Toyota Land Cruiser 2012 News

Buying a used car is difficult enough in normal times.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its latest round of safety recalls, with models from Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Mazda, Toyota and Ford affected.

The recall involves LandCruiser 70 Series wagon, troop carrier, single and double cab chassis models fitted with ABS brakes, and the notice cites a defect in the flexible brake hose bracket on the front differential. Under certain conditions, this bracket could fracture around the securing bolt and break, resulting in brake fluid leaking and a loss of braking ability.If the problem occurs, the lack of braking power could increase the risk of collision. However Toyota Australia spokesman Mike Breen says there has been only one incident reported locally, but with no injuries.He says owners of the affected LandCruisers -- estimated to be about 22,000 around the world and 14,000 in Australia -- should take their vehicles to a Toyota dealership to have them inspected. "Not all of the LandCruisers will be affected, but some will need to have the bracket and hose replaced if needed.The recall affects Toyota LandCruiser VDJ7# models  built between May 2012 through to March 2014. The VIN range covers the following: JTE EV73J# 00008761 - 00010163; JTE RV71J# 00005989 - 00006736; JTE RV73J# 09001428 - 09001708; JTE BV71J# 04000001 - 04005420; JTE LV71J# 00028750 - 00033096; and JTE LV73J# 09010556 - 09014211. The VIN number for your vehicle is located on the build plate in the engine bay.

We’ve asked some dealers which are the best deals they have going – and why. It may be an extra equipment pack, it may be a great price, or it may be a fantastic finance deal. See the latest dealsTim Kennett at Belcar says their best deal is a Mercedes-Benz CLA 200. “Priced from $49,900 this highly sought-after immaculate update model has it all. Seat memory, sunroof, multi-spoke alloy wheels and suave black leather interior just to name a few features.” See the latest dealsChris Myers of Chris Myers Car Sales in Magill says his best deal is a Mazda 6 diesel wagon priced from $41,650. See the latest dealsScott Parker of Jim Best Ford in Clare says his best deal is a Ford Ranger XLT dual cab turbodiesel for $60,244. “This Ranger has had one owner, low kilometers and is immaculate,” he says. See the latest dealsSteve Vo at Peter Warren Toyota in Liverpool says the best deal he has this week is a Toyota Landcruiser GXL Turbo Diesel Auto for $83,990 driveaway. “Average wait time is 3-4 months to build, RRP is $94,414. Unbelievable clearance with drive away no more to pay price,” Steve says.See the latest dealsMark Courtney at Macarthur Kia in Narellan says the best deal he has this week is a Kia Rio S priced from only $15,290. “Featured packed, funky and cool, this the Reborn Kia Rio. This stylish little package has all the goods without breaking the bank,” Mark says.  See the latest dealsJon Clark-Monks for The Highway Autogroup has a wonderful Mercedes B180 CDI in Blue with full black leather interior. See the latest dealsStewart Rhodes of John Hughes Prestige in Victoria Park says the best deal he has right now is a Volkswagen Touareg priced from $62,990. See the latest dealsPeter Castieau of Warehouse Autos in Balcatta says his best deal is a Toyota FJ Cruiser for $52,476.85 drive away. “Impossible to find this good at this price. Travel around Australia tomorrow,“ he says.  

