Toyota UK Introduces Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser V8 60th Anniversary Models

To celebrate the Land Cruiser's 60th anniversary, Toyota's UK arm has announced two special edition models based on the standard five-door Land Cruiser and the flagship Land Cruiser V8. Both off-roaders come with discrete exterior appointments and extra equipment as standard including leather upholstery, 18-inch alloy wheels, premium audio system and special 60th Anniversary badges and carpet mats.

Additionally, the Land Cruiser’s 3.0-liter D-4D diesel engine has been revised for the 2011MY and is now capable of 188bhp (+11bhp) and 420 Nm (310 lb-ft) of torque (+10 Nm/+7 lb-ft), while achieving the same fuel economy. A diesel particulate filter (DPF) is also available, making the oil-burning powerplant Euro 5 compliant.

The base price for the Land Cruiser 60th Anniversary is £49,950, while the Land Cruiser V8 60th Anniversary carries a price sticker of £61,950. The anniversary models are available now.

Last but not least, Toyota is once again selling a three-door version of the Land Cruiser, available in a single trim level (LC3) and with a manual transmission only. The standard equipment list includes 17-inch alloy wheels, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) with Active Traction Control (A-TRC), climate control, smart entry and start system, Bluetooth, six-speaker audio system and front fog lamps. The “on the road” price is £30,395.

The Land Cruiser’s history began in 1951, when Toyota launched the truck-derived BJ, initially for military service. It was the first vehicle to reach the sixth hill station on Mount Fuji, located at an altitude of 2,500 meters. Impressed by its off-road capabilities, the Japanese police added it to its fleet, practically jumpstarting the model’s long-term success.

The Land Cruiser nameplate was first used in 1954, as a generic designation for the new Type 25 BJ, while the forerunner of the Land Cruiser V8 was the 1966 Land Cruiser Station Wagon, introduced in the U.S. as more refined version of the standard model.

Since then, Toyota has continuously improved the Land Cruiser “recipe”, selling more the five million units worldwide.

By Csaba Daradics

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FAIL: Toyota Land Cruiser vs Puddle [Accident Content]

Nothing brings you back to driving-reality quite as effectively as good a ol' cold shower, or in this case, a puddle bath. The sinkhole incident involving this new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado reportedly happened during a test-drive event organized by a Prado fan club (we're assuming it occurred somewhere in Russia). Photos and a video of the accident after the break.

Spasiba to Alex V. for the tip!

Via: Carlifeblog , Source: Prado-club

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2011 Nissan Patrol SUV: Official Photos and Video Leak Online

The all-new 2011 Nissan Patrol must be one of the worst-kept secrets of automotive industry as the first photos of the luxury SUV snapped without any camouflage whatsoever at some sort of presentation made their way onto the web more than a year before its launch.

And it doesn't end there. Today, we found a whole set of official photos as well as a video of the new Patrol -courtesy of a Nissan forum in the Middle East- that you can check out in all their glory after the jump.

The latest generation of the Patrol is Nissan's largest and most capable 4X4 model and it will compete in most markets with the Toyota Land Cruiser. The new Patrol will form the base for the 2011 Infiniti QX (scooped here) which is due to be introduced in North America sometime this year or early 2011.

The Patrol's exterior styling has been modernized adopting several key design cues from the Nissan Terranaut Concept that was shown at the 2006 Geneva Salon.

Even though details about the mechanics remain scarce, the photos confirm earlier reports that the Patrol will be offered with the Nissan group's new 5.6-liter V8 petrol engine that cranks out 420-horsepower in the 2011 Infiniti M56.

The range is also expected to include six-cylinder petrol and diesel units.

Stay tuned on Carscoop as we'll have the full story on the new Patrol on Sunday after it's official presentation at a special event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Via: Nissan-Arabia

Toyota Releases Pricing on New 4Runner SUV as well as on 2010MY Cars Including the Prius and Venza

Just one day after the presentation of the all-new 2010 4Runner, Toyota released pricing on its truck-based SUV model as well as on four more 2010 model year vehicles including the Land Cruiser, Venza, Prius and Tacoma pickup truck. MSRPs for the new 4Runner (including an $800 destination fee) range from $28,300 for the two-wheel drive SR5 grade with a 157HP 2.7-liter four pot to $40,600 for the Limited grade 4x4 with a 270HP 4.0-liter V6. Toyota said that the V6 4Runners will begin arriving at dealerships in late October or early November, while the 4-cylinder SR-5 will go on sale in early January 2010.

