08 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER: Bruiser of a Cruiser

Toyota may have sold only 3376 Land Cruisers in the United States last year, but the venerable nameplate boasts a longer history on these shores than any other vehicle on the Japanese maker's roster, with a single unit selling alongside 287 Toyopets in 1958-the year Toyota began selling vehicles in America.

It's appropriate, then, that the launch of the seventh-generation Land Cruiser accompanies Toyota's 50th year stateside.

The Land Cruiser trades in its 4.7-liter engine for the Tundra's meaty 5.7-liter V8, which gives the behemoth an additional 116 hp and 73 lb-ft more torque to drag around its 5690-pound curb weight. Output now peaks at 381 hp and 401 lb-ft.

This is all the better because the big ute gets even bigger, gaining 265 pounds for 2008, with 2.4 inches more length (194.9) and 1.2 inches more width (77.6).

The torsion-bar-type front suspension found on '07 models gets replaced by a double-A-arm setup with coil-over shocks, a combination that helps to increase wheel travel to 9.05 inches, up more than an inch. The design of the rear suspension remains the same as on the outgoing model, though the four-link solid axle with coil springs and Panhard-bar setup is engineered to handle increased power from the engine.

SPECS
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $63,885
DRIVETRAIN: 5.7-liter, 381-hp, 401-lb-ft V8; 4wd, six-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 5690 lb
0 TO 60 MPH: 7.3 sec (est)
FUEL ECONOMY (EPA): 15 mpg


The ride on-road, where 99 percent of U.S.-bound Cruisers will spend 99 percent of their time, feels as close to perfection as can be expected from such a big body-on-frame beast, barely gliding over the pavement. Noise inside the cabin is almost nonexistent, with only the barest whisper from the wind creeping inside at top-end highway speeds. Yet even all its added power can't mask the Cruiser's heft; it drives like a very large vehicle.

New to the Cruiser's off-road arsenal is a feature Toyota calls a Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System. When KDSS senses the level of one wheel moving out of sync with the others, it automatically decouples the stabilizer bars, allowing for more wheel travel. As soon as the vehicle returns to more even terrain, the stabilizer bars immediately lock back into place.



The 2008 Land Cruiser also gets what Toyota calls Crawl Control, which acts as a sort of off-road cruise-control system. In low range, switching on Crawl Control will allow the vehicle to control the engine and brakes automatically, based on one of three speed settings. For the rockiest surfaces, the vehicle will maintain a speed less than 1 mph; the highest setting will keep pace at just more than 3 mph.

Both new systems add to the Land Cruiser's already impressive rock-crawling prowess, but it's particularly neat to engage Crawl Control and watch the big ute make its way over crumbling terrain all on its own, with the driver simply pointing the nose in the desired direction.

The new truck, a single model configuration equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission (replacing a five-speed box), 10 airbags, smart key, push-button start, park assist and tire-pressure monitoring-as well as a sticker nearly $7,000 more than the 2007 model-should start hitting showroom floors as you read this.

Source http://autoweek.com/