8100
Member
- Location
- South Cheshire
I remember Dacia's 1980s effort ........................................................
Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial - 1 month review
- Thread starter BenB
- Start date
cosmiccrofter
Member
- Location
- Morayshire
ollie989898
Member
Dude, it is all over youtube. It fails the moose test spectacularly and is a terrible car. You would not catch me in one.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
You could just drive it accordingly and you'd be fine of course. Same with a Defender tbf
ollie989898
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Fair enough. For what I need that vehicle for, it's fit for purpose. You can roll a fire appliance if you really want to, moose or no moose
ollie989898
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
I do thanks
No test or design can compensate for bad or inappropriate driving
A hazard is anything that causes you to alter your direction of travel
Finn farmer
Member
They won't stuck to the hub so easily and are easier to remove. You can buy it in spray cans.
- Location
- N.Yorkshire
It looks really smart, what size tyres does it come on those steel wheels please?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.
View attachment 790148
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).
View attachment 790150
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...".
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...
View attachment 790144 View attachment 790146
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 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!).
View attachment 790154
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'
View attachment 790160
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.
View attachment 790158
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...)
View attachment 790174
Verdict so far
View attachment 790188
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..
Johnnyboxer
Member
- Location
- Yorkshire
17's I believe
michael N123
Member
That’s right, they are 17” steelies, the tyre size is 245/70/17.
I can’t believe how quickly time has gone, I’ve nearly had it a year! I will do a 1 year review soon!
Johnnyboxer
Member
- Location
- Yorkshire
Cowabunga
Member
- Location
- Ceredigion,Wales
My old 1995 Terrano has just been sold on by its second owner. Its MOT was due in a few months and he thought that he was pushing his luck to expect it to pass. It still looked good but there was a lot of rust on its chassis and under the plastic wheel arch extensions. Probably on brake pipes and other stuff as well. 2.8 turbo diesel engine is like new and that model was probably the last really great diesel that Nissan ever made. The gearbox on the 100hp models were not that great but this one never gave any bother.
Bloody 'ell my 25 year old 4.2 Landcruiser is better than that by about 100%.
michael N123
Member
Mines a 3 litre 06.... if heard the gearboxes are not the best but it looks very simple to remove if I ever need to change some bearings
got it last week of a fella who had it as a company car then bought to pull a little trailer so has only done a couple thousand miles a year for the last 10 years and it’s been under sealed over 10 years ago and redone again last year so hopefully rust won’t kill it off any time soon
- Location
- mid cornwall
Mines a 3 litre 06.... if heard the gearboxes are not the best but it looks very simple to remove if I ever need to change some bearings
got it last week of a fella who had it as a company car then bought to pull a little trailer so has only done a couple thousand miles a year for the last 10 years and it’s been under sealed over 10 years ago and redone again last year so hopefully rust won’t kill it off any time soon
Good trucks, personally prefer the 2.7 after having an 06 3 litre one but as a word of warning the gearbox is bloody heavy if it needs removing-took 4 of us to get the replacement gearbox back in place in mine, in comparison to a landrover which is an easy 3 man job and just possible on your own at a push
Update – Land Cruiser Utility Commercial 1 year Review!
Sorry folks, I’m a bit late with the 1 year update on the Land Cruiser, although with the agronomy season in full swing I’ve been struggling to find the time to this! Who’d have thought that a year ago I’d be writing this during the middle of a lockdown due to global pandemic….
Overlooking the Candover valley, Hampshire
Let’s get to it then. I absolutely love it. Although not in a ‘wash and polish every weekend and obsess over every scratch and stonechip’ sort of way, but more that it just gets on with what I ask of it with minimal fuss. I don’t get upset when I have to drive half into the hedge meeting a tractor down a country lane and scratch the sides. I didn’t even get upset when a pheasant flew out in front of me and put a large hole in the plastic Toyota badge (big pheasant). I did get a bit upset when a lorry reversed into it when it was parked up, but the insurance sorted that one out!
Lorry reversing round a blind corner in a yard opened the bonnet up like a baked bean can.
I have now covered over 30,000 miles, now at an average fuel economy of 32.5mpg. It was quite a bit higher, I was hovering around 34-35mpg for a long time, but then I changed to some slightly more knobbly tyres and the efficiency took a hit. Not a fault with the truck as such, but the factory Bridgestone Duelers were absolutely appalling. Great on road, but I picked up 3 punctures in 20,000 miles and they just weren’t designed for farm tracks, flints, etc. Changed to Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S, which so far have been good.
