Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series review: Updated 2023 LC79 GXL cab-chassis 4x4 V8 ute test (GVM upgrade)
Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series review: Updated 2023 LC79 GXL cab-chassis 4x4 V8 ute test (GVM upgrade)
The Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series has been updated for 2023 and beyond. But is it the right ute for you?
In this review, Matt Campbell lets you know what the LC79 single-cab ute is like to live with. With a huge 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine, five-speed manual and 4x4, it’s unique in the world of utes and pick-up trucks in Australia.
Toyota has just upgraded the entire LC 70 range with an improved gross vehicle mass (GVM), so it’s more capable than ever.
And the brand has added improved safety technology in the form of a new autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system that is offered on the single-cab, dual-cab, Troopy (Troop Carrier) and wagon models.
But as good as all those improvements are, there are still some things that could rule out the LC79 - or any 2023 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series - for you. You’ll have to watch to find out what they are!
—
00:00 Intro
00:45 Is it the right price?
02:01 What’s the best competitor?
02:47 Is it the right size?
04:05 Interior
06:09 Under the bonnet
07:15 Driving
10:14 Efficiency
11:05 Is it safe?
12:15 Ownership
13:05 Verdict
—
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Content
0 -> is the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 series The Right
car for you well if it is I hope you've already
4.98 -> got your order in because these things are rarer
than hen's teeth I'll tell you why in this review
11.76 -> g'day I'm Matt and here it is the all-new
15.3 -> not all new at all Toyota Land Cruiser 70
series this one has seen some updates for
20.04 -> 2023 and Beyond and this one is the lc79 single
cab chassis and it's the one you should be buying
26.4 -> not the five-door wagon not the troopy not
the Dual cab even because this one has the
31.38 -> safety stuff you should get as standard but I'll
tell you more about that later on in this review
35.94 -> thanks for joining along for the ride with
my new channel I hope you're enjoying what
40.08 -> you're seeing so far and if you are please do hit
like And subscribe it helps me out a lot thanks
46.68 -> it sounds crazy but if you're one of those
people who really loves to go to those fancy
50.94 -> restaurants where they have huge plates but not
very much food then you're going to really love
55.02 -> the Land Cruiser 70 series that's because you're
paying a lot of money for not very much at least
60.06 -> on paper look this car is dated it doesn't have
a whole lot of advanced technology or mod cons
66.9 -> or anything like that but it has been updated
with some important safety equipment as standard
72 -> across the entire range I'll tell you more of
that in the safety section now we're talking 75
78.06 -> grand or thereabouts for this spec this one as
I said is the gxl grade so the top of the range
85.38 -> but there's no leather there's no heated seats no
electric seats no push buttons start nothing that
91.02 -> you would otherwise get if you were spending 75
grand on a ute from a different brand or even from
96.6 -> Toyota so it is feeling a little bit Bare Bones
for the money that you're paying but that might
101.88 -> not matter to you if you know what this truck's
all about and that is severe capability and we'll
107.1 -> get to some of that later on the other thing I
should point out you do get things like a six
111.06 -> inch touchscreen media system no Apple carplay
or Android auto though you get Sat Nav I guess
115.74 -> that's something and the safety Tech that's been
added is an improvement we'll get to that later
123.36 -> it'll be easy to say that any of the other
high-spec dual cab Utes for about this money
127.68 -> are going to be a better option for the majority
of buyers and it's easy to see why I mean you'll
133.98 -> get more practicality you'll get better safety
you'll get better livability more Comfort better
139.32 -> efficiency I mean the list is endless they're
usually cheaper as well but the fact of the
144.78 -> matter is that if you need this vehicle then
you need it and there's no other alternative
150.06 -> that can do what this thing can do no other Ute
out there has a V8 engine and a five-speed manual
155.28 -> transmission and the same level of capability that
this vehicle has well unless you're buying a used
161.04 -> 70 series and they're fetching up to or in excess
of a hundred grand anyway yeesh this is a big rig
171.06 -> a single cab Ute at 5.2 meters or thereabouts
in length it's long there's no doubt about that
177.36 -> it's got a massive tray on it now let's talk
trays this is a Toyota genuine tray that's been
182.76 -> fitted to this test vehicle now it might not suit
your needs so just consider this for illustrative
188.82 -> purposes only what you need to know is that it's
got an absolutely massive payload which is even
195 -> bigger for this 2023 update compared to the last
versions because they've done a gross vehicle Mass
201.06 -> Improvement so across the board it's now capable
of doing more and carrying more weight which is
207.84 -> a good thing for buyers who want a vehicle like
this that's made for hard work you can also pick
