Fragonard
Member
I thought if the spare isn't on the back door, it's underneath the back bumper? It is on lwb versions.I've had my SWB Commercial for a month now and just about to hit 3000 miles so I thought I would do a bit of a write-up/review of how it has gone so far (warning long read!).
Background
I'd been looking for a vehicle to replace my highly trusted and loved Skoda Octavia estate which had served as an excellent 'agronomy-wagon' for the past 3 years. Utterly reliable but obviously a big struggle for ground clearance (although it is surprising what tracks you can get down when it's 6pm on Friday and you've already walked 16 miles that day). I saw the launch of the Land Cruiser Utility & Commercial and liked the look of them, test driving one back in August 2018. I have lots of clients with Toyota vehicles and they seemed to love them. However a new SWB at list price was just not feasible and being a new launch I knew I would have to wait a while for used ones to come onto the market. Although it seems that even used ones command a high premium, so the possible strong re-sale values also appealed.
LWB Commercial from Toyota Bristol I test drove in August 2018...LWB a bit too big for my needs.
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Keeping all options open, I also test drove a Dacia Duster. I really, really liked it and appreciate what it stands for (I was not on a mission to find every possible black car).
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I continued to keep an eye out for the next few months before finding my Land Cruiser. Firstly it would seem that it was pretty good luck that I found it at Listers Toyota, Lincoln as an ex-demo vehicle that had done about 500 miles. For some reason, it was actually listed as a 2.0 Petrol on their website/system, hence the reason it probably hadn't sold! There was quite an amusing exchange with the salesman, when after the test drive he announced "It's got lots of torque for a 2-litre petrol, hasn't it?". Followed by me replying numerous times that I was fairly certain it's a 2.8 Diesel..."No, no, they've changed it to a petrol". Goes away to check and comes back sheepishly 5 minutes later, "Ah, you're quite right, our system seems to be wrong...". [emoji23]
The buying experience from Listers Toyota was fairly painful, not the easiest to deal with but got there in the end. I don't think the salesman was used to someone not just walking in and wanting to PCP a white Yaris for £99 a month. It was up for about £3000 off list price and they weren't at all interested to budge. I think they knew they had about the only one in the country!
Picked it up and made a stop off with some family in Leicester on the way back down home to get a few photos, knowing it would never, ever, look like this again...
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Now, I know beauty is 'in the eye of the beholder' and all that, and seeing as I am indeed the beholder, I think it looks good.I am probably on my own here, I believe @Mounty described the above as 'pig ugly' and @PSQ made reference to the 'f'ugly front' on the other thread.
I like the fact that it looks 'fit for purpose' and despite being a fair size it is fairly inconspicuous, with black plastic trim instead of chrome. I wasn't sure on the steelies at first but now they have really grown on me, and I never worry about wrecking them!
Driving Impressions
Bearing in mind I was coming from an Octavia estate (effectively a Golf), I was prepared for a bit of a shock on the driving front. Wrong!
As expected the 2.8 lump pulls very well, lots of torque low down. I don't do any towing so capability, stability etc on the towing front not a concern for me. The engine seems pretty refined, obviously some diesel groaning once you start thrashing it. Another advantage of them stripping everything out the back is that it feels quite spritely. Add the short wheelbase and the fact you are sitting pretty much dead in the middle of the car, it can be surprisingly 'fun' to drive (for what it is!).
Gearbox is a 6-speed manual, seems OK, still a bit tight so expect it to loosen up a little yet. Quite a long throw on it but soon get used to it.
Ride quality is far, far better than I was expecting. The suspension set up is very compliant and it soaks up bad roads quite well, I'm sure the big profile tyres are helping as well. Bearing in mind that I do about 30,000 miles a year on all types of roads, farm tracks, etc. I soon know if I am not enjoying the ride!
The cabin is very quiet. I read in another review that the reviewer suspected not a gram of sound-insulation had been sacrificed in this model compared to the top-spec £50k Invincible model, and I can well believe it. At low revs or big bumps you do get some vibration/reverberation through the mesh bulkhead.
Driving position is well and truly 'commanding'. Range Rover drivers don't seem that impressed that I can look down on them from my 'van'!
It is full time 4WD, with low-range and lockable centre diff. Not had to try these out in anger yet.
Fuel economy is.....OK. Before buying this was probably my main concern especially given the mileage I do. I think the official combined MPG is 37, driving like miss daisy on a long highway/motorway trip you can get pretty close to that. My current average MPG over 3000 miles is about 33, so not too bad (again I knew I was in for a shock coming from my Skoda which averaged 55 MPG over 3.5 years!).
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Interior
Functional, but comfy. Love the retro velour seats! Lots of adjustment in the drivers seat (manual) with electric lumbar support. No lumbar support on the passenger seat, but my passengers so far have reported it has been comfortable. Given this is hopefully a 'long term' investment, I've got some decent seat covers on there now to hopefully keep them protected.
There is a bit of stupid piano-black trim above the glove box and around the radio/AC settings. It just gets covered in dust and some has been scratched already. It does add a bit of jazz.. fine in the top spec trim but not very practical in the 'Utility Commercial'
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Something which you don't appreciate until you get into the cabin is how much space there is between the back of the seats and the bulkhead. I actually considered putting the spare wheel there (more on that later) and it fitted no problem. I would like to make/find some sort of storage for back here, possibly for my farm maps/folders, reference books etc.
So, to the boot/load area. Massive space and very square access which is ideal. The side-opening tailgate will not be to everyone's taste, although you can open the rear glass on it's own which is quite a neat touch, if you're in a tight space and want to grab a coat, etc. or shove something in the back.
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One 'problem' I have found with the boot is that although it is well and truly massive, it isn't especially useful if you have an assortment of random stuff, like waterproofs, wellies, boxes, soil sampling gear, etc. It is begging for some sort of storage/drawer system - thats on my to-do list once the spring madness is over!
This brings me onto possibly the biggest flaw with this vehicle so far, something which I would also consider to be unforgivable! The short wheel-base vehicle does not come with a spare wheel. I knew this before I bought it, and prepared accordingly, but for this type of vehicle to come with a can of tyre-sealant and compressor is bloody ridiculous. I have since sourced a matching spare steel wheel from eBay and stuck a tyre on it, which is currently temporarily strapped to the back of the bulkhead (securely). Everywhere else, including Ireland, it seems that the SWB Land Cruisers come with the spare on the backdoor (see below). I have no ideal at all why they can't do the same here.
Why can't they do this for the UK SWB vehicles? (Not my photo...)
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Verdict so far
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I am very happy with the vehicle so far, but obviously still very early days. Service intervals are 12 months/ 10,000 miles, which is a bit of a shame it's not longer, I am going to be well-acquainted with the service staff at the dealership. Hopefully the famed Toyota reliability also turns out to be well-founded, time will tell. I will update this thread as we go, I haven't seen another SWB Commercial on the road yet so they still seem to be fairly rare on the ground.
The big thing I need to sort out is some sort of storage solution for behind the seats and then in the boot, with a proper mount/fixing for the spare wheel against the bulkhead. If anyone has a recommendations for companies that make stuff like that, be glad to hear.
If anyone has any specific questions etc. i'll try my best to answer (I am not the most mechanically minded..[emoji38]).
I asked Toyota, why have different back door types and they said it looks better with no spare wheel on the door.
Down under, they don't have the underneath spare wheel option because they need an extra fuel tank underneath the back bumper, I was told.
So all models there have the spare on door.
They should introduce a choice of doors.