Swapped the factory Dueler highway tyres for something more appropriate...
...but fuel economy taken a bit of a hit. At least diesel is cheap at the moment!
I have had the Land Cruiser serviced twice now at Toyota Swindon, which has been a pretty good experience. One minor and one major service, the next minor service was due at 30k miles which unfortunately coincided with the lockdown and the dealership said they weren’t doing any non-essential work, so hopefully I can get that caught up soon. I am planning on keeping this vehicle a long time so want to make sure service internals are stuck to. I know I could take it somewhere else and make sure they use genuine oils, etc. but I’m keen to keep all Toyota service stamps in the book until the warranty is up – give them less opportunity to wriggle out of something in the future?
The courtesy Toyota super-mini whilst getting a service was surprisingly good off-road...why did I bother getting a Land Cruiser?!
Nothing major (or minor, for that matter) has gone wrong yet (now just jinxed it!), so reliability good so far. Couple of niggly things, after one of my punctures I put the spare wheel on, which doesn’t have a tyre pressure monitoring sensor on it, so the TPMS system shows a fault and won’t let me clear it – seems ridiculous that a dealer has to reset this. Also went through the battery in the ‘main’ key fob quite quickly, this is my first vehicle with keyless entry/push start so perhaps it just uses more power doing all this? I’m used to car key batteries lasting a few years! Again it says ‘Key battery low, visit your dealer’ – SERIOUSLY?!
The 2.8 Diesel is plenty adequate enough for me, I don’t do any towing. With the short wheelbase and being relatively light (as a stripped-out commercial) it is surprisingly ‘fun’ to drive for what it is! I find the ride extremely comfortable, I like the way the suspension and big tyres give plenty of cushioning down poor road surfaces. The seats are spot on, no complaints – given my mileage I would be complaining if they weren’t OK.
As lovely as the soft velour seats were, wanted to keep them protected so invested in some Escape Gear fitted cotton canvas seat covers, they weren’t cheap but I have regretted the cheaper ‘universal’ seat covers in the past. They were a pig to fit the first time, I was expecting to be taking them off to wash quite a bit, but I just wipe them down with a damp cloth and they come up really well. Good investment.
Escape Gear seat covers are excellent. The mud just wipes right off with a damp cloth.
The manual gearbox is fine, would prefer an auto, which you can now get but I think you have to ‘up’ spec to an Active instead of the Utility which I have. I’ve used the Low Range and Diff Lock a few times in anger (Cereals 2019 car park, anyone?!), I’ve not got stuck yet! I love having full time 4WD, it just grips and grips. I could happily do with another 0.5-1” of ground clearance – fine 95% of the time but do scrape the belly on some heavily rutted tracks I drive.
I bought a snow-foam attachment for the pressure washer, which is rather good fun (and helps with the cleaning).
It’s generally nice and quiet in the cabin when cruising, as expected from this kind of vehicle its mostly diesel grumble, wind and tyre noise, but nothing offensive.
WeatherTech floor mats have been another good investment, providing more protection than the standard rubber mats.
One annoyance does come from the automatic headlights. The sensor on the dash is extremely sensitive, to the point that driving along a B-road on a sunny day, the lights are constantly flicking on and off as you go through sun/shade! I sometimes wonder if people think I’m flashing my lights at them!
I love that the radio is ‘normal’, not a touch screen, I use my phone for Google Maps so have no need for another screen for the radio, etc. I just find them distracting and difficult to use by touch/whilst driving. Bluetooth works as it should do, no drama. Very important, the sound system/speakers are good/fine, nothing spectacular, may consider upgrading in the future.
There is no backup camera or reversing sensors on this spec. Took a while to get used to this again as my previous car had rear sensors and you come to rely on them heavily. However, I’ve gotten used to actually reversing ‘properly’ again (i.e. by looking out the window or opening the door Defender 90 style). The blanked our rear quarter windows obviously massively reduce visibility, got to be careful at tight junctions, car parks etc. Again I’m used to this now but again would consider fitting rear sensors and/or a backup camera.
I see the Land Cruiser Commercials now have tinted rear windows rather than the body coloured vinyl sticker to blank them out – another possible to do, is to get the vinyl taken off and replaced with a very dark tint (as long as its still legal as a commercial?).
