Toyota Land Cruiser LC4 D4D Manual

I bought this car for 3 main reasons - (1) size - its a great family mover (2) local roads are bad and this seemed like an obvious choice, and (3) LC's are supposedly the best of the best in terms of reliability. Sadly, this last point proved false in my case. Engine made an awful clicking/rattling sound when new, which was explained to me by Toy. reps as a characteristic of the engine. This noise got progressively worst, when, as fate would have it, the engine would start cutting out when driving right when my warranty expired. It was outright dangerous to drive - its a hair graying experience to loose all power when accelerating on an on-ramp in heavy traffic. Took it to the service folks, where diagnostics revealed faulty injectors and next to no pressure in one cylinder. The cure was to replace the long block and the complete fuel injection system. Of course, all of this was my fault, having used "poor quality fuel", "driving hard" "non-authorized service" etc, none of which was true but naturally would preclude responsibilty or assistance by Mr. T in mitigating the costs of repair. I babied this car and had it serviced as prescribed since new at Toyota authorized dealers, used only premium fuels, kept it clean, rarely went offroading, drove it only myself. I thought I was doing things right as I had every intention of keeping this car for a long, long time. As it turned out, Toyota snubbed me and happily made of with a repair that amounted to about 1/4 the value of the car. Absolutely crazy for any vehicle as expensive as this and with the esteemed pedigree that the LC's have. The D4D's did or still do have a problem with injectors, and rather than do what is right by the customer Toyota keeps a lid on it and seemingly arbitrarily (based on complaints in other forums) addresses the problem on a case by case basis. Heaven forbid the "reliability leaders" should tarnish their image and at least privately notify or assist customers when they know of such a problem. Arguements that local fuel is not good enough is a joke when in light of the fact they are happy to sell the vehicles here

My wish of keeping this bucket of @%#$&^# until the wheels fall off might actually come true. I hate you Toyota and will never, ever buy another of your products again

On my second Land Cruiser LC4 from new. Tried others and nothing compares. I have the manual 6 speed for towing and preference, zooms off at the lights. Brilliant for touring as tow a twin axle Avondale Land ranger 7.5m caravan and pulls no problem easily reaches 60+ on up hill slip roads onto motorway and cruises like a dream. Prior to the Landcruisers I have had 5 previas since 1993 and can honestly say I have never been stranded or let down doing over 30,000 miles a year for pleasure and business, the reliability is second to none. The engine could do with a twin turbo as the new V8 plus semi auto box would sway me towards an auto but ok for the price and reliability. rest of family are Toyota converts with wifes new Rav 4, daughters Aygo and Yaris, my son has a Corolla and son in law an avensis. nearly got the full set.

I love my Toyota "cruiser" and wouldn't drive anything else. Space in rear seats. Can fit 3 child seats no bother. Space in boot. Height compared to being in a normal car. Torque, even in 6th gear! Amazing.

Fantastic. I love the Toyota Land Cruiser. Took delivery of an LC2 AUTO through Acorn Car Finance last June. Since then I have done over 13,000 miles. Absolutely rock solid, zings along the motorway (abroad!!) happily at an indicated 100mph - wind roar not a factor even at this speed. Enormous fuel tank gives great range. Very relaxed, solid, just had its first service and it's used no oil. Big tyres means alloy wheels virtually impossible to "kerb". The ONLY gripe with this car is when in city traffic, there's no "nose" to detect toxins and automatically switch on the air recirc as in better BMWs. Otherwise I'd recommend it to anybody without reservation.

I took delivery of my LC4 in June, and have just turned over 10,000 miles.

My previous car was a Volvo V70 D5 SE, so naturally, the XC90 was a serious option. However, long waiting lists and miserable dealer part-ex offers for my V70 put me off.

Plus, I wanted a vehicle that would launch my boat on a rocky beach, and the XC90's lack of low ratio gearbox put me off. I took a test drive in a Discovery, but the gear stick top came off in my hand, and the panel gap on the drivers door was three times that of the passenger door, which, er, put me off a little!

The TLC in Ember red with beige leather is stunning.

The interior makes a mockery of the Discovery's useless door pockets (can't access them when the doors are closed) and 80s looking switchgear: everything is straight from the Lexus stable with nice soft plastics, and the "Optitron" instrument display is lovely. Another nice feature is the electric sunroof which is HUGE; not as big as a "moon roof" (such as that on the Subaru Forester) but easily the largest standard sunroof I have ever seen (twice the glass area of my buddie's BMW 330D).

On the road, the engine is strong and reasonably quiet for a big diesel, though the power band is quite narrow, so you do need to time the gear/revs quite well for safe overtaking.

Many have criticised the new TLC's body roll at speed, and I have to agree, it does swing around on the twisties (and dive under hard braking). But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Body roll can be thought of as the car's way of telling you that you are approaching the limits of traction, so start backing off!! By contrast, a Discovery with their much-touted "Active Cornering Enhancement" will ride flatter through the corners, but if you DO push it to the limit, the tyres will break away very suddenly. Take your pick.

Off road performance is superb; my boat launching on a 1:4 sloped rocky beach is safe and easy. I did lose traction once, crossing a large patch of wet seaweed. No problems; just hit the difflock button, and all 4 wheels started turning again: superb. Low ratio 1st gear is the lowest I have ever used in a 4x4, apart from a LR Defender. Great progress over the heavily rutted ground on the way to the beach.

A few more points: tyre wear is a big plus. Anyone who has driven a modern diesel with front wheel drive will be no stranger to tyre costs! My Volvo D5 needed 2 new front tyres at 9000 miles: £150 each!! At 10,000 miles, the TLC has 7mm at all four corners! Superb.

Economy has been the other surprise. I really do drive hard (frequent long journeys at 80+ on motorways and A-roads) and I simply CANNOT get it to do less than 30mpg!! Mind you, I have never managed more than 33mpg either. So at least its predictable.

To sum up, there is something about Japanese cars "built in Japan" that just exude the feeling of fantastic build quality & attention to finish. This is one of them.

I am a fierce British patriot & supporter of UK businesses, but after my test drive in a Discovery TD5 ES, stepping into the TLC felt like it should cost twice as much.

It's so superior in every single area, it's just not funny, and a sad day for the Solihull crowd. Here's hoping for a great new Discovery next year, and commiserations to my boss whose £33k Disco rear axle broke at 500 miles, and my Dad's Defender 90 TD5 which broke down at 32 miles on the way home from the dealership