The Land Cruiser’s raw performance figures only tell part of the story. We couldn’t quite match Toyota’s claimed 8.2sec 0-62mph time on damp tarmac, but our figure of 8.6sec is still striking in a vehicle that weighs very nearly three tonnes. In-gear times were similarly striking, not least the 5.4sec taken to go from 50-70mph.
The Land Cruiser’s part-throttle behaviour is even more impressive, with an almost total lack of turbo lag and strong, effortless response from idle.
We do have one criticism, though: the off-the-line response of our test car was disappointing, with a good half-second delay between pressing the throttle and the torque converter getting things moving.
Braking performance is respectable considering the sheer mass involved; the solid pedal gives proportional responses and the sizeable ventilated discs that sit at each corner do a decent job of hauling everything up, although the 54.8 metres required to stop from 70 compares poorly with the 50.45 metres it takes the Range Rover TDV8 for the same increment.
Hopes for the Land Cruiser’s on-road driving manners are not high. Yet, with the proviso that it doesn’t drive like a BMW X5, the V8 manages to exceed expectations across the board.
In large part this is due to the adaptive dampers, which can be switched between sport, standard and comfort modes. In the softest setting, high-speed ridges and compressions create an uncomfortable heaving motion. Encountering rough surfaces in the firmest sport setting does allow occasional juddering to enter the cabin, but stiffening the dampers helps to keep everything lashed down at higher speeds. This stability makes the Land Cruiser an accomplished motorway cruiser.
The steering is probably the big Toyota’s weakest dynamic link. It’s low geared and generously assisted, but incapable of mustering much in the way of feedback. And even with the dampers turned up to maximum, any kind of enthusiastic cornering still comes at the expense of acute body roll.