RAM 1500 vs Toyota Landcruiser 70 Series

What's the difference?

As with all current-generation Ram 1500s, the Rebel remains one of our favourite full-sized American utes on the Australian market.

Yes, it is not cheap, and a few items standard on the Laramie Sport have been deleted for better or worse, but the Rebel offers better off-road capability without losing any of the regular 1500’s driver enjoyment, comfort, refinement and overall class.

An upsized Ranger Wildtrak with more civility than its redneck reputation suggests.

It looks like a house brick, it drives like a busted truck, it has less safety gear than a go-kart and fewer standard features than a shopping cart, yet there’s still so much to like about the 2026 Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series.

It’s fun to drive (if you know what to expect), it’s highly functional (for the job-site or camp-site) and one of the best 4WDs straight out of the showroom. And in GXL guise it makes a lot of sense as a work wagon or a touring vehicle.

Sure, Toyota pushes the boundaries of brand loyalty – consistently doing the bare minimum to keep buyers coming back for more – but in the case of the 76, I don’t mind that because this is one of the old-school 4WDs that should always be available.

Essentially, the 1500 Rebel is a Laramie Sport with a few changes to make it look a little more athletic.

Changes include an extra power bulge in the bonnet, a restyled grille treatment, black powder-coated steel bumpers, daytime running spot lights, 18-inch rather than 20-inch off-road alloy wheels and the aforementioned one-inch (26mm-ish) suspension lift – partly as a result of the knobblier tyres, Bilstein off-road dampers and revised springs, all for better clearances.

Speaking of which, that’s why the retractable side steps have been deleted. The approach/departure/breakover angles are rated at 20.9, 22.2 and 19.2 degrees respectively.

That the Rebel loses the RamBox does mean a bit more tub width, but at the cost of 210 litres of hidden storage.

What’s left are mostly visual changes, including a two-tone colour scheme with black paint on the lower sections, extra blacked-out trim, Rebel badges and decals and three grade-specific hues: 'Bright White', 'Flame Red' and 'Hydro Blue'.

Dimensionally, the 1500 is definitely in the next-league up compared to a Ranger or HiLux, with length at 5916mm, width at 2057mm (excluding mirrors – that balloons out to 2747mm with them) and height at 2006mm. Wheelbase is set at 3672mm. Which does wonders for interior space.

Inside, a red and black look pervades, resulting in Rebel upholstery and material applications, but the seats and dash remain pure Laramie Sport – and that’s no bad thing, as the DT series remains the most car-like and refined interior of all the big US utes.

Let’s dive in.

The 76 Series is boxy and blocky at 4910mm long (with a 2730mm wheelbase), 1870mm wide and 1940mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 2300kg.

This is a straight-up-and-down 4WD wagon whose hard edges have been somewhat softened through the most recent significant upgrade.

The cabin retains its spacious but spartan look and feel. Function wins out over form here.

The five seats sport a hard-wearing grey cloth trim which fits in nicely with the 76 Series’ spirit of utility.

This is as much an interior review as anything else, because the Walkinshaw Automotive Group’s engineers have created nearly 50 unique dashboard parts in the 1500’s transition from LHD to RHD.

These join the hundreds of other items that have been modified throughout the big ute.

Haul yourself up and inside, and what you’re met with is essentially a Laramie Sport, but with a more-athletic vibe due to the red-and-black Rebel trim upholstery. In this evaluation example, the presentation, fit and finishes were exemplary.

Everything seems to be in Cinemascope. The sheer girth of the cabin; the excellent vision afforded by lofty seating as well as the deep windscreen and side windows; the abundance of light showering in from the dual-pane sunroof; wide yet cosy front seats that ensconce you like a bear hug – are there comfier ones out there in the world of utes? We doubt it; and heaps of space for your head, shoulders, arms and legs.

Most people should be able to sleep crossways on the back seat floor.

Back up front, the vast multi-layered dash is conventionally designed, with a 12-inch instrument display ahead of the driver and a long, portrait-oriented 14.4-inch touchscreen (containing a superb premium audio system).

But, unusually, there’s also a 10.25-inch multimedia screen for the front passenger, which isn’t visible to the driver for road-safety reasons.

