Land Ho!

Nothing can kill off the big Toyota 4x4, back once again and ready for anything

- Ted Welford

FORGET ELECTRIC RANGE ROVERS AND hybrid 911s. By some measures, 2024's most important car is this, a diesel Toyota Land Cruiser. Sold in more than 170 countries and renowned for its unstoppable nature, it has become the natural choice of wheels for those living and working in the most inhospitable places on the planet.

This new one is a big deal and it has been a long time coming. It was in 2009 that we last had a new generation of Land Cruiser, the 150, in Europe. Despite Toyota's attempts to give it various Hollywood facelifts over the years, the old car was starting to age like milk on a hot summer's day. Especially, its interior looked as if it belonged to a car of a different era.

The previous Land Cruiser was respected for its exceptional off-roading ability but was very compromised when it came to anything concerning tarmac. With the new generation, Toyota are looking back over the Land Cruiser's 72-year lineage for its design, while also making it better suited to those who will never, ever, cross the Gobi Desert.

The result, codenamed 250, is impressive. Think Land Rover Defender crossed with Suzuki Jimny styling and you get the right idea. It is retro-cool in the best way and there is even the option of choosing square or round headlights.

The traditional body-on-frame construction remains but it has been extensively reworked. New electric power steering replaces the old hydraulic set-up and the interior is a dramatic improvement.

We are driving the new Land Cruiser in prototype form on the westerly edge of the Cairngorms. You see a lot of last-generation Defenders here; that level of off-road ability remains high on Toyota's list of priorities for the 250.