The Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial has all the comforts of an upmarket SUV and is even more unstoppable than a Hilux

YOU started out with a Toyota Hilux pick-up.

Worked it hard. And yourself. Did well.

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Now you have crews of people working for you – and you give them Hiluxes.

So what do you drive next?

Toyota is still there for you. Meet the Land Cruiser Commercial.

As tough as a Hilux. As fearless as a Hilux.

Off the road, even more unstoppable than a Hilux.

But from the driving seat this doesn’t feel like a work truck.

Yes, 70 years and 11 million Land Cruisers ago, it started as a bare-bones vehicle.

The new one is a whole different league.

From the driver’s seat it has all the comforts of an upmarket SUV.

Until you turn your head. Behind you is a tough steel mesh partition.

Behind that, a hard flat floor.

The rear side windows have black steel blanking plates.

That means it still looks like a car, not a van, and less of a break-in target for low-lifes who are after your tools.

Yet as a two-seat van, it’s taxed lower than a double-cab pick-up.

There’s a strong UK angle.

The vehicles arrive as completed five-seaters from the usual Land Cruiser assembly line in Japan.

At Toyota’s plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire, it meets a dedicated spanner crew.

They strip out the rear, then fit all the parts to make it a Commercial.

They did the same for the previous generation Land Cruiser, which was launched in a low spec.

‘Unstoppable’

The buyers said they wanted something nicer.

Which is why this time around there’s heated, vented, powered seats, a full infotainment screen and a rich set of driver assists.

But comfort is about more than an equipment list.

The Land Cruiser looks after you on the road.

The engine’s pretty quiet unless you flog it.

The automatic box shifts with a gentle slur.

The steering’s precise, even if the body does lean over in bends.

The suspension is supple.

Don’t pretend it drives like a car, but it’s a step ahead of a Hilux by any of those measures.

Don’t worry, mind, it’ll still carry 810kg, or tow a 3,500kg trailer.

It’s just as unstoppable off the road.

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You can thank huge suspension travel, a low-ratio transfer box and diff lock.

Plus there are canny electronic traction aids that kept me chugging steadily along whether it was uphill or down or just plain rocky.

Plus, it’s a Toyota.

So if you keep up with the servicing, it’s warranted to keep doing all that for ten years.

So wherever it takes you, it shouldn’t leave you stranded out there.