Right onto the boot/back, which is generally the point of the commercial. I’m sorry to say that I’m still not really using it to its full potential. The spare wheel takes up a fair bit of space, then by the time I have a couple of boxes and boots etc, I’ve taken up the available floor space. I do have a grand plan for the back, I did get a company to quote to make a set of drawers to fit in the back (CAB Transit Boxes), it wasn’t silly money I just haven’t got round to it yet. I would like some sort of proper/secure mounting point for the spare wheel perhaps with some additional racking/storage above a set of drawers. I’ll figure something out eventually!
I'll figure something better out.....eventually......
There is a ton of between the back of the seats and the bulkhead. Unfortunately I just shove jackets/fleeces/folders/water bottles/etc down there and it has turned into a mess. Again, some sort of storage, even just some ply dividers, would probably be the way to go. I’ve debated taking the entire bulkhead out (not a difficult job)…..another option to think about!
Very importantly, the Land Cruiser appears to have gone down pretty well on-farm with my clients, many of whom have said they’ll be interested to see how I get on with it. On the whole, I am delighted with it, sure there’s a few things I would like to change but overall it is a no-fuss, practical vehicle ideally suited to both comfortable on-road driving and more than capable off-road, or at least for me out and about on farm.
I know what you're going to say......I've heard it before....a million times......don't even bother!
Let’s hope the next 30,000 miles are just as hassle free (with no more punctures!).
Any specific questions please feel free to ask.
@Rob Holmes Rob, please could you update my first post of the thread with a link/clicky somewhere to this post? Thanks!
Sorry folks, I’m a bit late with the 1 year update on the Land Cruiser, although with the agronomy season in full swing I’ve been struggling to find the time to this! Who’d have thought that a year ago I’d be writing this during the middle of a lockdown due to global pandemic….
Overlooking the Candover valley, Hampshire
Let’s get to it then. I absolutely love it. Although not in a ‘wash and polish every weekend and obsess over every scratch and stonechip’ sort of way, but more that it just gets on with what I ask of it with minimal fuss. I don’t get upset when I have to drive half into the hedge meeting a tractor down a country lane and scratch the sides. I didn’t even get upset when a pheasant flew out in front of me and put a large hole in the plastic Toyota badge (big pheasant). I did get a bit upset when a lorry reversed into it when it was parked up, but the insurance sorted that one out!
Lorry reversing round a blind corner in a yard opened the bonnet up like a baked bean can.
I have now covered over 30,000 miles, now at an average fuel economy of 32.5mpg. It was quite a bit higher, I was hovering around 34-35mpg for a long time, but then I changed to some slightly more knobbly tyres and the efficiency took a hit. Not a fault with the truck as such, but the factory Bridgestone Duelers were absolutely appalling. Great on road, but I picked up 3 punctures in 20,000 miles and they just weren’t designed for farm tracks, flints, etc. Changed to Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S, which so far have been good.
Swapped the factory Dueler highway tyres for something more appropriate...
...but fuel economy taken a bit of a hit. At least diesel is cheap at the moment!
I have had the Land Cruiser serviced twice now at Toyota Swindon, which has been a pretty good experience. One minor and one major service, the next minor service was due at 30k miles which unfortunately coincided with the lockdown and the dealership said they weren’t doing any non-essential work, so hopefully I can get that caught up soon. I am planning on keeping this vehicle a long time so want to make sure service internals are stuck to. I know I could take it somewhere else and make sure they use genuine oils, etc. but I’m keen to keep all Toyota service stamps in the book until the warranty is up – give them less opportunity to wriggle out of something in the future?
The courtesy Toyota super-mini whilst getting a service was surprisingly good off-road...why did I bother getting a Land Cruiser?!
Nothing major (or minor, for that matter) has gone wrong yet (now just jinxed it!), so reliability good so far. Couple of niggly things, after one of my punctures I put the spare wheel on, which doesn’t have a tyre pressure monitoring sensor on it, so the TPMS system shows a fault and won’t let me clear it – seems ridiculous that a dealer has to reset this. Also went through the battery in the ‘main’ key fob quite quickly, this is my first vehicle with keyless entry/push start so perhaps it just uses more power doing all this? I’m used to car key batteries lasting a few years! Again it says ‘Key battery low, visit your dealer’ – SERIOUSLY?!
