“Check out at least 10 to find two worth considering,” says Trevor Castel of Freedom 4x4, a Toyota Land Cruiser specialist.
His advice will come as a surprise to those of us raised on a vision of the big Cruiser as a tough, go-anywhere vehicle beloved of UN aid workers. But the reality is that the model – and specifically the J120 series of 2003-09 under consideration here – has its fair share of problems.
Inspect any prospective purchase with a fine-toothed comb, looking for corroded inner sills and floor pan, sticky brake calipers, corroded coolant pipes, split suspension air bags (on LC5 versions) and worn suspension and steering bushes.
Click here to buy your next used car from Autocar
Not so tough after all, then, except that you’ll encounter many Cruisers with well over 170,000 miles under their wheels. Our champ in this respect is a 2004 D-4D with 300,000 on the clock, asking price £3990.
The D-4D is the 3.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel with 161bhp. Early examples fitted to the J120 dodged the copper injector seal problems that blighted later D-4Ds built between June 2004 and October 2007.
In 2006 the power of the D-4D was increased to 170bhp. The cheapest example we saw was a 2007/07 with 126,000 miles and partial service history for £6500.
There’s also a 4.0 petrol V6 with 245bhp, but it was short-lived and does 20mpg next to the diesel’s 30mpg. We found a top-spec 2004 V6 LC5 with 128,000 miles for £5995.
The J120 featured a tough ladder-frame chassis at a time when rivals were moving to monocoques. Suspension is independent at the front with a rigid rear axle. Trims range from short-lived LC2 to popular LC5. All have four-wheel drive and Downhill Assist Control (DAC). Most have a locking rear diff to which the LC3 adds a centre diff. LC4 and LC5 autos dispense with the rear diff in favour of Toyota’s Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) which uses the ABS to control wheelspin when pulling away on slippery slopes.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Not too sure what you want from us Brits Geed, your Prado is our only model. It's not the worst vehicle ever made and they hold thier value.
We don't need educating, we're fully aware of the situation, the Prado sits quite comfortably on our smaller winding roads.
You Brits really do live in
You Brits really do live in the dark, this is not the full fat Landcruiser. That title belongs to the 200 series which you do not get. It is that vehicle that has built the Landcruisers reputation and the vehicle that is mostly used by the UN together with the Nissan Patrol Y61.
This is the baby Landcruiser usually referred to as 'Prado' in most other markets. Educate your readers Autocar.
geed wrote:
No idea what happened there! They are Patrols in the last image...blog will not lete me posts a pic of a 200 series....