If there’s one car that can challenge the Mitsubishi L300 for sheer staying power, it would be the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series. First introduced in 1984, it has been in continuous production since then. It’s an SUV before the term SUV was even coined, and it’s the last one of its era.
Despite nearly 40 years in production, Toyota never stopped continuously updating and improving it. More recently, it received a facelift and was revealed at the same time as the all-new Prado. At the time, only the five-door version was shown, but the folks from Aichi have finally (and silently) rolled out the three-door.
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Unsurprisingly, the look is pretty much the same as its five-door counterpart. It gets the same headlight and grille treatment, along with the higher hood. There are a few tweaks to the tail lights to differentiate it from last year’s model, but the body is straight out of ’84. It’s not supposed to be stylish per se, but there is charm in its unpretentiousness.
You’re transported back to the ‘80s when you climb on board. Granted, the dash looks nothing like the 1984 model, but it’s had the same design for about 20 years. Then again, this is the 70 Series we’re talking about. It’s perhaps the very definition of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. There are a few updates to make it a bit more modern. It includes a new steering wheel derived from the Hilux, a few trim changes, and a redesigned instrument cluster. Analogue, of course.
For the Middle Eastern market at least, the 70 Series uses the (very much) tried and tested 4.0-liter V6 from the previous generation Prado and FJ Cruiser. It’s a detuned version of that and packs 228hp and 380Nm of torque. We expect the 2.8-liter turbodiesel to be included down the line. It’s then mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
Off-road goodies, you ask? There’s an honest to goodness manual 4WD lever, diff locks for the rear and front, five layer leaf springs, and even hill descent control. Oh, and select variants also come with a front winch as standard.
For now, at least, it seems that it’s only Saudi and UAE markets that get this model. We do expect it to be offered in other countries eventually, but it seems unlikely that it will ever be sold officially in the Philippines.