213.12 -> it from the outside as the updated version because
it's gotten bigger indicators on the front panels
218.22 -> as well if you've ever driven behind a Landcruiser
70 series and thought to yourself I've swear
223.5 -> those rear wheels are closer together than the
fronts you are absolutely right they are about
229.38 -> 10 centimeters closer together in terms of the
track width and that does cause issues when it
235.68 -> comes to off-roading they basically have to
forge their own path as well as the front
240.6 -> tires forging their own path so it can be a bit
of a handful when it comes to off-road driving
247.8 -> the interior of the 70 series is basic that's
all I'm going to say no actually I'll tell
253.5 -> you a little bit more about it so it's still very
very much what you've come to know and expect from
259.5 -> this model line over the last few years at least
there are some things in here that are convenient
265.2 -> there's a couple of USB ports for charging down
here there's a USB connector on the screen but
271.26 -> as I mentioned before no apple carplay no Android
auto you do get Sat Nav which is something I guess
276.42 -> but it is pretty old school in here there's a CD
player guess that's something now the other things
284.94 -> I should tell you about include well the controls
well there's obviously a pretty hardcore air
291.36 -> conditioning system and it works very very well
there's a button here for the aerial to be put up
298.02 -> or put down which is good if you're going in the
bush you might need to drop it if there's lots
303.48 -> of shrubs around that you don't want to hit then
you won't damage your aerial I guess that's pretty
307.86 -> good there's no electric mirrors so you still have
to actually reach out and adjust the mirrors to be
313.44 -> where you want them to be but at least they're
replaceable if you do happen to go Bush bashing
317.4 -> and end up smashing one of your mirrors off it's
not going to cost you an arm and a leg like it
321.6 -> might on some of those other newer mirrors that
have other technology built into them like blind
326.22 -> spot monitoring for instance now let's talk about
the seats they have this material I've heard it
332.58 -> described before as Mouse fur I've never felt the
fur of a mouse but I imagine that's probably what
337.92 -> it does feel like it's quite unpleasant to sit on
I'm happy that I'm wearing long pants for instance
344.4 -> otherwise it's very very basic in here not a whole
lot to talk about you've got a small storage cubby
349.68 -> here bottle holder there some tiny tiny cup
holders in the doors a little bit of storage
353.88 -> behind the seats too and obviously if you do
choose either the Dual cab the wagon or the troopy
359.82 -> then you will get different configurations in
the back just depends what you need but like I'm
364.5 -> going to tell you a little bit more about later
the single cab is the one you should be buying
370.86 -> grunt is what this engine is all about it's a
4.5 liter V8 turbo diesel no other Ute on the
376.98 -> market has one like it and if that matters to
you then it's your only choice really but you
382.26 -> should know this the power and torque outputs
which you'll see on your screen now are actually
386.52 -> lower than some Utes half the price and with
much much smaller engines for example an LDV
392.76 -> t60 has a two liter turbo diesel with well 160
kilowatts and 500 newton meters more than this
399.6 -> but it doesn't have the same level of ease when
it comes to getting that power this is a really
405.9 -> relaxed but very very potent powertrain it
comes with a five-speed manual as standard
411.12 -> there's no automatic option still in 2023 you
can go to the aftermarket and get one fitted if
417 -> you want probably costs you 20 or 30 000 on top
of the purchase price so you're going to have
421.44 -> to really want it to be automatic now it's four
wheel drive as you'd expect with low range there
425.88 -> are diff locks available on different grades
depending on which one you choose and maximum
429.9 -> brake towing capacity is 3.5 tonnes so it'll get
the job done that you need it to get done [Music]
442.74 -> big V8 engine I'm sure you can hear it is very
loud and the five-speed manual transmission well
450.54 -> it could do with another gear if I'm honest
but the thing about it is that it still has
455.4 -> this effortless pulling power from low in the Rev
range and you know you can sit in fourth gear at
462.42 -> 50 K's an hour put your foot down and be assured
that it isn't going to coffin splutter it's not
467.76 -> going to struggle for grunt it's just gonna get
on with it it's a really rewarding engine in that
474.42 -> regard the steering is a little bit vague well
maybe not a little bit it is vague it doesn't
481.74 -> necessarily do what you think it's going to do
when you do steer there's sometimes just a lot
487.08 -> of play and nothing happens aloof is the word that
I've seen used most when it comes to this steering
494.04 -> in urban situations the steering's quite heavy
and does require a fair bit of arm work because
499.38 -> it's got a massive turning Circle this thing and
the ride Comfort well there is some comfort to it
506.46 -> which is a good thing I wouldn't say that it's
cushy or cozy but it does do the job that you'd
512.34 -> expect a vehicle like this with this intention
would do if you do put weight in the back and