Drilling into the details, there’s a satisfying attention to design to the instrument dials that you’d expect from an Italian brand – Ram owner Stellantis is partly consisted of Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia, after all, as well as Citroen and Peugeot.

It’s also in the feel and quality of the presentation, as well as the general ergonomics, where most of the controls and switchgear are within reach, readily understood and easily operable – after a few moments taken to learn what’s what.

Confidence and swagger, without being too brash or ostentatious. An F-150, in contrast, seems cheap and hard inside.

Weirdly, given all the room around you, there’s also a sense of being a bit hemmed-in, thanks to the ultra-wide centre console. It houses an attic’s worth of storage capability, and is nicely integrated within the overall dash architecture.

It’s a pity, then, that Ram doesn’t offer a three-person bench seat up front – or, at least, a two-person love seat for the passengers right beside the driver’s bucket. There’s certainly enough space for that.

A half-day with the Rebel failed to showcase too many faults or irritations. There’s too much wind noise coming in at speed due to those elephantine exterior mirrors, there’s no digital radio and not everybody will like the red trim inserts. In this regard the vibe is more garish Germanic than restrained Italianate.

Remember, too, the Laramie Sport’s sliding centre console and reclining rear backrests aren’t fitted to the Rebel.

Not that you’d necessarily miss the latter, since the bench is nicely angled and seems comfortable enough. Obviously, there are acres of space to move and lounge about in, and pretty much all the usual amenities are present.

These include USB ports of both varieties, heated outboard seats, face-level ventilation, cupholders, map pockets overhead lighting, a coat hook, and the glorious sunroof that allows so much light to flood in.

There’s extra storage beneath the cushions as well as in the door panels, while a small portion of the back glass slides open. Apparently, that’s handy for hearing and giving instructions when working with the ute. Clever.

And, of course, so is the massive tub out back, complete with a full-sized spare wheel.

For now, Australia only receives the five-foot/seven-inch – or 1.7m long – tub, rather than the longer 6' 1" option offered in earlier 1500s. The Rebel’s payload jumps 30kg, and still maintains its 4.5-tonne towing capacity.

Note that, with the deletion of the RamBox cargo storage units, load-area width increases, but only by 15mm, and you lose 210 litres of hidden tub storage.

For the record, the tub dimensions are around 1700mm (length), 1295mm (width) and 543mm (height). The upshot is about 1500 litres of cargo capacity.

And, of course, there’s the maximum braked towing capacity of 4500kg (with a 70mm ball), 750kg unbraked, 7771kg for Gross Combined Mass (GCM), 3505kg for Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) and an 893kg payload maximum.

Finally, a heavy-duty tow bar, 12-pin wiring harness and trailer brake controller are standard equipment.

The 76 cabin is practicality maximus, albeit with a basic interior that feels like it was delivered here from the 1970s by a disco-ball-equipped time machine.

It is unashamedly purpose-built for work and in GXL guise this five-seat wagon is well-suited to job-site duties and/or touring life.

The cabin layout has a nice familiarity about it and it’s an easy space in which to quickly become comfortable.

All controls are easy to locate and operate – dials or buttons as per most Toyota cabins – and the 76 Series has a new multimedia screen. But it’s nothing to get excited about. It’s too small, too dark and it’s difficult to operate. So, that’s a fail.

The cabin is roomy, however, even if storage spaces are few and far between and some of them are small or awkwardly shaped or both.

There are two outboard cupholders, a narrow centre console bin, a cupholder and narrow smartphone spot to the left of the gear stick and door pockets. There is also a shallow shelf for something below the front passenger's outboard air vent.

It's a spartan interior, but as plain as it all is, it fits in with the 70 Series ethos of being functional.

Cloth seat and door trim retain that rough-and-ready feel the model is renowned for and there are expanses of hard plastic surfaces everywhere to endure whatever work and life can throw at them.

The carpet floor in our test vehicle was topped with rubber mats.

Storage spaces up front include a glove box, centre console with lid, dual cupholders between the driver and front passenger, pop-out outboard cupholders and door pockets big enough for a water bottle.

Rear-seat passengers each get a seatback map pocket… and that’s about it.

Front seats are as comfortable as you’d expect in a 76 Series, offering adequate rather than exceptional levels of support and comfort, and the rear seats are squeezy for adults, so better left to children.

