LC70 - A no-nonsense work horse

This certainly is the case with the latest Land Cruiser 70 Wagon we have been piloting over the last week or so, that we’re sure is using parts with the same part number as those fitted to the first version that was launched in 1984.

Whilst the industry is awash with the term SUV, it is something the LC 70 is not. What we have is a true utility build, supported on a hefty ladder chassis and aimed at the mining, military, agriculture and rescue services, who need something that’s easy to drive and service – and tougher than John Wayne.

Still featuring an instantly recognisable boxy outline, with vital statistics of 4875mm long, 1870mm wide and 1950mm high, it wouldn’t be rude to suggest that the LC70 has the aerodynamics of small house.

Tipping the scales at 2345kg and offering a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, standard spec is lots of ground clearance, short overhangs, narrow A, B and C-pillars, just like its predecessors, with a hint to the present with retro-style round headlights, complemented by a high-level, snorkel air intake on the offside A-pillar.

LC purists will be heaving a big sigh when they find the Wagon is fitted with a 2.8 litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged lump, stolen straight from the Hilux to deliver the same 150kW/500Nm output. And even more sighs when they find it mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. What on Earth is the world coming to?

Rear barn doors and tipping rear seats offer greater access and a huge load area.

Interestingly, while only sporting half the cylinders of the lugubrious V8, engine output is the same, while torque is 70Nm greater and fuel consumption is reduced by 11%. The only thing really missing is that glorious exhaust rumble, because in all other aspects the LC pulls hard and drives well in all conditions.

There is a little of that new fangled technology with Toyota’s Safety Sense package that includes the likes of lane departure warning, autonomous braking, pedestrian and cycle warning, downhill assistance, and a rear-view camera without parking sensors.

In the cabin, the seats are clothed covered and 1984-spec’ with forward and aft and backrest adjustment only. The purists are covered with a selection of knobs and buttons and a slider for the heater controls – ideal for fat fingers, cold, wet or gloved hands, as is often the case in the intended markets. Meanwhile, rear barn doors and tipping rear seats offer greater access and a huge load area.

On the road, coils springs on the rigid front and leaf springs on the rigid rear axle delivers a “floaty” ride, made greater by the elevated seating position, with steering that is slow and about as accurate as the NZ Navy’s HMNZS Manawanui, which they mislaid off Samoa, with a minimum turning circle of 12.6 metres.

Given that it’s built to work, it brings back the thought of the saying, “if you want to go bush, buy a competitor’s SUV. If you want to get home too, buy a Toyota LC Series”.