Wheels
for winter
If you believe the weatherman then we
are in for some serious weather this
winter, the sort of weather that brings
the roads to a standstill and causes
disruption to our lives. The sort of
weather that stops most cars from being
able to get off the drive. But not if you
drive a Toyota Land Cruiser.
The Land Cruiser enjoys a global
reputation as an ultimate go-anywhere
vehicle, a status built on its formidable
performance in the world’s toughest
environments over more than 60 years.
Throughout that time, Land Cruiser
has been progressively developed to
harness new technologies to extend
its capabilities, both on-road and off,
and to increase in customer appeal in
terms of styling, equipment, comfort and
practicality.
Next year will see launch of the latest
version of the famous 4x4 which sees
a number of revisions over the current
model. On first glance you will see
that it comes with a new face; a more
prominent grille, new headlight clusters
with daytime running lights and an
oversized bumper.
There are new rear lamp clusters and
17in/18in wheels. While the wheelbase
remains the same the overall length has
crept up a smidge, so on the whole, it’s
still an enormous motor that would make
short work of a bit of snow.
A bugbear for previous Land Cruisers
has been the perceived quality of the
interior but this seems to have been
finally addressed in the 2014 model.
There’s a new centre console switch
panel (to select the drive modes), a new
108
look speedo and rev counter, brushed
metal finishes, wood grain and upgraded
seat upholstery.
The choice of function has been
extended in the new 4.2in TFT colour
screen to include an angle gauge,
traction control operation on each
wheel and the status of the differential
locks. The driver can select the screen
functions u