2008 Toyota Land Cruiser Review

Long-Range Cruise

The legendary Toyota Land Cruiser is redesigned with added features and heightened off-road abilities.

The Toyota Land Cruiser is the company’s nameplate but it is far from outdated. This modern and sophisticated full-size SUV is the most luxurious and off-road capable truck in Toyota’s lineup. However, it may not be the most judicious way to spend in excess of $60,000 if all you’re looking for is an upscale ride for carpooling. It’s off-road prowess is likely beyond the needs of most drivers.

The Land Cruiser model first reached U.S. shores in 1958, looking like the rugged, all-terrain military-derived vehicle that it was. But when the SUV boom started in the late 1980s, Toyota began making incremental refinements to its largely undiscovered gem. A major redesign, which featured the company’s first V8 engine, recast the vehicle as a luxury leader starting in 1998.

Completely revamped for 2008, the latest generation of the Toyota Land Cruiser features evolutionary styling changes, rides on a revised frame, has a more-powerful engine, adds amenities and includes features that further expand its already formidable off-road prowess.

• Toyota Land Cruiser Vehicle Summary

While even Toyota admits that relatively few Land Cruiser owners ever go off road, this SUV is nonetheless built to tackle the toughest terrain. Only a few thousand are sold in the U.S. each year, mostly to affluent enthusiasts. The vehicle is sold in far greater numbers, in countries with poor infrastructure. Its largest market is Saudi Arabia, where it is the top-selling SUV.

The Toyota Land Cruiser’s 5.7-liter V8 engine comes from the Tundra pickup truck. It generates strong and smooth acceleration, with sufficient torque for brisk launches and authoritative highway passing. It achieves a maximum towing capacity of 8,500 pounds, which is 1 ton more than the prior generation could muster and is competitive with all but heavy-duty domestic offerings.

The V8 is paired with a smooth-shifting, six-speed automatic transmission. This gearbox includes a manual-shift mode and Artificial Intelligence Shift Control, which adapts its shift patterns according to the vehicle’s speed and driving conditions. Fuel economy is not the vehicle’s strong suit.

The Toyota Land Cruiser’s suspension system is an amalgam of car and truck technology. The front setup is a car-like double-wishbone design for superior on-road handling while the rear is a robust four-link coil suspension with a solid axle as found on many trucks. With 18-inch wheels and tires, the Land Cruiser delivers a reasonably smooth ride, though it can get a bit busy and bouncy over pockmarked streets and asphalt irregularities — not unusual for a truck-based SUV.

Its power steering system features a variable gear ratio that spurs high-speed stability and effortless low-speed maneuverability. While the Toyota Land Cruiser steers and handles admirably for a vehicle of its size, you’ll still feel its sheer bulk when negotiating sharp curves.

Even if only for bragging rights, a number of advanced systems team up to help the Toyota Land Cruiser conquer extreme topography. A sophisticated full-time four-wheel-drive system sends 40 percent of the engine’s power to the front wheels and 60 percent to the rear under normal driving conditions. When front-wheel slippage is detected, it channels as much as 70 percent of the power to the rear axle; when rear slippage is evident it splits the torque evenly between the front and rear wheels. The system can also be locked to provide equal and continuous power to the front and rear axles, which is a setup often favored by those who take vehicles into extremely rough terrain.

A unique Crawl Control feature operates like off-road cruise control. When low-range gearing is selected, the driver can choose between three crawl speeds — about 1, 2 and 3 mph each. The system automatically controls throttle and braking to maximize the vehicle’s rock-climbing off-road abilities so the driver can focus on steering. It works well, but it takes a leap of faith to restrain yourself from hitting the brakes, which defeats the system. Most high-end rugged SUVs, including Land Rovers, have a similar system.

The Toyota Land Cruiser includes Downhill Assist Control that can hold the vehicle at a selected speed while navigating steep downhill grades. A Hill-Start Assist Control automatically keeps the vehicle from rolling backward on an uphill grade when the driver releases the brake pedal from a dead stop.

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A Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System allows the driver to disconnect the front and rear stabilizer bars — which improve on-road cornering abilities — to enable up to four more inches of wheel travel for traversing extremely uneven terrain. When the driving surface levels out enough to allow normal wheel travel, the system automatically disengages.

All of that is extremely impressive technology that most drivers will never use. Far more important to everyday driving are the standard Vehicle Stability Control and four-wheel traction control system. The antilock braking system works as usual on hard surfaces like asphalt or concrete, but allows for a bit of wheel slippage when necessary to help maximize its performance on loose surfaces.

Electronic brake-force distribution and brake-assist functions are also included. While the Land Cruiser stops well enough, it takes a bit more force on the brake pedal than you might initially expect to get the binders working with authority at highway speeds.

Still boxy and purposeful-looking on the outside, the Toyota Land Cruiser comes with a civilized leather and aluminum-look interior that packs many standard comfort and convenience features. These include heated front seats, front and rear parking warnings, four-zone air conditioning controls, a keyless entry/push-button start system and no less than 10 airbags. It seats up to eight occupants in three rows, but taller riders will find legroom lacking, even in the front passenger’s position. The 50/50 split-folding third-row seat is best reserved for children; unlike competing models’, it doesn’t fold flat, but rather folds up and to the sides, and cannot be removed, which limits the Toyota Land Cruiser’s cargo capacity.

Optional amenities (most of which are only offered in packages) include heated rear seats, a rearview camera for parking, headlamp washers and a navigation system that incorporates Bluetooth technology and allows for hands-free operation of similarly enabled cell phones.