Payload is listed as 1210kg and the expansive squared-off rear cargo area could probably cop most of that weighty burden. That space can be expanded to fit even more work or camping equipment if you tumble-fold the 60/40 split second-row forward.

Access to the rear is via the 60/40-split barn-type tailgate.

As a reference, the Ineos Grenadier Trialmaster offers very comfortable Recaro seats at the front, as well as slightly more space and comfort in its second row and more amenities throughout its cabin (as well as quirky touches, such as aircraft-style switchgear and the like).

The 2026 Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series in GXL trim, with a 2.8-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine, five-speed manual gearbox and diff locks as standard costs $77,800 (RRP).

As tested, this five-seat vehicle costs $79,293.10 (RRP) because it has an EBC brake kit (module) ($242.50, RRP, estimated fitted), wiring kit, brake controller (harness, $394.95 RRP, estimated fitted) and a towbar ($855.65 RRP, estimated fitted)

Standard features include a 6.7-inch multimedia touchscreen system (with Bluetooth as well as wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), AEB, cruise control (not adaptive), a reversing camera, lane departure alert, speed sign recognition, hill-start assist, power-operated wing mirrors and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Exterior paint choices include 'French Vanilla', 'Graphite', 'Merlot Red', 'Silver Pearl', 'Eclipse Black', 'Midnight Blue', and 'Sandy Taupe', which is on our test vehicle.

For reference, the 76’s closest rival, the Ineos Grenadier Trailmaster (with a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine), offers much more in terms of standard features onboard but has a starting price around the $120,000 mark, before on-road costs. A Ford Everest Tremor 4WD 3.0 V6 diesel auto costs around $76,590, BOC, and easily tops the 76 in terms of features and refinement and a Nissan Patrol Warrior (with a 5.6-litre petrol V8 engine) has a price-tag of $110,660, BOC, and also easily tops the 76 for features, refinement and all-round driveability.

Underneath the power bulge bonnet is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo in-line six-cylinder petrol engine known as the 'Hurricane'.

Sharing just five per cent of its parts with Jeep’s version, the Rebel uses the Standard Output (SO) tune, meaning this Euro 5-rated direct-injection unit delivers a heady 313kW of power at 5200rpm and 635Nm of torque at 3500rpm.

The High Output (HO) in the Limited, on the other hand, ups the ante with 403kW and 707Nm.

Compared to the old 291kW/556Nm 5.7L Hemi V8, the Hurricane SO lacks its evocative exhaust burble and effortless low-down grunt, but the figures don’t fib: 7.6 per cent more power and 14.2 per cent more torque.

Tipping the scales at 2615kg, the Rebel returns an impressive 120kW/tonne (versus 109kW/tonne for the V8), resulting in a 0-100km/h sprint-time of just 6.0 seconds, according to Ram (HO: 5.3s). That the Hurricane weighs nearly 60kg less than the Hemi helps.

Torque is sent to either the rear wheels in 2WD mode or all four wheels in 4WD mode via an eight-speed torque-converter auto, that Ram evocatively calls ‘TorqueFlite’ – memories of old Aussie Chrysler Valiants here.

A full-time on-demand transfer case is fitted, offering '2WD High', '4WD Auto' and '4WD High/Low' along with a locking rear differential.

As with all 1500s, there are wishbones up front and the rear axle is a coil-sprung rather than leaf-spring set-up.

This 76 Series GXL has a 2.8-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine producing 150kW from 3200–3400rpm and 450Nm from 2400–3000rpm and a five-speed manual gearbox.

It has part-time four-wheel drive and auto-locking hubs, and this GXL variant has locking front and rear diffs as standard.

Ram says the Rebel returns a combined average of 10.7L/100km, which translates to about 283 grams/km of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s a small improvement over the Hemi V8’s 12.2L/100km and 325g/km figures, aided by stop/start tech. But stirring performance, rather than outright economy are the priorities here, according to Ram.

Brimming the big 98-litre fuel tank with 91 RON standard unleaded petrol should see a theoretical average range between refills of 916km.

Official combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption is listed as 9.6L/100km.

