WHAT IS IT?
It has been 70 years since the first Toyota Land Cruiser's debut. To mark the occasion, Toyota has launched a 70th-anniversary edition of the Land Cruiser 79 (bakkie) in both single cab and double cab. Don’t expect many changes from the regular one, but the badging will make it collectable.
WHY THIS?
Imagine how useful a crystal ball would be – you could tell the future and make only wise decisions (like winning the Lotto). Well, with the LC 79, Toyota has made a vehicular crystal ball – buy one, and you know what the future holds: a ridiculously reliable life of hassle-free motoring, never getting stuck on a dune or in the mud of the Moremi, and then reselling it for a profit in 5 or 10-years’ time. Living the dream…
OUTSIDE
An LC 79 is basically what a real version of a kid’s drawing of a double cab would look like – all straight lines and big wheels. It’s also a classic design icon and ruggedly handsome. The 70th-anniversary model had a few natty features: a heritage-inspired mesh radiator grille with TOYOTA lettering, a heritage logo on the door, a 70th-anniversary emblem, a tubular rear step bumper with a detachable towbar and a tubular front steel bumper with integrated winch preparation. If you’re looking for options, you’re in luck: you can have it in white or beige.
INSIDE
You know how your new phone has dozens of hidden features you don’t use because you don’t know about them? The LC is not like that. You can count the interior features on the one hand, and any time spent looking for others is time wasted. It has an air-con, a touch-screen audio system with navigation and Bluetooth, and a button that lowers the aerial for when you’re driving through bushes. Being the 70th-anniversary edition, it also has unique seat covers with the 70th logo. The rear bench seat flips forward and offers enough space to stash your laptop or other slim essentials.
THE DRIVE
The Land Cruiser 79 has been designed and engineered to be capable of military use and has proven these credentials for decades. It feels it, too, when you drive this juggernaut. Around town, it is clumsy with a wide turning circle and hard suspension, and the clutch is a calf workout in itself. On the open road, the Cruiser keeps trucking at the speed limit, uphill and down dale, fully loaded or empty. Head off-road, and you are the envy of everyone you’ll encounter: huge globs of torque from the turbocharged 4.5-litre V8 diesel engine, low range (obviously), front and rear diff-locks, ground clearance of 235mm, and so much more. The fuel tank holds 135 litres, by the way.
FINAL WORD
As a tool, the LC 79 is incredible for farmers, professional hunters, land surveyors – anyone who spends a lot of time on the road or off it in untamed places. But as a daily driver, it leaves a fair bit to be desired, and I can’t understand people choosing one over, say, a Prado or a Hilux as a work and lifestyle vehicle.
But I want one.
GO GET IT
Invest R943,100 in a Land Cruiser 79 70th-anniversary edition and there’s an excellent chance your investment will be worth more when you come to sell it. It comes standard with a 3-year/100,000km warranty but no service plan – optional service plans are available. Service intervals are set at 10,000km.
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