2008 Toyota Land Cruiser

Toyota hopes its newly redesigned 2008 Land Cruiser will triple slumping U.S. sales for the venerable SUV

Toyota's Land Cruiser has quite a legacy to live up to. Over several decades, the model that first brought the automaker attention in foreign markets, including the U.S. , and established the automaker's long-held reputation for reliability, has become much more spacious and comfortable, yet it's still upheld an impressive level of off-road ability.

The Land Cruiser's product lifecycles - and its development time - are about double those of the rest of Toyota's vehicle lines, according to company officials, because of the extensive global field testing that the flagship SUV is subjected to.

Though we seem to be able to devour every Camry and RAV4 that comes to be on our shores, the U.S. is not one of the main markets for the rugged Land Cruiser; within the U.S. market, Toyota only sells about 3000 Land Cruisers a year. One of the issues now is that the current Land Cruiser, which was introduced back in 1998, arguably feels a bit too close to the Sequoia, in look and feel, at a lower price. Today, Toyota sells about ten times as many Sequoias as Land Cruisers.

The Land Cruiser is, at last, completely redesigned for 2008, and Toyota hopes to nearly triple the number of Land Cruisers sold in the U.S. this year.

No radical departure

Honestly, the new Land Cruiser doesn't look that much different on the outside than the version it replaces. The Land Cruiser sees its proportions and sheetmetal change slightly, but within, the redesign is much more dramatic than its appearance might indicate. With this new-generation Cruiser Toyota is better differentiating it from its other SUVs by taking the technological high road. The new Land Cruiser joins quite a few other models in the SUV field by supplementing its heavy-duty hardware with some electronic gizmos that increase stability during some of the most precarious off-road maneuvers.

We're not just talking electronic stability control (ESC), or Hill Descent Control. Those are both standard on the Land Cruiser, along with Hill Start Assist, to increase stability on steep ascents, along with A-TRAC active traction control, which aids stability on low-traction surfaces. The real news is a feature called Crawl Control, which can actually make an inexperienced off-road driver look like a pro.

Sort of like a cruise control for low-speed off-roading on treacherous terrain - and sounding like what you really wish you could get for your toddler - Crawl Control keeps a very low vehicle speed, maintaining precious momentum and traction in a delicate way, through the throttle, brakes, and traction control, that few experienced off-road drivers could replicate. There are three speed modes, 1 km/h, 3 km/h, and 5 km/h (about 3.2 mph), accessed through a center-console switch. Crawl Control only operates in low range and can only be engaged when the vehicle is stopped.

A new Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) is also now adopted for all Land Cruisers. The system isn't electronically controlled; it instead uses hydraulic pressure between opposed reservoirs front-to-back, which function together, cleverly, as a stabilizer-bar system when front and rear pressure is similar but effectively detaching the stabilizer bar when wheel movement varies, allowing more wheel articulation and a smooth ride.

Steering has been improved as well. It's a hydraulic power-assisted rack-and-pinion system that's mechanically variable, and the system is cooled via an oil cooler and cooling fins. Ventilated disc brakes are used on all four wheels, and the fronts use four-piston calipers.

The transfer case that's included in all Land Cruisers is much like the one in the previous-generation vehicle. It provides a high or low range, with a Torsen center differential, and the center differential can be locked in either range. The diff lock can only be engaged from a stop, but high-low shifting is possible up to 62 mph. On road, the system defaults to a torque split that sends about 59 percent to the rear wheels, but that ratio can vary from 50 to 70 percent depending on slip.

The Land Cruiser's key off-road specs, including approach, departure, and breakover angles, along with ground clearance, are also essentially unchanged compared with the outgoing model. The approach angle is especially impressive, at 30 degrees.

The Land Cruiser's body-on-frame construction is also tougher than ever; it employs a fully boxed frame with eight cross members, some of them using hydroformed steel, for increased resistance to twisting and flexing. The rear suspension remains a four-link coil-spring setup, with solid axle and Panhard rod - allowing 9.45 inches of suspension travel; in front, Toyota foregoes the previous torsion-bar design - which was prone to damage in off-roading - in favor of a new coil-over shock and double A-arm design.

Crawl control in Big Sky

In Montana's Big Sky region, where we tested the Land Cruiser as part of a Toyota-sponsored press event, the automaker has set up one of the most technically demanding off-road courses we've ever experienced, with some boulder-clambering, deep trenches that brought wheel-articulation extremes, and situations so off-kilter that we teetered on two wheels - with nary a groan from the body.

At one time, we were left to descend a steep slope of loose boulders, with the rain starting to fall. We wondered at one time if we'd gotten ourselves in too precarious of a situation, but as we took shallow breaths the Crawl Control system didn't flinch, operating the stability control system and anti-lock brakes - its sound oddly percussive - getting us securely through. Miraculously, the system feathered the brakes on each wheel, allowing some slip on the rocks but not too much so as to compromise stability. It took a lot of faith in the system, as if we'd fishtailed even the slightest, a rollover would likely have been the outcome.