It doesn’t happen very often, but I always like it when a car/tuck/SUV has been manufactured for about as long as I’ve been alive.
The 2019 Toyota Land Cruiser is celebrating its 61st birthday, no small feat in this day and age. It started as a utility vehicle focused on work over comfort, but over the years has morphed into a flagship SUV that eloquently demonstrates that some things really do improve with age!
Land Cruiser provides a luxurious cabin with seating for eight. It is a full-capability four-wheel drive with advanced chassis control and a towing capacity of 8,100 pounds. It has features like CRAWL Control and Multi-Terrain Select for off-road and on-road manners as smooth as aged Scotch thanks to its Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System.
Powered by a 5.7-liter, DOHC V8 engine mated to an eight-speed, electronically controlled automatic transmission with intelligence, the pair musters 381 horsepower and achieved approximately 13 miles per gallon in combination of city/highway driving.
But let’s not kid ourselves, the Land Cruiser’s main purpose is to transport your family safely — and in style.
Land Cruiser comes standard with Toyota Safety Sense (TSS-P). TSS-P includes the pre-collision system with pedestrian detection function that uses millimeter-wave radar and a monocular camera sensor. These detect a preceding pedestrian or a preceding vehicle, and can automatically apply braking if necessary to help mitigate or avoid collisions in certain conditions. TSS-P also includes lane-departure alert with sway warning system, dynamic radar cruise control and Automatic High Beams.
It comes in only one trim level – loaded to the gills. Its sole option is a DVD rear-seat entertainment system, which my tester included.
The exceedingly long list of standard amenities includes perforated leather trim, heated and ventilated front seats and a heated steering wheel with power tilt and telescoping with memory. The list goes on and on to also include Smart Key keyless entry with push-button start, anti-theft security system with engine immobilizer, power moon roof, auto-dimming rearview and side mirrors, HomeLink universal garage-door/gate opening system and much more.
Luxury permeates all three rows. The middle-row seats are also trimmed in perforated leather. The 40/20/20 split seat reclines, and a one-touch tumble mechanism makes it easy for passengers to enter and exit the third row. With the middle and third rows folded, the Land Cruiser provides 81.7 cubic feet of cargo space.
I took advantage of that feature to load 12 Les Schwab tire bag rolls to Christmas House. They are heavy and awkward, but neither was a problem for my old friend.
As Toyota’s flagship sport-utility, Land Cruiser comes standard with Entune Premium JBL Audio with integrated navigation system. Its 14 JBL speakers, amplifier and subwoofer bathe the cabin in clear, powerful sound, playing music from an AM/FM CD player with MP3/WMA playback capability.
Base Price: $86,060
Price As Driven: $88,280
Base price includes destination charge. Vehicles are provided by the manufacturer. List price may vary at local dealers.
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