Toyota Land Cruiser
A good sign that a vehicle is tough is that it earns a nickname to reflect it. The 70 series of the Toyota Land Cruiser was nicknamed the African Queen for a reason. The vehicle wasn’t built for North America. It lacked the overt sophistication and often pointless features that are a trademark of the United States auto industry. It’s been built since 1984 and it continues to be built in the same fashion. While it’s no longer available in the United States, 70 series Land Cruisers can still be purchased in Canada… if you’re a miner… if you mine near Saskatchewan. Restrictions on the vehicle make it only available to mining companies and no one else. If that doesn’t say tough, nothing does!
The Land Cruiser 70 series replaced the nearly indestructible FJ40 series. It’s tough to replace a legend. Most of the time it leads to serious disappointment. However, in this case, it was legend to legend. The Land Cruiser 70 was a bit more refined but retained its utilitarian roots.
The Land Cruiser 70 has one very special version. In Australia, it offers a “troop mover” version of itself. This version is longer and wider than the traditional and somehow even manages to fit in 10 seats with room for cargo. The troop carrier version is a great option for tours and for expeditions.
Some people may think that the world is getting smaller. We’ve explored everything to be explored right? That’s dead wrong! As the obvious land continues to be developed, it’s going to be the roughest areas that we are using more. Nothing says rough areas like Land Cruisers!
While most of the land cruisers offered in the 70 series were long wheelbase models intended for 4+ passengers, there was/is also a short wheelbase option. This short frame is what makes this special Land Cruiser even better off road than other Land Cruisers. It’s similar to the same engineering plans that the Range Rover has used to great effect.
