that the media screen near the top of the centre stack becomes a forward-view monitor. This is handy as it shows you what’s directly in front of the bonnet, and in combination with a graphic illustrating where your front wheels are pointing it’s the next best thing to having a spotter. You could of course strip all this away and the Land Cruiser would remain one of the very best off-roaders there is. When Toyota says it has reshaped the vehicle’s wings and bonnet to provide better visibility, after all, you can’t help but interpret it as a reminder that the vast majority of these vehicles don’t have all this clever stuff. And the enormous poise with which it follows the ground, and maintains traction, is down entirely to the underlying off-road design that makes it what it is. or th s reason e find t exasperating that the Utility model does without a locking rear diff. However much the high-tech features work for their living (and they do), as far as we’re concerned that one item would be worth more than all of them put together. At least the Invincible does get the full works, however, making it as much of an off-road titan as it is a premium wagon.
5pp Land Cruiser Invincible CHECK FOR UPDATES NEEDED.indd 40
VERDICT
In Invincible form, it has adaptive shocks. These are primarily there to aid on-road handling, but they also respond to off-road use by allowing the wheels to follow the terrain with the minimum of interference. It’s not just the shocks, either. This is one of those trucks that starts performing tricks when you get ready to go off-road. The antiroll bars, for example, disconnect to aid articulation when you engage low box. And at the same time, a valve between the rear air springs opens up, allowing the axle to move as freely as possible. In addition even to all this, in Invincible form the Land Cruiser comes with an extraordinary range of high-tech driver aids. The lower facia houses an enormous rotary dial for setting the speed of the crawl control system, and even something as basic as high and low box is operated by a huge toggle switch rather than the traditional transfer lever. There are buttons for the centre and rear diff locks, for raising the height of the air suspension and for choosing a drive mode from the multi-terrain select menu – allowing you to trim the vehicle for tackling sand, rocks, mud, snow and so on. Something else that happens when you go into low box is
★★★★★
Toyota Land Cruiser Invincible Loaded with clever kit, but it’s what it is underneath that makes it special The Land Cruiser is a traditional off-road truck at heart, built to prosper and survive in the world’s harshest terrains and environments. Toyota has a long history of turning such vehicles into incredibly highly specced luxury 4x4s, however, and the Invincible is the latest example of that. It was alread a trul magnificent machine whose combination of old-style engineering and new technology was by far the most convincing we’ve experienced, and with this facelift it’s that bit better than ever. If it’s the Utility model that really excites you, the Invincible won’t change that – but whichever Cruiser you buy, you’re getting a bona fide off road legend and a truck for life.
03/06/2019 23:08