When you sell massive numbers of a car for over 60 years in 188 countries, you don’t change the recipe, you just tweak it. That is the case with the Toyota Land Cruiser.
The new 2013 version of this iconic SUV has been unveiled by Toyota, featuring a mildly revised styling, the same engine as before, and remarkably enhanced specifications.
Styling changes are quite subtle, and consists mainly of LED Daytime Running Lights, chrome side molding, redesigned outer side mirrors and tail lamps. Toyota Land Cruiser is available in seven exterior colors, including Pearl White, which is new to the palette. Additional colors include Classic Silver Metallic, Magnetic Gray Metallic, Salsa Red Pearl, Sonora Gold Pearl, Amazon Green Metallic and Black.
As for the interior, while the design remains the same, quality and refinement is significantly improved. You can have it in Sandstone or Black, as with features like perforated leather trim with ventilated front seats, a higher gloss wood grain finish, brighter silver instrument panel ornamentation, chrome-plated air registers and updated meter-cluster lighting.
Among the many popular features that were formerly available as options, but are now standard, are rear-seat DVD entertainment system, color-keyed rear spoiler, rain-sensing windshield wipers, center-console cooler box, headlamp cleaners, leather-trimmed steering wheel, multi-information display, voice and Bluetooth® hands-free controls, leather-trimmed shift lever and heated second row seats. Toyota’s Premium Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Navigation with Entune multi-media system and JBL® audio is also standard.
The Land Cruiser’s 5.7-liter V8 DOHC engine remains unchanged in the 2013 model, with 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque. It is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. A new five-speed CRAWL Control with an Off-Road Turn Assist feature helps make traversing difficult terrain easier.
One great new feature of the car is the Entue system, an eight-inch touch/spilt-screen with an integrated backup camera display, AM/FM CD player with MP3/WMA playback capability, 14 JBL speakers including subwoofer, SiriusXM Satellite Radio capability (includes three-month trial subscription to XM Select Package); HD Radio with iTunes Tagging, USB port with iPod connectivity and control, vehicle information, hands-free phone capability, phone book access, advanced voice recognition, and music streaming via Bluetooth wireless technology.
The mighty Land Cruiser is still the king.