Fuel consumption on my test was 11.4L/100km and that was recorded after a variety of driving (suburbs, highway, back roads and bush tracks) with a full day of 4WDing thrown into the mix.

The 76 Series uses diesel and has a 130-litre fuel tank. Driving range is 1354km (based on the official fuel-use figure) and 1140km (based on my fuel-use figure on test).

If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Hemi V8 lover and dread the notion that a mere ‘six’ has taken its place in the Ram 1500 – and particularly in the sporty off-road Rebel we have here – then a rethink may be in order.

That’s because, in the spirit of iconic sixes of the past, including Ford Australia’s legendary Barra in the Falcon and Territory, the Ram’s Hurricane should blow any scepticism clear away.

And it’s all in the delivery.

Smooth and sophisticated, the 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six idles with a muted rumble at start-up, but then roars off the line with an unexpected and prolonged burst of hungry acceleration.

And the power piles on effortlessly as the revs rise, with the auto seamlessly shifting through each ratio without putting a foot wrong.

Reflecting the interior design’s overall cohesiveness, the powertrain possesses a sophistication that’s far beyond what a big American truck ought to have.

That’s in 'Normal' mode. Choosing 'Sport' ups the stakes, as it also seems to stymie the stability/traction control intervention. Throttle response is noticeably sharper and more urgent, but other than the opportunity to more-easily break traction whilst getting to licence-losing speeds slightly quicker, there seemed little sense in staying in Sport.

This is a very fast ute as it is, and also an enjoyable one to drive, with a level of nuance at odds with its excessive proportions.

Even on wet and windy back roads the Rebel feels connected and controlled at speed.

The steering is appropriately weighted, with a sufficient amount of response for the driver to push on with confidence when taking corners quickly.

Remember, this is a 2.6-tonne-plus full-sized ute on off-road-biased tyres, yet getting into a rhythm and flow with the road is easy. Yes, you feel the mass, but the 1500 also feels taut and secure. And you’re not constantly harangued by over-zealous driver-assist systems going off all the time.

The wishbone front/coil-sprung rear suspension set-up must take much of the credit here, smothering bumps and tracing the groove of the road without jolting or stepping out of line.

Comfortable and quiet, there is a sense of isolation from the outside world that, incongruously perhaps, is in league with better premium SUVs. Again, this is a big American pick-up, remember.

On a few downhill twisty bits, the driver of course feels the shift in mass, but deft handling, adequate grip (great for off-road tyres) and effective brakes mean the Rebel doesn't break a sweat, even through puddles blanketing the bitumen.

Downsides? Well, it's still a large, lumbering truck to drive and park, with an inevitably massive turning circle to make heavy work of manoeuvring this beast around. Regular car park spots are almost always too small.

There's some wind noise rustling around the large exterior mirrors. And a bit of road noise coming through over certain coarser surfaces.

Overall, though, the Rebel behaves way-better than expected – and you don’t often get a chance to say that about a ute. Rapid, refined and engaging from behind the wheel, it is the best-driving full-sized US pick-up by some margin.

What V8!

That’s on road. We also had a brief off-road stint in the Rebel at the ex-Holden proving ground at Lang Lang, and we were pretty impressed with the ability and ease demonstrated over some short but demanding rough-track sections.

We doubt – at nearly $150K – that most buyers will go bush-bashing in this, but it’s good to know the hardware is there underneath to get you through.

It’s a lot of fun, but be prepared to drop any expectations of comfort and safety and simply enjoy the all-in experience of driving a vehicle that steers around like an old school mini-bus and exhibits the ride and handling characteristics of a sugar-cane harvester.

From the massive throw of the big gear stick and old-armchair-like cloth seats to the low-key rumble of the turbo-diesel engine and commanding driving position, spending any drive time in the LC76 is a shedload of fun.

This is not an insubstantial wagon and it’s unwieldy on suburban back streets and parked-in city lanes, especially if you're used to driving zippy urban-friendly SUVs.

When you drive it, the 76 feels tall and narrow, but it still somehow feels well planted on the road, unless you're driving over-energetically, and you soon get used to its lumbering attitude.

Visibility is impressive all-around and that turbo-diesel offers ample responsiveness when you need it to, Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the deep rumble of the ol’ V8 but it’s pleasing, nonetheless.

