Toyota is releasing it’s new five-star single cab/chassis heavy-duty Land Cruiser 70 series into New Zealand dealerships this week.
Toyota created the iconic heavy duty BJ series Land Cruiser in 1951, followed by the 20 series in 1955 and then the well-known and loved 40 series in 1960.
The first iteration of the boxy heavy-duty 70 series as we know it, arrived in 1984 and the markets saw revisions in 1999 (TC 70 series), 2007 (SC 70 series) and 2014 (DC 70 series).
Responding to a request from Australian mining giant BHP Billiton it is the single cab version of the DC 70 series that has been significantly upgraded to meet the five-star ANCAP test, but the double cab chassis and wagon didn’t receive the same number of updates and remain untested by the new car assessment programme.
The last of the pre-regulation change compliance non-VSC equipped vehicles sold out in July, Toyota New Zealand ordered what it considered years worth of stock before the legal changeover, and sold out in ten months.
For 2017 the LC70 single cab models have five airbags, including the driver, front passenger, driver’s knee, and curtain side airbags, it also receives vehicle stability control, active traction control, hill start assist, emergency stop signal, pretension ELR seatbelts with adjustable anchors and a reversing camera.
The LC 70 single cab variants are receiving enhancements to improve the structural integrity of the cabin and a chassis that is larger and stiffer, but these improvements don’t appear in the double cab model or the wagon version, which replaces the previous Troop Carrier.
There is also new one piece steel wheels replacing the previous models split rim set up, plus the brake system now offers electronic brake force distribution and brake assist.
All 2017 models are Euro 5 compliant and the single cab models have a 130-litre fuel tank which is now mounted further down the chassis rails than before.
Sales of the LC70 were 257 units in 2015, and 85 units so far in 2016.
Toyota New Zealand general manager-sales Steve Pragnell says that Solid Energy is the biggest local customer for the LC 70 series, following by mining company Oceania Gold, and then the rural sector accounts for the rest of the ‘Cruisers sales.
“We’re targeting sales of 150 units in 2017,” says Pragnell.
The Yoshiwara plant in Toyota City is creating five different versions of the heavy-duty Landcruiser 70 series for the New Zealand market.
There’s an LT grade single cab priced at $75,780, an LT grade double cab priced at $79,380, an LX grade single cab priced at $81,980, and an LX grade double cab at $85,580.
The two-seat Land Cruiser 70 LT wagon which replaces the Troop Carrier model is $84,890.
A full review of the new Land Cruiser 70 single cab/chassis ability on, and off-road is coming soon in the December 2016 issue of DIESELtalk magazine.