As for the rest of the range, the 2010MY Venza crossover-thingamajig, which will begin arriving at dealerships in early November, carries a base MSRP (including a $750 destination charge) that ranges from $27,025 for the four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive model to $29,550 for the all-wheel-drive V6. That comes to an increase of $300, or an average of 1.1 percent over the 2009MY cars.

For 2010, the Venza adds a USB port for iPod connectivity, hands-free phone capability and music streaming via Bluetooth wireless technology as standard equipment on all audio systems.

Expected to arrive at Toyota dealerships in late October, the 2010 Land Cruiser will start from $66,770 (including destination fees), an increase of $1,215, or 1.9 percent over the 2009MY. Changes for the 2010MY include an upgraded audio system that adds a standard USB port for iPod connectivity, Bluetooth wireless technology, grey factory privacy glass tint to the rear hatch and rain-sensing windshield wipers.

While the 2010MY doesn't bring any upgrades for the Tacoma pickup truck, Toyota has announced a price adjustment increase of $175, or an average of 0.8 percent effective on November 2, 2009. MSRP's (including destination charges) range from $16,145 for the Regular Cab four-cylinder 4x2 with a five-speed manual transmission to $28,050 for the Double Cab long bed 4x4 V6 with a five-speed automatic.

Finally, Toyota has increased the base MSRP on the 2010 Prius II, III, IV and IV models that will begin arriving in late October by $400, or an average of 1.6 percent. Prices, again including destination fees, range from $23,150 for the Prius I model to $28,420 for the range-topping Prius V.

Toyota said that pricing for the Prius I model, which will be made available in limited numbers to fleet buyers, will remain unchanged at $21,750.

Toyota Shows All-New 2010 Land Cruiser, Available in Three and Five Door Bodystyles

Making its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the all-new 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser, which also previews the North American market Lexus GX, will go on sale in Europe and other international markets before the end of fall 2009. Building upon the design of its predecessor, the sixth-generation Land Cruiser gets fresh sheetmetal with softer shapes all around and a completely revamped interior featuring a more contemporary design for the dashboard.

Toyota says that the new Land Cruiser, which will be available in most markets in three- and five-door bodystyles, has a more spacious cabin. The five-door model will be offered in a seven-seat version with a third row of two full-size seats that can fold completely flat into the loadspace floor when not in use. The second row seats now have a sliding range of 135mm and a more flexible 40:20:40 configuration, with reclining seatbacks.

Being a proper off-road model, the Land Cruiser sticks with the body-on-frame construction, however, its rigidity has been increased by 11 per cent while insulating frame-to-body mounts have been added to absorb engine, drivetrain and road noise, and to improve ride comfort.

The vehicle's front independent double wishbone and rear four-link lateral rod suspension systems have been revised for extra comfort and better steering feel, while higher grade models are equipped with a new electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), which adjusts the front and rear anti-roll bars for optimised on and off-road performance.

The flagship models also benefit from an electronically controlled rear air suspension system that works with Toyota's Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) system with Roll Posture Control allowing the driver tune the ride characteristics with a choice of three damper settings.

A new feature for the sixth-gen Land Cruiser is the Multi-terrain Select, which automatically controls power and braking to optimize performance for different types of off-road surfaces. The system also combines a monitor that shows real time images from around the vehicle from a network of four cameras supposedly providing the driver with more information about the immediate surroundings.

In the European market, the new Land Cruiser will offer buyers a choice of two revised engines, a 4.0-litre V6 Dual VVT-i petrol producing 249 horsepower and a 3.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder diesel that makes 173 horsepower. Toyota says that CO2 emissions of both engines have been reduced by 12%, while the diesel model returns a combined fuel consumption of 8.1 lt / 100km (29mpg US) with CO2 emissions of 214g/km.