The Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series double-cab chassis GXL has taken one of Australia's most coveted off-road honours, named 4WD of the Year for 2017. The award follows a late-2016 upgrade that changed the engineering across the workhorse platform, covering electronics, safety and drivetrain refinement.
Eight judges ran each contender through a long test programme held mostly off-road. They described the process as "hammering" the vehicles in hard conditions before settling on the 79 Series double-cab GXL.
At a Glance
- Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series double-cab chassis GXL wins the 4WD of the Year award.
- Late-2016 upgrade adds vehicle stability control, active traction control, hill-start assist control, brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution and cruise control as standard.
- The 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 gains a diesel particulate filter and piezo-electric injectors; five-speed manual gearing revised with taller second and fifth gears.
- Single-cab variants earn a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, aided by a larger frame, five airbags and revised body panels.
- All 70 Series vehicles are covered by Toyota Service Advantage capped-price servicing at $340 per service.
The late-2016 refresh added a full electronic safety suite to the 79 Series double-cab GXL. Vehicle stability control, active traction control, hill-start assist control, brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution are standard fitment now, alongside the existing anti-skid brakes. Cruise control is standard too.
Under the bonnet, the 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 picked up a diesel particulate filter and piezo-electric injectors. That drops fuel consumption and emissions without losing the engine's high-torque character. The five-speed manual was revised as well, with taller second and fifth gear ratios for more relaxed, efficient touring.
Toyota Australia executive director of sales and marketing Tony Cramb put the result down to the local engineering team and a hard domestic development programme. "Our engineers undertook more than 100,000km of extreme testing, 70 per cent of which was conducted off-road, including in some of the harshest conditions in Australia," Mr Cramb said. "As a result, miners, farmers, governments and many other users now enjoy the new safety and improved touring features in addition to the vehicle's unrivalled combination of reliability, towing, payload and off-road ability," he said.
The full 70 Series range covers single-cab, double-cab, wagon and troop-carrier body styles, and it holds a 3,500kg towing capacity and maximum payload at the same time. The single-cab chassis variants got plenty of attention too, earning a five-star ANCAP safety rating on the back of a larger, stiffer frame with thicker side rails and seven cross-members (one new, three re-engineered), two extra airbags taking the total to five, revised body panels and new front bucket seats designed to improve comfort and cut whiplash risk.
The judges put their verdict plainly: "If you want a big, capable 4x4 that you can be confident will take you and your family to the most remote parts of Australia and get you home again, you can count on the LandCruiser 79 to do the job." They also named "effortless road ability, improved durability and elevated safety features" as key strengths across work and recreational use.
Australians have bought more than 250,000 units from the 70 Series range so far, close to 20 per cent of the 1.3 million sold worldwide. That's how deep the model sits in the Australian market.
If you already own a 70 Series, the award tells you the 2016 updates were engineering, not trim.