Toyota Australia is adding a five seat version of its 70 Series ute, but it has only a three star ANCAP crash rating, something which could hurt it given some mining companies are starting to demand utes with five star crash test scores.Toyota Australia spokesman Mike Breen says the company has improved the crash rating of the 70 Series through the years and says a five star rating is not impossible."We have got it up to a three star rating, so it is a work in progress," he says. "We will keep working on improving it because people love it."Toyota is working to constantly update the 70 Series to keep it on the road and is finally introducing anti-skid brakes on all models, including the crew cab. It doesn't have traction control, Electronic Stability Control and makes do with two airbags.Other upgrades to the 70 Series range include a snorkel fitted to the A-pillar, new seats and a new sound system that incorporates Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming.All 70 Series models are fitted with the durable 4.5-litre common rail turbo diesel V8 with 151kW and 430Nm, which is linked to a five-speed manual and a part time four-wheel drive system that includes a two-speed transfer case.The basic Workmate gets 16-inch steel wheels, side steps, vinyl seats, rubber floor covers and black bumpers. Stepping up to the GXL adds 16-inch alloy wheels, flared wheel arches, remote central locking, electric windows, carpet, fog lights, differential locks (which are optional extras for the Workmate) and cloth seats.The ancient LandCruiser -- which was first introduced all the way back in 1975 -- is a far different vehicle to the far more modern and city friendly 200 Series LandCruiser wagon, has been updated through the years but is still a basic and tough machine known for its simple design. It has been available as a wagon, a troop carrier with a tall roof and single cab ute and, from September, a crew cab.Sales continue to tick over thanks largely to continued interest from miners and farmers who want a tough go-anywhere vehicle. But the company sensed it was missing out on a lot of sales given the amount of people who asked about a crew cab version.It was given more encouragement when a range of small engineering firms started chopping 70 Series wagons to produce their own crew cab utes. Toyota's Japanese chiefs responded and hit the green light for the new workhorse crew cab, which will only be available in Australia.Its engineers took the 70 Series wagon as a base model and developed rear panels along with a sturdy custom metal tray. The tray is very similar to the one available for the Hilux cab chassis crew cab, the model that many loyal Toyota customers purchased in lieu of a 70 Series crew cab ute.It measures 1800mm in length and 1840mm in width and is available with fold down sides, side rails for tying down loads load bars to allow for long items to be carried and a mesh grille to protect the rear window. The ute retains its one tonne payload and is able to tow up to 3500kg.It is available in two specification levels, the Workmate at $63,990 and the GXL at $67,990. Despite the hefty prices, the 70 Series is still a basic machine. It still has solid beam front suspension, instead of each side being independent, which is very rare these days. 

The fourth body style - joining the single cab-chassis, wagon and troop carrier bodies and making a range of nine versions - has been prompted by demand from the mining and construction sectors, with strong interest also from rural and regional communities."The 70-Series is so popular for the really tough jobs that customers have been modifying the wagon version to provide the flexibility of a double-cab ute," Toyota Australia's executive director sales and marketing Matthew Callachor said."The double cab will carry five adults as well as providing a one-tonne payload for their heavy gear, such as surveying equipment," he said. "For other customers, including farmers, the large cabin will allow the kids to ride along, while also offering the touring benefits of a dual-cab ute along with the legendary LandCruiser toughness."The double-cab will be powered by the same 4.5-litre turbodiesel V8 as current models -- developing 151kW at 3400rpm and 430Nm of torque between 1200-3200rpm -- with a five-speed manual transmission and part-time 4WD with two-speed transfer case.It will be sold in only two of the three existing spec levels, but will include features from the recent 70-Series revision, such as anti-skid brakes, snorkel, upgraded seats and updated audio system with Bluetooth, audio streaming and voice-command.The Workmate spec - aimed at the mining and building sites - is priced from $63,990 ($5200 up on the single-cab) and gets a tough-treatment fit-out that includes vinyl-wrapped seat and floor surfaces, aluminium side steps, 16-in steel wheels, black bumpers and optional diff locks.There’s no mid-range GX, but the family focus will be on the $67,990 GXL (priced to match the troop carrier GXL) which gets alloy wheels, fabric seat coverings, carpet, remote central locking, power windows, foglights and diff locks as standard. Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series range and prices     

New car buyers have turned to Sport Utility Vehicles in record numbers, according to the official sales figures released yesterday by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.So far this year the small SUV brigade – including such popular vehicles as the Nissan Dualis, Mitsubishi ASX, Volkswagen's Tiguan and Hyundai ix35 – has grown at an unprecedented rate of 31 per cent. Australians bought 23,845 SUVs of all types last month.Small SUV sales have not come at the expense of the larger models - the medium, large and upper large SUVs all continue to record twenty-plus per cent growth.SUVs have sold 177,100 units this year – or just 20,000 vehicles short of the SUV tally for 2007, which was the record year for vehicle sales. The segment is on track to top 305,000 sales.The FCAI also says SUVs are being bought by both private and business customers. Diesel engines are the powerplant of choice.The sales data shows a 59.9 per cent growth in private diesel SUVs and a 36.3 per cent in non-private sales.One brand that has strong SUV sales to thank is Toyota - Australia's executive director sales and marketing Matthew Callachor said strong performances from Toyota's SUVs helped lift Toyota's sales tally by 26.2 per cent this year."Toyota SUVs sales rose by a massive 58 per cent July-on-July, led by Prado which more than doubled its year-ago result,'' he says.     

