Vehicle Overview The Land Cruiser is an eight-seat full-size SUV. It’s larger than Toyota’s Highlander and 4Runner midsize SUVs and smaller than the full-size Sequoia, and the Land Cruiser is more expensive than all three. At this size and price, competitors include the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Mercedes-Benz M- and GL-Class and the Porsche Cayenne S.
New for 2010 Safety Connect, a new subscription telematics service, is standard, and the optional navigation system gains the XM Nav Traffic data service. Audio systems now include integrated XM Satellite Radio capability, Bluetooth and a MP3 input jack and USB port.
Exterior Of Toyota’s current SUVs, the Land Cruiser looks most like the Highlander. One major difference is that the Land Cruiser is a truck-based, body-on-frame model, which puts it in the same category as Toyota’s FJ Cruiser, 4Runner and Sequoia.
18-inch wheels
Fog lamps
Front and rear frame-mounted tow hooks
Interior Though it has eight seats divided among three rows, the Land Cruiser has a shortcoming that’s common to truck-based SUVs: Its interior space isn’t as great as you’d expect from its outside girth. The headroom and legroom measurements are less than the midsize Highlander’s. Only in width does it exceed the Highlander — most notably in the third row, where the Land Cruiser gives 16 more inches of hip room and roughly 7 extra inches of shoulder room.
Power tilt/telescoping steering wheel
Power moonroof
Push-button start
Power seats
Leather-trimmed seats
Available navigation system with DVD player
Available backup camera
Under the Hood The Land Cruiser is intended to be off-road-capable. The rear suspension is multilink, but the rear axle is solid, which has its off-road advantages but is viewed as a detriment to ride and handling on pavement. The Land Cruiser has a Low gear in its transfer case, along with an adaptive suspension and a feature called Crawl Control that manages the throttle while the driver steers over obstacles.
5.7-liter V-8 makes 381 horsepower and 401 pounds-feet of torque
Six-speed automatic transmission
Full-time four-wheel drive
8,500-pound towing capacity
Safety Safety features include:
Seat-mounted side-impact airbags for first and second rows
