Toyota showed its new Land Cruiser in a Middle East-centered online reveal that largely ignored the US since it is coming here only as a Lexus LX600 sometime during 2022 at a starting price North of the current $85,665. Elsewhere Toyota is emphasizing off-road performance so the vehicle size including total length, width, and wheelbase, as well as both departure and approach angles have been kept the same as the previous model in most versions. Toyota plans to launch the new Land Cruiser globally starting this summer.
The frame was redesigned to reduce weight and increase rigidity. Various steps were taken, such as the reduction of the total weight of the vehicle (by 200 kg) including the frame and the body, a lowered center of gravity, weight distribution, and improved suspension structure. Based on these changes, as well as through changes obtained through actual driving tests by evaluation members, including in-house drivers and drivers who had participated in the Dakar Rally, Toyota aimed to create a truck “that is easy to drive and does not easily tire the driver both on-road and off-road.”
Off-road performance changes and new technologies have been adopted says Toyota:
- Improvement in the basic suspension performance or the ability of a tire to stay on the ground.
- Improved road-holding performance through the adoption of the E-KDSS – Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System.
- Adoption of the Multi-Terrain Monitor, which instantly displays obstacles as viewed from the driver’s viewpoint.
- Adoption of the Multi Terrain Select, which automatically judges the road surface and selects the best driving mode.
A newly developed V6 twin-turbo engine (3.5-liter gasoline and 3.3-liter diesel globally) is used to achieve – again claimed – class-leading driving performance and drivability that surpass those of a conventional V8 engine. In terms of environmental performance, Toyota is aiming to globally reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 10% a year* compared with the previous model by combining the newly developed Direct Shift-10AT, a10-speed automatic transmission, with lighter body weight. (*Based on the in-house weighted average calculation of CO2 emission comparison of the global total amounts between the 200 and 300 series in use. The redesigned new Land Cruiser 300 Series, the successor to the 200 Series that debuted in 2007, is a station wagon model. As the flagship model of the Land Cruiser series, it has led the way in vehicle evolution while incorporating the latest technologies, Toyota says.)
The new Land Cruiser has adopted the latest Toyota Safety Sense active safety package with two functions added to the pre-collision system that helps avoid a collision or reduce damage by detecting pedestrians (daytime and nighttime) and cyclists (daytime).
- The first is a function that detects oncoming vehicles at intersections and oncoming pedestrians crossing the street when the vehicle is turning in either direction.
- The second is an emergency steering and crash avoidance function, which assists with steering and lane keeping and is triggered when the driver performs a steering maneuver to avoid collision.
Furthermore, the new Land Cruiser has adopted the new Parking Support Brake, which helps prevent accidents by recognizing obstacles in front and back of the vehicle in a parking lot, approaching vehicles when the vehicle is backing, and pedestrians.
Toyota adopted the new GA-F platform while keeping the frame structure, which is the foundation of the Land Cruiser. Toyota says it redesigned the Land Cruiser’s character by merging technologies accumulated over many years with the latest technologies, to achieve such improvements as vehicle weight reduction, lowering the center of gravity, the adoption of a new powertrain, and new interior and exterior designs.
Land Cruiser Snapshot
The Land Cruiser was launched in August 1951 as the four-wheel-drive Toyota BJ equipped with a powerful engine and a high level of off-road performance in adverse environments, for example, becoming the first vehicle to climb up to the sixth checkpoint of Mount Fuji. Due in part to its performance record, it began to be adopted as a police patrol car all over Japan.
Since then, a cumulative total of ~10.4 million units and more than 300,000 units, including Lexus LX and GX, a year have been used in 170 countries and regions all over the world. The essence of the Land Cruiser in Toyota’s view consists of reliability, durability, and off-road performance:
- As an indispensable tool that supports people’s livelihood in places that can only be travelled to and from using the Land Cruiser.
- As a vehicle that supports lives in humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts.
- As a vehicle that supports more enriched lives through experiences only the Land Cruiser can provide.
Toyota Unveils the New Land Cruiser
The frame was redesigned to reduce weight and increase rigidity. Various steps were taken, such as the reduction of the total weight of the vehicle (by 200 kg) including the frame and the body, a lowered center of gravity, weight distribution, and improved suspension structure. Based on these changes, as well as through changes obtained through actual driving tests by evaluation members, including in-house drivers and drivers who had participated in the Dakar Rally, Toyota aimed to create a truck “that is easy to drive and does not easily tire the driver both on-road and off-road.”
Off-road performance changes and new technologies have been adopted says Toyota:
A newly developed V6 twin-turbo engine (3.5-liter gasoline and 3.3-liter diesel globally) is used to achieve – again claimed – class-leading driving performance and drivability that surpass those of a conventional V8 engine. In terms of environmental performance, Toyota is aiming to globally reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 10% a year* compared with the previous model by combining the newly developed Direct Shift-10AT, a10-speed automatic transmission, with lighter body weight. (*Based on the in-house weighted average calculation of CO2 emission comparison of the global total amounts between the 200 and 300 series in use. The redesigned new Land Cruiser 300 Series, the successor to the 200 Series that debuted in 2007, is a station wagon model. As the flagship model of the Land Cruiser series, it has led the way in vehicle evolution while incorporating the latest technologies, Toyota says.)
Furthermore, the new Land Cruiser has adopted the new Parking Support Brake, which helps prevent accidents by recognizing obstacles in front and back of the vehicle in a parking lot, approaching vehicles when the vehicle is backing, and pedestrians.
Toyota adopted the new GA-F platform while keeping the frame structure, which is the foundation of the Land Cruiser. Toyota says it redesigned the Land Cruiser’s character by merging technologies accumulated over many years with the latest technologies, to achieve such improvements as vehicle weight reduction, lowering the center of gravity, the adoption of a new powertrain, and new interior and exterior designs.
Land Cruiser Snapshot
The Land Cruiser was launched in August 1951 as the four-wheel-drive Toyota BJ equipped with a powerful engine and a high level of off-road performance in adverse environments, for example, becoming the first vehicle to climb up to the sixth checkpoint of Mount Fuji. Due in part to its performance record, it began to be adopted as a police patrol car all over Japan.
Since then, a cumulative total of ~10.4 million units and more than 300,000 units, including Lexus LX and GX, a year have been used in 170 countries and regions all over the world. The essence of the Land Cruiser in Toyota’s view consists of reliability, durability, and off-road performance: