Toyota LandCruiser gets tougher

The turbo-diesel GX has the features much-loved by owners who tend to torture, not just drive, their LandCruisers.

They include vinyl floors, twin barn doors at the rear (vertically hinged), 17-inch steel wheels, a snorkel, 93-litre main and 45-litre auxiliary fuel tanks, five seats, under-body protection plates and a standard car key.

Based on the GXL variant, the new GX is the spiritual successor to the 100 Series Standard Grade.

New GX is not without creature comforts, but they are designed to complement the tough work life of the vehicle and its owner.

They include a single CD player, manual air-conditioning, power windows with driver's auto up/down and power-operated exterior mirrors.

There is no skimping on protection because the new variant keeps all the GXL safety equipment, which is important for drivers and for the OH&S requirements of companies running fleets.

It includes driver and front-passenger airbags, curtain-shield airbags, vehicle stability control, active traction control, hill-start assist, multi-terrain anti-skid brakes and Toyota CRAWL - effectively an off-road cruise-control system.

The GX has a 195kW/650Nm 4.5-litre V8 twin-turbo diesel engine, six-speed automatic transmission, full-time 4WD with Torsen limited-slip centre differential and two-speed transfer case.

Other features include a 60/40 split-fold rear seat with adjustable seat-back recline and adjustable head restraints and tilt-and-telescopic steering-column adjustment.

Its four-spoke urethane steering wheel has control switches for the four-speaker CD tuner audio unit.

The audio head unit has facia-mounted 3.5mm AUX/USB input, MP3/WMA compatibility and Bluetooth hands-free/audio streaming capability.

Cabin storage locations include a centre console box, front and rear door pockets, front-seat cup holders, and map pockets on the back of the driver and front-passenger seats.

The spare wheel is mounted underneath the cargo floor.

Recommended retail price is $77,990.