Toyota Land Cruiser 2.8 D4-D Invincible 2018 first drive

It’s also now even more capable off-road, says Toyota. There is a low range transfer box, naturally, while Toyota has cleaned up the Land Cruiser’s interior, in part to accommodate some additional 4x4 functions. The central screen is larger so you can see external camera views, as is a digital output between the dials, to aid control of a ‘multi-terrain select’ system that, effectively, allows more slip before the traction control intervenes, depending on what terrain you’re on: in Rock you want no slip at all, in Mud and Sand you want lots. There’s a crawl-speed cruise control called, er, crawl-control, imaginatively, which can tickle the Land Cruiser along at barely any speed, while a torque-sensing, and locking-centre differential is standard and a new rear-differential has become an option: previously the rear diff would be an open one or optionally a locking one, but now a torque-sensing Torsen limited-slipper has become a third way, and was fitted – as was air suspension, so the body could lift – to our test car.

Land Cruisers have independent front suspension, but the rear is a four-link setup holding a solid live rear axle. It’s reckoned that’s more rugged than an independent rear setup although, traditionally, that comes at the expense of road manners. Let’s see.

Other numbers? Off-roading angles (versus Discovery) are: approach 31deg (29), departure 26deg (27), breakover ramp angle 22deg (21) and a ride height of 215mm (284mm), a difference I suspect down to the proximity of the Land Cruiser’s solid axle. The Toyota can wade through 700mm of water (Disco 900), but what you’ll find on both is that you’ll reach the limits of tyres before the rest of the dynamics, where the electronics back up the hardware to good effect. Crawl control is particularly clever: rather than just setting a speed, it can activate from stopped and, even if with the throttle and differentials locked the wheels are spinning, it’ll ease power to each individual wheel in turn to find grip at a corner, where a locked differential might not.

On the road, the Land Cruiser’s more earthy elements are, perhaps, more evident. The steering’s light and turns the wheels, but is no more satisfying than that. On higher-grade models you can adjust damper stiffness and there are hydraulic links between corners to maintain as much flatness as possible, though I’m unconvinced it shows quite the road sophistication as a German monocoque alternative, but that’s no great surprise and certainly no shame. Ultimately the Land Cruiser’s refined and comfortable enough to spend your days in, has great big seats, a fine view out and a good entertainment system: what more do you want of a 2430kg 4x4 that can drive up a mountain?