Toyota LandCruiser updated for 2016

Toyota’s LandCruiser 200 Series is set to gain styling, performance and safety advances when an updated range arrives in Australia during the second half of October.

The announcements for Toyota’s “king off the road” are the latest in a series of comprehensive renewals within the company’s 4WD range with an updated Prado due within weeks followed in October by the arrival of a new-generation HiLux and an all-new seven-seat SUV, Fortuner.

Cosmetic changes are centred on a new front mask with a more modern design achieved by a revised grille, headlamps, bumper, fenders and bonnet.

The new grille, with a hexagonal frame and triple horizontal bars, has a more aggressive and prominent look. This is accentuated by subtle scooping in the centre of the bonnet and thinner projector-style headlamps.

Side protection mouldings and door handles have been revised while the rear makeover includes a new bumper, upper tailgate panel, combination lamps, reflectors and mudguards.

In keeping with the front design theme, the tailgate is now fitted with a more prominent panel between the restyled combination lamps. The wider licence-plate garnish extends into the lamps to emphasise width while unifying the rear design.

Two new colours, Copper Brown and Onyx Blue, are available on all grades except GX, bringing the total palette to 10 colours.

Inside, soft padding has been adopted for areas that directly contact occupants’ limbs and support their bodies with special attention paid to the thickness of materials and the treatment of edges.

Switches and displays for audio, air-conditioning and driver-related functions have been consolidated into logical groupings while dials and switches have been reshaped to make them easier to use.

The centre cluster gains a storage area and a 12V outlet for all grades plus a wireless charger for Sahara. VX and Sahara grades adopt a newly designed Optitron instrument cluster with 4.2-inch thin-film transistor colour Multi Information Display. The two upper grades are also fitted with a new Electro Multi Vision and Navigation unit with a larger nine-inch display screen (was 8 inch) for improved visibility.

The range-topping Sahara’s advanced safety features have been expanded to include Pre-Collision warning and braking, Lane Departure Alert.

The LandCruiser line-up remains diesel-only GX, followed by petrol or diesel GXL, VX and Sahara, all driven through a six-speed automatic transmission.

With the latest updates, the LandCruiser’s 4.5-litre twin-turbo diesel engine gains new injectors, revised mapping and a diesel particulate filter (DPF) fitted with a guard to protect it over rough roads.

The changes have increased the power output of the common-rail diesel by 5kW to 200kW while peak torque remains a thumping 650Nm.

Fuel economy sees an eight per cent improvement with combined-cycle consumption slipping into single figures at 9.5 litres/100km.

For the 4.6-litre petrol V8 engine, the air-injection system has been adapted to reduce emissions by inducing secondary air through the exhaust ports for faster catalyst warm-up from a cold start. Peak outputs for the petrol V8 remain unchanged at 227kW and 439Nm.