Category: Large 4x4s 
Price Range: £32,385 to £54,990
Toughness, off-road ability, value for money, honest all-round abilities
Roly-poly on-road ride, light steering, feels dated
A great working vehicle for towing, farm work and hard graft, but not the best choice for the lifestyle set
The smaller of the Land Cruisers is now called simply Land Cruiser, dropping its 'Colorado' tag (the mammoth Land Cruiser Amazon continues as it is for the moment). This new-for-2003 model is in the long-running Land Cruiser template, designed for toughness and durability and for coping with the world's most difficult terrains. At a time when many of Toyota's rivals are switching to car-like monocoque or unitary body structures for their 4x4s, Toyota is sticking with the tried and tested separate chassis formula, albeit with a stiffer, more lightweight body-on-frame construction: this means that the Land Cruiser is not the most sophisticated car on the road, but it certainly does the business off it. It remains the real deal, in a slightly old-fashioned, no-nonsense sort of way.
The Land Cruiser is offered with Toyota's 3.0-litre D-4D common-rail diesel, which delivers 161 bhp and 343Nm of torque, or (from March 2003) an all-new 4.0-litre petrol V6, though this is expected to account for only a handful of sales. An automatic gearbox is available (standard on the petrol model), and the Land Cruiser features full-time four-wheel drive, a centre Torsen limited-slip differential with diff lock, a fully lockable rear limited-slip differential and a low-ratio gear transfer box as standard, plus a whole new array of electronic off-roading aids - hill-start assist control, downhill assist control, vehicle stability control, active traction control and, on top-spec models, semi-active height-adjustable automatic suspension. It is offered in three- or five door form, the latter seating up to eight people.
