Good news for those who need to tow a big boat or caravan, or want a hardcore off-road vehicle to head bush with.
Toyota has released a tougher and cheaper LandCruiser 200 Series wagon designed for those who spend a lot of the time off-road, including farmers and miners.
A follow up to the previous, standard grade 100 Series 'Cruiser, the GX LandCruiser is aimed at those drivers “who tend to torture, not just drive, their LandCruisers”, according to Toyota.
Based on the existing GXL variant, it comes with five seats, vinyl floors, twin, vertically-hinged rear barn doors, 17-inch steel wheels, snorkel, 93-litre main and 45-litre auxiliary fuel tanks, under-body protection plates and a standard car key.
Less about comfort than being able to cross raging creeks and traverse deep washouts, the trade-tough GX comes equipped with a single CD player, manual air-conditioning, power windows with driver's auto up/down and power-operated exterior mirrors.
It retains the GXL's safety equipment, including front and curtain-shield airbags, stability control, traction control, hill-start assist, anti-skid brakes and an off-road cruise-control system.
Its 195kW/650Nm 4.5-litre V8 twin-turbo diesel engine, matched to a six-speed automatic transmission, should make light work of towing the heaviest caravan. It also comes with Toyota's full-time 4WD system with a Torsen limited-slip centre differential and two-speed transfer case.
The GX LandCruiser is priced from $77,990 (excluding on-road costs); a saving of around $10,000 over the more luxuriously-appointed (and less off-road capable) diesel GXL LandCruiser.