Why the Cruiser is still king

It's almost a decade since the launch of the 100 Series Cruiser and, discounting the Prado, the new 200 Series is only the seventh LandCruiser model to be sold here in 50 years.

Of the five million LandCruisers sold world-wide during that time, one in 10 have come to Australia, making this the model's most popular destination.

With its new, bigger body, two new V8 engines and a host of extra equipment, the Land Cruiser 200 will continue to be a popular choice for families in the suburbs, but some of its technology is designed to make the king of the off road even better when the going gets rough.

Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), a product of West Australian company Kinetic Suspension, is fitted to the LandCruiser under a licensing agreement with Toyota.

First seen on the Lexus GX470 (a V8-engined luxury Prado sold in the US), the system senses when the vehicle is leaning into a turn and effectively stiffens the anti-sway bars for flatter, more stable on-road handling.

Off-road, it can loosen the sway bars to allow full wheel articulation when it senses different heights at the front and rear, keeping the tyres in touch with terra firma for better traction.

To do this, KDSS uses a hydraulic piston on each of the front and rear sway bars, linked by hydraulic fluid. When the vehicle rolls in a turn, the hydraulic pressures in the front and rear cylinders oppose each other and the pistons don't stroke, causing the stabiliser bars to twist as they would in a conventional set-up.

If the wheels are raised or lowered, as they would be on an uneven track, the pistons stroke and 'release' the stabiliser bars, allowing longer suspension travel.

In practice, this has allowed Toyota to employ thicker anti-roll bars to better control body roll without sacrificing wheel travel. The front sway bar, 42mm thick, appears massive but is in fact hollow to reduce weight.

KDSS is standard on all LC200s except the diesel GXL, where it's a $2500 option. All the diesel GXLs we've driven so far have had this option, so we are yet to be able to compare vehicles with and without KDSS.

We do think KDSS is more of an advantage in off-road conditions, where the extra wheel travel is clearly evident.

On the road, the Cruiser still lurches if pushed hard (though perhaps not as much as before) and can become unsettled on the less-than-perfect roads found in much of rural Australia.

The LandCruiser is still a big, heavy wagon — and handles like one — so you can't drive it like a sports car, no matter how much clever technology is under it.

The Cruiser 200's Crawl Control function is like cruise control for off-road use. It allows a choice of three low-speed settings (1km/h, 3km/h and 5km/h), selected via a dial on the console.

When selected, the vehicle inches along at the set speed without the driver touching either of the pedals. The driver only needs to steer, but can override the system by applying the brake or the accelerator.

Crawl Control operates in forward or reverse, up and down hill. It's better than the downhill control found on many vehicles in that it can be set to a lower speed, thus offering more control.

Only petrol V8 LandCruisers have Crawl Control. Turbo diesels make do with down hill assist control, which has a faster setting.

Anti-lock brake systems are proven lifesavers on the road, as they allow better control of a vehicle by preventing the wheels locking up or skidding under heavy braking.

But ABS isn't always ideal on the loose gravel roads you'll find all over Australia, as it can actually increase the braking distance.

The LandCruiser's All-Terrain ABS actually reads the available traction on the road surface and allows the wheels a certain amount of lock-up to bite into loose gravel or snow and bring the vehicle to a stop in the shortest possible distance, while still allowing steering control.

KDSS, Crawl Control and All-Terrain ABS are just some of the features that helped the Cruiser 200 take the top two places in Overlander 4WD Magazine's 4WD Of The Year award for 2007.

At the presentation in Sydney last week, the top accolade went to the turbo-diesel GXL Cruiser 200, just ahead of the petrol VX variant.