Steering is truck-vague, there is body-roll when you pitch it into sharper corners and the brake-pedal action is spongy, rather than direct.

The five-speed manual gearbox is well matched to this four-cylinder engine and with the taller fifth gear sorted out a few years back the LC76 overtakes with ease and is an easy drive on open roads. Though Toyota has fine-tuned the gearbox to better suit this engine, I wouldn't mind another gear in this thing.

The 76 is noisy because it's a tall, boxy wagon that monsters its way through the air as opposed to slipping smoothly through it like a 4WD ninja. And there's wind-rush around this 76's big wing mirrors and its chunky snorkel (mounted on the driver-side A-pillar in our test vehicle).

It always feels like a window's open or a door's not shut properly in the 76 because this wagon is as draughty as an old house. But those quirks are part of this wagon’s charm and I don’t mind them, at all.

Anyway, to the off-road bit.

This is a purpose-built 4WD wagon and it remains as brutally effective off-road as it's ever been.

As standard, the 76 has part-time four-wheel drive and auto-locking hubs. And in GXL guise it has locking front and rear diffs as standard.

Off-road angles are 33 degrees approach and 23 degrees departure, as well as 290mm of listed ground clearance and a 700mm wading depth, which all check out.

Its suspension set-up – coil springs at the front, leaf springs at the rear – yields a comfortable ride over poorly maintained back roads and corrugated gravel tracks.

Low-range gearing is great and there's plenty of torque available at low revs and the 76’s 4WD set-up offers impressive flexibility when you're in low-range 4WD.

The 76 also has front and rear diff locks (dial-operated from the driver seat and standard on the GXL), as well as driver-assist tech, such as hill-start assist, to call upon.

The 76 has live axles front and rear and wheel travel is decent, so you're generally able to stretch a tyre to the dirt for more traction.

It’s worth noting the 76's wheel tracks are still set at different widths from front to rear – 1555mm wide at the front (because of the line-up's now discontinued V8 engine and large radiator) and 1460mm wide at the rear – but that’s of little consequence in general daily driving or even 4WDing.

This 4WD rides on bush-friendly 16-inch alloys, shod with light-truck construction Dunlop Grandtrek AT1 (265/70R16 115R). Good size rubber and there’s a full-size spare as back-up.

Unbraked towing capacity is listed as 750kg while braked trailer capacity is 3500kg. The 76 Series has a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 3510kg and a gross combined mass (GCM) of 7010kg.

For reference, the Ineos Grenadier offers a GVM of 3550kg and a GCM of 7000kg, so it’s a close weight race with the 76.

In terms of ANCAP safety ratings, the 2026 Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series 2.8L is unrated.

Standard safety gear onboard includes two airbags (one each for the driver and front-seat passenger), as well as driver-assist tech such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB, including pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist protection), cruise control (it’s not adaptive though), traffic sign recognition, lane-departure warning (overly sensitive and beeping annoying but minus intervention), automatic high-beam headlights (now LED), hill descent control and a reversing camera.

But it’s missing blind-spot alert, rear cross-traffic alert and driver attention warning.

In contrast, even though the Grenadier is not overloaded with safety gear and driver-assist tech it does have six airbags, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, a tyre pressure monitoring system and front parking sensors. But, again, the Grenadier costs more than the 76.

Ram drops the ball when it comes to warranty.

That’s because, like GMSV’s Silverado range, it only offers a three-year, 100,000km warranty with roadside assistance, which falls short of the rival Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra’s five-year/unlimited kilometre coverage.

In an era where Chinese rivals are rolling out utes with seven-year schemes, Ram's (and GMSV's) warranty is severely lacking.

Service intervals are at every 12 months or 12,000km, and there is currently no capped-price servicing on offer.

The 2026 76 Series is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty.

Service intervals are scheduled for every six months/10,000km (whichever occurs soonest) and it has to be said that those intervals are short compared to other vehicles.

Cost per service for the LC70 is $545 for five years or 100,000km (up to the first 10 services) for a total cost of $5450.

For reference, Ineos offers a five-year/unlimited km warranty for the Grenadier, with servicing scheduled at 12-month/15,000km intervals at a total approximate cost of $4626.