There are 4X4 off roaders and then there are 4X4 off roaders – and standing tall among the most capable off roaders out there is the Toyota Land Cruiser. The EPITOME of reliability and go anywhere prowess, the Land Cruiser has a fan following from the Australian outback to the primeval jungles of Tanzania. Over the years, Toyota have kitted the Land Cruiser with bits and pieces of luxury to transform it from a hard core SUV to a luxury off roader, with the remarkable feat of not losing any of its famous off road capability.

For the year 2016, Toyota has done another facelift to make sure that the Land Cruiser remains in the shortlist of those who are shopping for their dose of luxury SUV. The exterior redesigned the Land Cruiser to a more purposeful look – on the road and off the road. The Bonnet line is new and so are the bumpers. The SUV gets a redesigned front grill, which extents all the way to headlights and cleverly hides some techno wizardry like multi-terrain monitors that come to aid during off the road trips. The SUV also features Dual LED projector lamps and LED fog lamps and comes kitted with side moldings finished in chrome and embellished with LAND CRUISER LOGO.

Toyota does not believe in dividing the Land Cruiser in different levels, and so the SUV is available in only one, but fully loaded trim – the Land Cruiser 200. Toyota has spared no effort in filling up the SUV to the brim with almost anything available in the warehouse – be it tech, comfort or assist features.

The Land Cruiser can seat eight adults in comfort on the new ventilated and heated seats (available in first and second row), clad in leather. The interior features an all new redesigned dashboard dominated by a large touchscreen display. The SUV also gets four-zone automatic climate control, which boasts 28 vents for fine controlling of the temperature inside the cabin. The rear seat passengers have a dedicated DVD entertainment system with two 11.6-inch screens to keep them occupied.

The third row features fold away seats that feature 50-50 split and fold away to create a flat loading surface. The second row features 40-20-40 split and gives a lot of options to carry unique shaped cargos. Toyota has given low mounted anchors and tether anchors on second row seats for added safety to the children.

The cabin gets LED cabin lights and comfort features such as a powered moonroof and a cooler box in the central console.

The Toyota Entune head unit that comes in Land Cruiser is now paired with 14 JBL speakers and JBL Synthesis Audio to give that flawless audio performance, and comes with an 8-inch subwoofer and a dedicated 605 watts amplifier. This head unit also pairs with your smartphone using the Entune App, and gives a plethora of information at your fingertips.

Toyota has introduced SIRI Eyes Free tech that helps you to speak to SIRI with the help of the push of a button, and helps you to keep your eyes on the road. A Qi wireless charging is also bundled with the SUV to make the charging of your smartphone easier.

The MID is customizable and can show the efficiency, individual tyre pressure, navigation prompts, etc, and can even be paired with your smartphone to display the text messages.

The SUV comes with all-time four wheel drive, and is equipped with a central locking TORSEN limited slip differential. The approach and departure angles are an impressive 30 degree and 20 degree each, a testimony to the no compromise off road attitude. To aid you during the off the road trips, the SUV comes with a multi-terrain monitor that gives you 360 degree visibility by displaying your surroundings on the navigation screen, with the help of front, rear and side cameras.

Toyota has added Multi-terrain select, Active Traction control and CRAWL control to aid off-the-road excursions. The Multi-Terrain select works with the low range and two speed transfer case, to help the SUV to alter and optimize the driving strategy according to the terrain and helps in minimizing wheel spins and wheel lock-ups. The active traction control manages the wheel spins by modulating brake and throttle controls. The CRAWL control modulates the brake and throttle inputs automatically on five low speed settings so that you can concentrate on the terrain, without being concerned about giving the right throttle inputs to tide over the rough patches. The Land Cruiser also has hill start assist and downhill assist, to help during those tricky ascends and descends.

The new Land Cruiser is loaded with active safety suite called Toyota Safety P (TSS-P) and boasts Pre collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure alerts, dynamic radar cruise control, etc.

The semi-autonomous pre collision system scans the surroundings for potential hazards including pedestrians, and issues a warning if a potential impact is detected. It can also apply the brakes if the driver fails to respond to the warnings.

The lane departure alerts make use of an onboard camera and the lane marking on the road to determine if the SUV is moving from the current lane, and will alert the driver by audio visual prompts so that the driver can take corrective actions.

The dynamic cruise control uses radar to detect other vehicles and their speed and can actively adjust the cruising speed.

The SUV also has safety systems like 10 airbags, vehicle stability control, multi terrain ABS with EBD and active front headrests that reposition the front headrests to help minimize the impact on the head of the passengers.

Other than these, the CRUISER is also loaded with auto high beam that detects the oncoming vehicles and automatically switches the high beam on and off, smart keyless entry, HomeLink universal garage door opener and auto dimming rearview and sideview mirrors.

In terms of specs, the SUV is powered by a rugged 5.7-liter V8 engine, coupled with an 8 speed automatic transmission, churning out 381hp and 401 pound feet of power and torque, respectively, and is loaded with technologies such as intelligent variable valve timing (VVT-i) and Acoustic Control Induction System (ACIS). This transmission is equipped to adjust the shifting logic, depending on the parameters such as throttle input, incline, vehicle speed, etc. to maximize the efficiency and power output.

True to its off road heritage, Toyota Land Cruiser is built on a 10 member high tensile steel ladder frame and features independent double wishbone suspension with coil springs and stabilizer bar at front and stabilizer bar and semi floating axle in the rear. The underbody features heavy duty skid plates to protect sensitive areas like transfer case, fuel tank, radiator, etc.