Toyota Land Cruiser

Our verdict

This Toyota Land Cruiser is not quite the real humungous V8 version, but it does a fair impersonation on a slightly less cumbersome scale.

Comfort

Accept that you're moving at a slow pace and the Land Cruiser's comfort is just fine, thanks to big seats and long-travel suspension. But if you're prone to car sickness, beware the oitching of the short-wheelbase three-door. And the five-door's third-row seats are pretty cramped.

Performance

The 3.0 diesel is a growly four-cylinder with pedestrian performance, so you might as well take things easy and opt for the five-speed auto.

Cool

Yes, if you live in Kalgoorlie or Kinshasa, where the Land Cruiser is revered for its robustness. Otherwise no.

Quality

Unimpeachable underlying strength marks out the Land Cruiser. Luckily, despite the utilitarian brief, Toyota has installed quite pleasant interior trim.

Handling

Handling tarmac isn't part of the brief. The Land Cruiser rolls and sways and reacts slowly. Handling the rough? That's a different and far better story of course.

Practicality

The five-door seats eight, which is more than the bigger Land Cruiser can. And the third-row seats can fold or come out to create more space. But the three-door is only a five-seater. At least it's possible to find it a parking berth.

Running costs

You should be able to avoid heavy depreciation by running it to a ripe old age, but a Land Cruiser is a beast to fuel, maintain and insure.