Toyota Land Cruiser V8 4.5 D-4D in the super test

G bigger, stronger, wider: the rule when developing a new car. At least at Toyota, they seem to adhere to this scheme. Not that the Land Cruiser V8's predecessor, the Station 100, was a nondescript tiny car. Nevertheless, the flagship was able to grow: by a few centimeters in each dimension, which can be seen from the higher curb weight.

Lots of technology, lots of luxury and even more solid construction bring the Land Cruiser V8 to the podium in this unofficial discipline in our super test. It even beats the extremely heavy Range Rover TDV8 by seven kilos - a new record of 2,714 tons. The developers did not skimp on one thing in particular: Electronic helpers let off steam in Toyota's super-SUV at company strength. AHC, AVS, A-TRC, Crawl Control - here it is first of all to learn abbreviations.

Toyota Land Cruiser with new technical solutions

Behind the cryptic Designations hide new technical solutions: AHC is the name of the revised version of the height-adjustable, hydraulically supported chassis. AVS is the damper and chassis control that has been expanded to include an automatic mode. On the other hand, we had to do without crawl control in our test car: the latter system, in which the Land Cruiser automatically accelerates to crawl through rugged terrain, was not yet available at the time of the test, but is now standard on board. And the KDSS, which is exciting at least from the technical description, is only available for the simpler equipment variant of the Land Cruiser V8 with pure steel suspension, which is not in the official program in Germany. It automatically decouples the two axle stabilizers in the rough terrain using hydraulic elements, so that the Japanese giant should better interlace.

The Toyota focuses on durability

In the executive model tested, the hydropneumatic spring elements are connected to one another like the air springs of the Range Rover and are intended to provide Also improve entanglement. An important newcomer is the eight-cylinder diesel, which replaces the only 300 cubic centimeter smaller six-cylinder of the previous model. He leaves it at a moderate performance in view of the displacement, which is only 14 hp and 10 Newton meters above that of the previous Range Rover TDV8 - but it hadonly 3.6 liters displacement. This leads to the assumption that Toyota was more concerned with durability than with high performance when the key data for the new top diesel was set.

The V8 converts its enormous thirst into sovereign propulsion

The promised lower consumption compared to the predecessor with in-line six-cylinder is only available on paper when the restrained EU measurement cycle is run by the computer on the test bench. In real life you should get used to reality - it is at least 13 liters on average. Anyone who drives the ship at full steam ahead over German autobahns or through the deep sand of North African desert stretches empties the 93-liter tank in an express process: values ​​well over 20 liters per 100 kilometers can then be coped with. After all, the V8 converts its enormous thirst into sovereign propulsion. As long as you don't bolt around corners at rally speed, the Land Cruiser is the perfect choice for long-distance journeys. Exquisite suspension comfort, strongly muffled background noise - this is how entire continents can be crossed.

Permanent all-wheel drive in the Land Cruiser V8

The transfer case has been completely redesigned. The permanent all-wheel drive is implemented via a variable Torsen differential, which, depending on the driving situation, enables a power distribution of 30:70 to 50:50 between the front and rear axles. The highlight: it initially remains unlocked when the off-road reduction is activated, which means that the Land Cruiser can be maneuvered without tension even in the low gear. The transfer case is only locked 100 percent when a separate button is pressed, and the power is rigidly distributed between the axles - an exemplary solution. Although the Land Cruiser V8 has improved further in terms of electrification compared to its predecessor, the basic mechanics are still remarkably rustic.

After all, it continues to drive with a ladder frame and rear rigid axle. The cross members of the frame have been enlarged compared to the previous model, the entire frame should be stiffer by a factor of 1.4 - that not only pleases globetrotters, but also trailer carriers.