TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 2016 REVIEW

TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 2016 REVIEW BY AUTO CRITIC STEVE HAMMES

It’s that time again for another Hammes family summer vacation in the beautiful state of Maine. And you know what that means; the chance to fully experience a new ride in its most challenging environment.  So this year we went with Toyota’s most expensive and venerable vehicle, the updated 2016 Land Cruiser.

Toyota has continually sold Land Cruiser models in the United States since 1957. But the nearly $85,000 SUV you see here didn’t’ begin its luxury aspirations until the 1990s.  Once known as a utilitarian 4X4 based upon the Willys Jeep, the Land Cruiser is now a favorite among a handful of doctors and those loyal to the nameplate.  With monthly sales of only about 200 units, the Japan-built Land Cruiser is the rarest, new Toyota Motor Sales vehicle by volume.

With an unconventional 3 rows of seating and only 3 of us, we had plenty of room for a week’s worth of beach toys and luggage but despite the Land Cruiser’s 5,800 pound curb weight and 9” of ground clearance, there’s less cargo room in here than the midsized Highlander. Using body-on-frame construction in the rugged truck tradition, the Land Cruiser’s full-time 4-wheel drive system bundled with a host of advanced control systems ensures the utmost confidence in off-road driving.  It’s got just about every trick in the book and I’ve tried most of them in previous Land Cruiser tests.  But this time, I’m evaluating the Land Cruiser on its family vacation capabilities and far less on its go-anywhere credentials.  Meeting up with other family members meant this was to be the go-to shuttle for 5 people to and from the beach as well as through the slow, around the town driving you encounter in New England.  And of course kids always want to sit in the 3^rd row so I became quite familiar with folding these 2 seats into place.

So here’s what’s new for the 2016 model year; an 8-speed replaces the previous 6-speed transmission helping to enhance acceleration from the 5.7-liter V8. This is Toyota’s big truck and SUV engine, generating 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque, but it’s also one of the least efficient motors on the market, rated at a paltry 13mpg city/18mpg highway.  At least it doesn’t require premium like its Lexus brethren.  It can pull a trailer up to 8,100 pounds.  Toyota’s Safety Sense with Pre-Collision System, Frontal Collision Avoidance and Pedestrian Protection makes its debut along with a Blind Spot Monitor and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.  The Entune infotainment system has been updated to include Siri Eyes Free, allowing iPhone users to speak directly with their devices.  Wireless phone charging has been added for non-iPhone users and the dual screen rear entertainment system continues to come standard.  From the outside, the body is new from the A-pillar forward with projector-beam LED headlights and out back there’re new taillights, chrome molding and bumper.  The overall look is understated yet substantial…just how Land Cruiser owners want it.  There are no options or packages…simply pick your color and everything else is standard.

From a driving perspective, the Land Cruiser has that hallmark big truck feel with the sophisticated suspension doing its best to balance its worthy off-road credentials with its on-road necessities. It’s smooth all right but there can still be a good deal of body lean and head tossing when the pavement gets upset.  It rides on little-for-its-size new 18” wheels wrapped in quiet all-season Dunlops.  The added cogs of the 8-speed seemed to get a little confused at times by the slow nature of around the town driving and the brakes can be REALLY grabby.  But highway driving is peaceful and serene with ample power and a good sense of straight ahead with the use of variable ratio, speed sensitive steering which provides a greater sense of stability.

It’s been several years since I’ve test-driven one of these and I’ve always appreciated what the Land Cruiser has to offer. But this is far from Toyota’s finest moment.  First off, no $85k vehicle should have a key fob like this.

Other luxury vehicle demerits come with the lack of multiple power seat adjustments, the non-damped tailgate with no power functon, the inclusion of only 1 USB port, power folding mirrors without an automatic mode, and some of the worst voice recognition software I’ve seen. The entertainment system is a mess with big clumsy screens that always seem to be in the way, poor resolution, no Blu-ray playback as in the far less expensive Sequoia, and cheap sounding headphones.  The cool box is pretty cool, but I’d prefer a bigger center console instead.

And lastly, its 3^rd row functionality just isn’t very good.  I swear, 99% of Land Cruiser buyers would be better off with a Highlander and an extra $30k grand in their pocket.  The lack of effort here is very surprising.

Toyota even makes you pay extra for floor mats! On a positive note, there’re automatic heated and cooled seats in the front, auto high beams, an around view camera perfect for a vehicle of this size, and radar cruise control.  With a similarly priced Range Rover available and its sharper Lexus LX counterpart within a few thousand dollars, the attraction to this dinosaur is a bit perplexing.