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Toyota's new king Cruiser

The new version of the venerable Toyota Land Cruiser makes its appearance in Frankfurt this week.

Lauded for the ability to withstand the harshest elements nature and its owners have to throw at it, Toyota has nevertheless attempted to add to the Land Cruiser's legendary cachet with tools for better terrain bashing.

New functions

Toyota said the rigidity of the Cruiser's body-on-frame construction is now 11% more rigid than before, and that insulating mounts have been added to keep engine, drivetrain and road noise down.

The independent front suspension and four-link rear have been revised for extra comfort, too. An electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) that adjusts the front and rear anti-roll bars for better stability both on- and off-road is a new feature.

Furthermore, Toyota's Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) system with Roll Posture Control allows the driver to choose between three damper settings while an electronic air suspension system on the rear axle works with the AVS to act as an auto-leveling function.



Gizmos galore

A new feature specific to the latest generation Land Cruiser is Multi-terrain select which automatically controls power and braking depending on the type of off-road terrain. It also feeds real-time images from four cameras placed around the vehicle to give the driver information about the surroundings.

A new Steering Angle Display also handily shows the direction the wheels are pointed in.

The cabin is said to be a lot more practical with more storage spaces including a compartment with a USB port and a large centre console that could swallow a little fridge unit.

The Frankfurt show model is powered by a 3.0-litre D-4D turbodiesel engine with a five-speed automatic transmission. It is not yet known which models will be made available in South Africa when the all-new model is launched.

The new-generation Toyota Land Cruiser makes its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens this week.



 
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