The Toyota land Cruiser was launched in 2003 and it is quite a beast of a car that can carry 8 occupants. It really is a proper off-roader too and has lots of equipment.

The first engine was a 3 litre 161 bhp diesel unit which was somewhat underpowered for a car of this size though a few years later the power output was increased considerably. As an alternative there was also a 4 litre petrol unit which developed 254 bhp.

From a comfort point of view it is difficult to enjoy the best of both worlds. The Land Cruiser was optimised for off road performance which means that there were some compromised had to be made regarding how it handles on the road where the ride can be quite bouncy.

The 5 door version is the most practical and it has a row of seats in the rear which fold down flat. When erect these seats can carry 3 children which makes this an ideal 8 seater car for the school run.

An updated model was introduced in 2009 with somewhat sleeker lines. Although the new model remained faithful to Toyota’s philosophy of producing a genuine off-roader, the new model had improved on road performance. There is only one engine available for the new model. This is a 3 litre 171 bhp diesel unit which has masses of torque right through the rev range and with a fuel consumption of 35 mpg it is quite economical.

The levels of refinement are also much improved. Riding in the cabin is reasonably comfortable and occupants are well protected from the external environment. Noise levels are reasonably quiet and the air conditioning is very efficient.

Available in three trim levels including the rather luxurious and feature packed LC5 which has multi-terrain select, crawl control and a rear differential lock, if you are looking for a great Toyota Land Cruiser deal then just visit www.motors.co.uk.