What's the difference?
Large family-friendly luxury SUVs tend to be handsome in design but somewhat restrained. Until now. BMW has introduced a major facelift for its flagship SUV, the six- or seven-seat X7. Emphasis on face.
The new X7 adopts the striking but controversial front-end from the new 7 Series sedan, but the big, bold SUV is hiding some rather significant changes under the skin. Aside from a beefier diesel that now comes with mild hybrid tech, there’s also a redesigned cabin, massively upgraded tech, more standard features, oh, and a price increase.
Toyota Australia has made a raft of changes to the current LandCruiser 300 Series line-up as part of the latest round of upgrades, but even though the third-from-top Sahara gets a $1119 price rise, it doesn’t receive any updates.
In an increasingly competitive 4WD wagon market – where some car-makers are offering more standard features and tech at lower prices – has the venerable LandCruiser lost its lustre?
Read on.
When lined up against its direct rivals, the expensive X7 xDrive40d represents reasonable value for money.
It has a unique and bold look and a sumptuous, visually striking and well-appointed interior that has acres of space for family, friends, or for ferrying frequent flyers to the airport.Â
That wallop of performance from the big beefy diesel is the cherry on the top. This is how you do a mid-life update.Â
The Sahara version of the LandCruiser 300 is an impressive large 4WD wagon: refined and comfortable on-road, and it adequately retains that renowned ’Cruiser capability off-road.
It's supremely comfortable seven-seater and has heaps of potential as a touring vehicle, but while there's plenty to like about the Sahara spec, the updated seven-seat GXL (up $2029, to $110,820 excluding on-road costs) offers a more appealing compromise between price and features, especially now that it has a cool box in the centre console, four-zone climate control (previously two), and eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat (with lumbar support), among other additions.