Talk about torque, Toyota's 78 Series turbo diesel 'Cruiser could have pulled Her Majesty's embarrassingly beached battle cruiser, the Nottingham, off Lord Howe Island without any problems.
Okay, now that may be a slight exaggeration - slight, I said - but the Troop Carrier turbo diesel we tested here is as rough and ready for action as any vehicle we've ever driven. For those who like to abuse their cars, the 78 Series Land Cruiser is built tough to withstand anything short of a bomb being dropped on it. And we think it's got a better than even chance there, too...
Up front is a big bore, cast iron 4.2-liter, six cylinder turbo diesel. Towing performance is HUGE; 380 Newton meters from 1600-2800rpm in any of five gears will straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and should have no trouble pulling a maximum 3500kg braked trailer.
The 'Cruiser is back wheel drive until you lock up the hubs and throw the second gear lever into 4high for high range four wheel drive, or 4low for extremely slippy or heavy conditions. Knobbly 16inch Dunlop Road Grippers are biased towards muck and sand driving, but work equally well on tarmac.
No one's ever going to confuse the turbo diesel 78 with a luxury car. If the massive 2.1m tall body doesn't give it away, the tdi's blistering acceleration, best measured with an hourglass, probably will.
First gear really isn't needed in everyday driving, the diesel's mountainous torque allowing you to start off in second every time. As a matter of fact, so flexible is this power-train you can happily miss third as well.
Toyota tells us the steering is power assisted, but guiding the 'Cruiser around town is still a pretty good bicep workout, especially parallel parking which can take four revolutions lock to lock.
The cavernous wagon area with hose-down vinyl interior will easily swallow a boatload of equipment, and unless you're stuffing a couple of tonnes of trash in the back, will have little effect on the engine's overall performance.
One area you'll love is the fuel consumption. We only managed to rack up 700km in our time with the Land Cruiser, sipping less than 65 liters of fuel. We've heard reports of a 78 Series almost completing a return trip Melbourne to Sydney without refilling its two 90 liter tanks. That's better than 10litres per100km for a turbocharged vehicle weighing more than 2 tonnes.
Luxuries be damned, in a moment of weakness Toyota's techies allowed an am/fm stereo into the cabin, but after that she's barer than Mother Hubbards cupboard. Adjustable drivers' seat and adjustable steering wheel are pretty much it in a very spartan cabin. The windows are of the old windey type variety, which makes life easier than trying to adjust the external mirrors through the glass. The base model comes with seats for 3 across the bench, although you can get a second bench put in behind. That, or two benches running down each side making room for 11 - therefore the name Troop Carrier.
. Try looking at, not in, the 'Cruiser, in the bonnet, at the suspension and the chassis and you'll find the value in a flash. Then hook it up to your big sea cruiser or caravan and you'll applaud the day you decided in favor of brute force and enormous towing ability, and against plush interiors and cruise control.
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