As lovers of nostalgic cars, a common gripe is that modern machines have too many bells and whistles, too many electronic nannies that stand between you and the driving experience. As it turns out, Toyota has heard your sad cries and just released a vehicle that has plenty of heritage, no-frills, is purpose-built, has two doors, and comes in a six-speed manual. No, it’s not a new sports car; it’s the Land Cruiser Utility Commercial.
The LCUC (too soon for a abbreviation?) is based on what the rest of the world knows as the Land Cruiser Prado. Here in the US, it’s sold with leather, wood on the dash, and a chrome-laden grille as the Lexus GX 470. The Prado, smaller than the 200-series Land Cruiser (and its fancier Lexus LX cousin), is widely sold in most countries Toyota operates in.
The new model comes with a diesel option, a 2.8-liter turbo oil burner that makes 175 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque. The “commercial” aspect of it comes in the form of a flat metal loading floor with a steel cage bulkhead in lieu of rear seats. It’s offered in both two- and four-door configurations.
The rest of the vehicle is spec’ed out in a way many new models should offer. Convenience features include air conditioning, cruise control, Bluetooth, and not much else. For safety, there’s front, side and driver’s knee airbags. The interior is cloth. Steelies are the only wheel option. It’s like the Toyota 86 RC of SUVs.
With the Land Cruiser’s proven off-road prowess, this sounds like the perfect vehicle to escape the ills of the world and go off-grid with. You can even build your own #vanlife style living quarters in the long-wheelbase version. Sadly, the Land Cruiser Utility Commercial is not for sale in the US, but you can read more about it a the Toyota UK Blog.
Very nice! My family truck is a GX470, setup with Bilstein’s for a minor lift (~1.5″). Great vehicle, and solid as a rock.
The current model is a GX460, as a note. They had a generational update for the 2010 model.
I love it! We need more cars like this on the a market today.
*YAWN*
Yet another interesting vehicle that we will never see over here.
BTW, does Toyota still make a real Land Cruiser? You know, one that you could actually take off road without fear of scuffing the leather or scratching the chrome?
You will be able to import into US in 25 years.
Of course!
The 70 Series in single cab/ dual cab/ troop carrier
https://www.toyota.com.au/main/landcruiser-70
The 200 series – probably in the GX model if you actually want to take it offroad. Cloth seats and no chrome!
https://www.toyota.com.au/main/landcruiser-200
And there is also the basic Prado GX version too
https://www.toyota.com.au/main/prado
You guys can also have a C-HR with a manual transmission! Not enough to get me to move there, but I AM jealous…
So it’s basically what we get in Australia as a Prado base model?
No, this one is sold with only two seats as a commercial vehicle. You also save money on tax as it’s not a passenger car.
This would be good for turning into an offroader as you don’t have to pay for all the seats and parts you’ll be removing anyway
They do similar “Van” conversions to other cars (which looks like painting the windows and removing the rear seats)
Vauxhall Corsavan
MINI Clubvan
Ford Fiesta Van
MG ZR Van
I like the 2-door body style! Now, howzabout a 2-door with a folding rear seat back?
Sporty and capable, to be more appealing to the younger set…