517.74 -> I have it is really really settled and comfortable
and well if you are the sort of person who's going
524.52 -> to put toolboxes on the back that will be a good
thing for you and the 70 series now also comes
531.24 -> as standard with a snorkel and the snorkel really
does offer up quite a lot of noise on the freeway
538.14 -> we're just going onto the freeway here in Western
Sydney and I hope you can still hear me because
544.8 -> everything gets so much louder if you're the
sort of person who's going to be doing freeway
550.32 -> commuting in your Landcruiser 70 series well I'm
sorry you're gonna have to get some earmuffs or
557.4 -> noise canceling headphones as well maybe that's
why that haven't bothered upgrading the stereo
561.9 -> because you couldn't hear it anyway you might be
wondering okay so where's the load test where's
568.44 -> the off-road test where's the towing test as part
of this review and there isn't going to be any of
573.9 -> those things because I've done all of them and
I can tell you if that's what you're buying this
579.18 -> car for then it's going to be right for you
because it does all of those things really
584.4 -> easily and really well if Towing is important to
you it'll do what you need if off-roading is why
590.7 -> you're buying a vehicle like this it's going to
go pretty much anywhere that you think it can't
595.2 -> go and also if you're planning on putting a
thousand kilos in the tray every single day
601.02 -> well I don't think there's any other Ute on
the market that could do it as easily as this
607.32 -> so in some ways it's fantastic but in a
lot of other ways it's really not [Music]
616.56 -> the official combined cycle fuel consumption
figure for the entire 70 series range is 10.7
622.92 -> liters per 100 kilometers now that's what
it should be able to achieve across a mix of
629.7 -> on-road driving not loaded up not Towing nothing
like that that's just a regular on-road driving
635.46 -> mix according to Toyota anyway and in reality
you might be able to achieve that if you do a
642.48 -> lot of open road driving in the country 50 80k an
hour driving then you should be able to do it but
649.5 -> at high speeds asking much more of the engine
653.28 -> you might use a fair bit more my real
world fuel consumption figure is on your
658.08 -> screen now and that was across a mix of everyday
driving the sort of stuff I do every day anyway
666.66 -> a vehicle like this doesn't look like it has
any right to offer the advanced Safety Tech
670.98 -> that it does but kudos to Toyota for adding
some potentially life-saving stuff here it's
677.4 -> got autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian
and cyclist detection and it'll work up to maximum
682.98 -> speed for the Land Cruiser 70 series so it's high
tech safety gear what it doesn't get is any of
690.3 -> those other lane keeping or blind spot monitoring
or rear cross traffic alert AIDs that some of the
695.64 -> other vehicles out there get no reverse camera
still either at least it's easy to see out of
701.1 -> now the thing you also need to know is that the
single cab version is the only one that gets
706.74 -> those curtain airbags all the other versions only
have dual front airbag coverage and that could be
713.64 -> a real issue for you if you find yourself in
an unfortunate accident now five-star end cap
719.58 -> safety rating still exists for this vehicle until
the end of 2023 when it expires but it's only for
726.12 -> this vehicle to a single cab chassis all the
other versions don't get a five-star rating
730.56 -> so if that matters to you you've got to choose
this one I told you this was the one to pick
737.22 -> Toyota Land Cruisers have a pretty much
bulletproof reputation for reliability they
742.44 -> are known for their longevity and they handle
punishment so if this part of the video doesn't
746.88 -> matter to you you can skip ahead but I will tell
you this there is a warranty for five years or
752.46 -> unlimited kilometers for this vehicle it extends
out to seven years for the powertrain if you make
757.74 -> sure that you service it on time servicing is
every six months or ten thousand kilometers which
763.08 -> is more regular than a lot of the other vehicles
out there but could be the reason that it's got
767.04 -> such a good reputation for reliability Services
aren't cheap either at 425 dollars for the first
774.24 -> six services or sixty thousand kilometers so
it's not overly cheap to run oh and you don't
779.7 -> get roadside assistance included as standard
you have to pay extra for that too thank you
787.02 -> there are so many reasons that the Land Cruiser
70 series is not going to be the right car for
792.18 -> you depending on what you need it to do the fact
is that there are better safer more advanced more
798.66 -> comfortable more livable Utes out there but if
you happen to live on a farm or down a mine then
804.24 -> there's plenty of reasons why you would choose
this let me know what you think in the comments
808.38 -> section below would you choose a 70 series or have
you wished for one but never been able to actually
814.14 -> afford it or order one let me know in the comments
I'd love to hear from you and if you are after
819.12 -> any particular Ute reviews let me know what you
need I'll try and get to it thanks for watching
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8odcX9nc9U