The Landy wagon now gets a more powerful and more efficient V8 petrol engine. LandCruiser's new 4.6-litre V8 features variable valve timing on both the inlet and exhaust ports, lifting power and torque while improving fuel economy and lowering emissions.The new V8 leads a series of improvements to the LandCruiser 200, which remains true to its off-road heritage with uncompromising, go-anywhere capability. LandCruiser, the top-selling vehicle in its class for decades, gains new and updated equipment for 2012 that adds to its looks, performance and customer appeal.Off-road technology has advanced across the range with a new multi-terrain anti-skid braking system that detects and automatically adapts to off-road conditions, supplementing the standard vehicle stability control and active traction control.The two top grades, LandCruiser VX and Sahara, gain Multi-Terrain Select that regulates wheel-spin in tough off-road conditions with five driver-selectable modes: rock, rock and dirt, mogul, loose rock, mud and sand.Top-of-the-range Sahara adds to LandCruiser's reputation as "king off the road" with Multi-Terrain Monitor, utilising four wide-angle cameras for checking "blind" spots and revealing terrain hazards and apexes that are normally hidden from the driver's view.Other LandCruiser Sahara features include air-conditioned front seats, upgraded navigation system, power-operated tailgate, and three-position memory for the power driver's seat, steering wheel and exterior mirrors. All grades feature fresh exterior styling, including a new front mask with revised bumpers and grilles, and interior upgrades incorporating the latest audio systems.LandCruiser's new V8 petrol engine is fitted with an acoustic control induction system that enhances performance at high engine speeds and improves torque lower in the rev range. Engine capacity is reduced by 56cm3 to 4608cm3, yet power increases by 12.9 per cent to 228kW at 5500rpm and torque by 7.1 per cent to 439Nm at 3500rpm.Fuel economy has improved by 6.2 per cent to 13.6 litres/100km . Designated 1UR-FE, the new engine has a six-speed automatic transmission instead of the five-speed in the previous petrol engine. This is the same AB60F six-speed unit fitted to 4.5-litre twin-turbo diesel LandCruiser 200 variants. The final gear ratio is taller in the petrol models (4.300:1 v 3.909).LandCruiser 200 GXL, VX and Sahara customers can choose between the new petrol engine and Toyota's 195kW/650Nm 4.5-litre V8 twin-turbo common-rail diesel engine. The GX grade is offered with the diesel engine. All LandCruiser 200 variants now have 138-litre fuel-tank capacity with 93-litre main and 45-litre sub tanks. 

The petrol V8 engine is slightly smaller, down from 4.7 to 4.6 litres, but it produces 26kW more power (228kW) and also 29Nm more torque (439Nm).PRICINGPrices on all models except the GX diesel have increased. The GXL petrol is $83,900 (up $6576), the GXL diesel is $88,990 (up $1326), the VX petrol is $94,990 (up $6576), the VX diesel is $99,990 (up $7826), the Sahara petrol is $113,990 (up $7826) and the Sahara diesel is $118,990 (up $2576).MECHANICALFuel economy on the petrol improves by 6.2 per cent to 13.6 litres/100km, helped by the addition of the six-speed automatic transmission from the diesel but with a taller final drive. The diesel driveline is unchanged. All models now have 138-litre fuel tank capacity.Both models also have Multi-Terrain Select and anti-lock brakes. The anti-lock brake system has been upgraded to automatically adapt to off-road conditions, and cruise-control system now has five crawl settings instead of three.EQUIPMENT AND FEATURESThe GX gets new tail lights, a black grille, an economy meter and retains its rear barn doors and steel wheels. In the case of the GXL, it gets a black grille, new head and tail lights and indicators in the side mirrors. It gains satellite navigation, a 6.1-inch touchscreen audio system with single CD and USB input, an alarm system and a 220 volt connector. The higher grade VX and Sahara now have a terrain response system with five modes - rock, rock and dirt, mogul, loose rock, mud and sand. They also get a new grille and parking sensors front and rear, high intensity headlights, day lights, auto wipers, new 18-inch alloy wheels and power folding mirrors.The Sahara picks up airconditioned front seats, an upgraded satellite navigation system, power tailgate and memory settings for the driver's seat, steering wheel and mirrors. Also new are four wide-angle cameras to cover blind spots and off-road obstacles, and seat heaters for the second row.