The 2.8 Diesel is plenty adequate enough for me, I don’t do any towing. With the short wheelbase and being relatively light (as a stripped-out commercial) it is surprisingly ‘fun’ to drive for what it is! I find the ride extremely comfortable, I like the way the suspension and big tyres give plenty of cushioning down poor road surfaces. The seats are spot on, no complaints – given my mileage I would be complaining if they weren’t OK.
As lovely as the soft velour seats were, wanted to keep them protected so invested in some Escape Gear fitted cotton canvas seat covers, they weren’t cheap but I have regretted the cheaper ‘universal’ seat covers in the past. They were a pig to fit the first time, I was expecting to be taking them off to wash quite a bit, but I just wipe them down with a damp cloth and they come up really well. Good investment.
Escape Gear seat covers are excellent. The mud just wipes right off with a damp cloth.
The manual gearbox is fine, would prefer an auto, which you can now get but I think you have to ‘up’ spec to an Active instead of the Utility which I have. I’ve used the Low Range and Diff Lock a few times in anger (Cereals 2019 car park, anyone?!), I’ve not got stuck yet! I love having full time 4WD, it just grips and grips. I could happily do with another 0.5-1” of ground clearance – fine 95% of the time but do scrape the belly on some heavily rutted tracks I drive.
I bought a snow-foam attachment for the pressure washer, which is rather good fun (and helps with the cleaning).
It’s generally nice and quiet in the cabin when cruising, as expected from this kind of vehicle its mostly diesel grumble, wind and tyre noise, but nothing offensive.
WeatherTech floor mats have been another good investment, providing more protection than the standard rubber mats.
One annoyance does come from the automatic headlights. The sensor on the dash is extremely sensitive, to the point that driving along a B-road on a sunny day, the lights are constantly flicking on and off as you go through sun/shade! I sometimes wonder if people think I’m flashing my lights at them!
I love that the radio is ‘normal’, not a touch screen, I use my phone for Google Maps so have no need for another screen for the radio, etc. I just find them distracting and difficult to use by touch/whilst driving. Bluetooth works as it should do, no drama. Very important, the sound system/speakers are good/fine, nothing spectacular, may consider upgrading in the future.
There is no backup camera or reversing sensors on this spec. Took a while to get used to this again as my previous car had rear sensors and you come to rely on them heavily. However, I’ve gotten used to actually reversing ‘properly’ again (i.e. by looking out the window or opening the door Defender 90 style). The blanked our rear quarter windows obviously massively reduce visibility, got to be careful at tight junctions, car parks etc. Again I’m used to this now but again would consider fitting rear sensors and/or a backup camera.
I see the Land Cruiser Commercials now have tinted rear windows rather than the body coloured vinyl sticker to blank them out – another possible to do, is to get the vinyl taken off and replaced with a very dark tint (as long as its still legal as a commercial?).
Right onto the boot/back, which is generally the point of the commercial. I’m sorry to say that I’m still not really using it to its full potential. The spare wheel takes up a fair bit of space, then by the time I have a couple of boxes and boots etc, I’ve taken up the available floor space. I do have a grand plan for the back, I did get a company to quote to make a set of drawers to fit in the back (CAB Transit Boxes), it wasn’t silly money I just haven’t got round to it yet. I would like some sort of proper/secure mounting point for the spare wheel perhaps with some additional racking/storage above a set of drawers. I’ll figure something out eventually!
I'll figure something better out.....eventually......
There is a ton of between the back of the seats and the bulkhead. Unfortunately I just shove jackets/fleeces/folders/water bottles/etc down there and it has turned into a mess. Again, some sort of storage, even just some ply dividers, would probably be the way to go. I’ve debated taking the entire bulkhead out (not a difficult job)…..another option to think about!
Very importantly, the Land Cruiser appears to have gone down pretty well on-farm with my clients, many of whom have said they’ll be interested to see how I get on with it. On the whole, I am delighted with it, sure there’s a few things I would like to change but overall it is a no-fuss, practical vehicle ideally suited to both comfortable on-road driving and more than capable off-road, or at least for me out and about on farm.
I know what you're going to say......I've heard it before....a million times......don't even bother!
Let’s hope the next 30,000 miles are just as hassle free (with no more punctures!).
Any specific questions please feel free to ask.
@Rob Holmes Rob, please could you update my first post of the thread with a link/clicky somewhere to this post? Thanks!
Tarw Coch
Member
- Location
- Bottom of Wats Dyke
I wonder why they put the spare wheel in the back, I’m sure it goes underneath on the posher versions so presumably there is room to put it there even if not the brackets