydraulic pistons effectively unhooks the stabilizer bars, allowing more roll, but giving the wheels a chance to stay in touch with the Earth. As we experienced during the Land Cruiser versus H2 comparo last year, the system works a treat; with 27 inches of vertical rear-wheel articulation, when we had the H2 rocking on two wheels, the Land Cruiser just stuck its leg out a little further and found solid ground. It's basic and extremely effective.



Another basic but extremely effective off-road feature is the CRAWL control. Put the truck in low-range and select one of three speeds, and the 'Cruiser will make its way over the most unseemly obstacles by controlling engine speed and braking. No need to figure out which differential button to press, no worries about your feathering technique with accelerator and brake. The crawl mode even works in reverse at three different speeds. Yet for all its convenience – and we admit to using it a couple of times – if you enjoy off-roading, it really does kill the thrill. Successfully navigate a nasty stretch of impediments and all you can really congratulate yourself on is that you managed to keep breathing and stay alive, because otherwise you did absolutely nothing. Frankly, unless there's a risk of getting beached or going over a cliff, you don't even need to steer. The truck will find its way through. Admittedly, in other countries at least, that's exactly what a Land Cruiser is for: to get you through whatever stands between you and the goal. It does it now just as well, and much more simply, than ever.



On-the-road and coddled inside is where the 'Cruiser makes its case to the moneyed matron. It might as well be an immense Camry that's nicer to be in, albeit one that has a lot more features along with an "it's safer because it's bigger" feeling.

The engine, with 381 hp and 401 lb-ft, is massively overpowered for off-road duty. But we couldn't help thinking that on-road it wasn't going to be enough for a 16-foot-long vehicle with a gross weight rating of 7,275 pounds. We were wrong. The six-speed adaptive transmission is quick to downshift, after which the truck simply picks up and goes. It's a bit like sitting on the back of an elephant and wondering, "How fast could this behemoth possibly go?" Then when it takes off, running faster than you ever could, you think "Oh. Well. That's not bad."



The controls are cotton candy light. Toyota seems to have geared them on the chance that you had only one finger and one toe available to drive the vehicle. You could probably turn the steering wheel by blowing on it, but there is enough slack between it and the wheels turning that you wouldn't hurt yourself doing it. The accelerator, like the crawl mode, appears to have three settings: nothing; okay, we're moving; and go, go, go, go, go! There isn't much in the way of feel while driving, but again, Land Cruiser buyers aren't in the hunt for feeling. When they want to change lanes, they really only care about turning that round thing in front of them and then turning it slightly the other way when the task is accomplished. The 'Cruiser passes that test, and the KDSS keeps things admirably level while doing it.



The Land Cruiser is also pleasantly quiet. The A-pillar has been filled with foam to reduce wind noise. The bushings between the body and the frame have been redesigned to keep road noise and vibration in check. A molding between the windshield and hood keeps air flowing over the vehicle and away from the windshield wipers. When stationary, it is genuinely hard to tell if the engine is running without checking the tachometer. Even when moving, it will only make its presence known when you punch the gas. From the driver's seat, the only thing you'll is the 14-speaker, 605-watt JBL sound system and, perhaps, a bleating child roaming somewhere among the prairie-sized cabin.



Full Disclosure: Toyota's own Sequoia is actually bigger than the Land Cruiser, but the latter is still expansive enough that it should have its own Department of the Interior. Three rows of leather-wrapped seating fit inside, and there remains room for some soft-sided bags even with the third row in use. The first two rows are warm and welcoming; the third – while much better than some ill-thought-out offerings from other makers – is still no place to put your adult friends if you can help it. If they do get sent back there, however, they'll at least have an easier time making the trek because the second row slides forward four inches, and the passenger side has a one-touch tumble mechanism so you can get it out of the way quickly. And when you decide to stack luggage back there instead of your friends (as it should be), the seats fold up and flip away courtesy of another one-touch button.



Up front, the center console has a reduced button count because of the touchscreen, but don't let that fool you – it's mission control and you're the NASA engineer. The screen has excellent resolution and all-condition visibility – the rearview camera is like watching television -- and provides controls for the aforementioned sound system as well as the telephone, calendar, navigation, maintenance, HVAC, and entertainment system. Beneath that are push-button controls for the four-zone climate system, the effects of which will be issued from the 28 vents spread like buckshot throughout the cabin.



Nor will the Land Cruiser be left out when it comes to whipped cream conveniences and safety. It's got keyless go, a moonroof, HomeLink and heated, power front seats, and you can get a heated second row, back-seat entertainment, parking sensors, headlamp washers, and a towing convertor to power trailer lights among numerous other options. Then there are the 11 airbags, active headrests, three-point seatbelts for all eight positions, traction control, stability control, brake assist and electronic brake force distribution.



So, is it worth the $65,000 cover price plus options? With a vehicle like the Land Cruiser - specifically, this American-spec model - that isn't really the issue. But if the Porsche Cayenne is too flashy, the Mercedes GL too dainty, and the Lexus LX570 too... Lexus, then the Land Cruiser is probably hulking over your sweet spot. It's ability to haul anything anywhere and let you forget you're doing it is a fine feat, and there are other vehicles that charge more to do less. The question is: Do you want to buy a Kilimanjaro on wheels that comes with a built-in lair that seats eight? If so, the mountain has come to you. All you'll need now are henchmen...
source by autoblog

READ MORE - 2009 Toyota Land Cruiser - A SUV good enough for Dr. Evil and his wife