Yahoo Autos The Ancient 70-Series Toyota Land Cruiser Refuses to Die
The automotive world tends to move at a rapid pace. Automakers continually tweak and refine their products, with routine product cycles growing ever-shorter. Of course there are a few exceptions. The 70-Series Toyota Land Cruiser has been on sale for the last 37 years in markets outside of North America, and for 2022, the truck is getting an update.
The news comes by way of the Australian publication Motoring, which confirmed the planned update with local Toyota representatives. The reported 2022 model year update will see the Land Cruiser 70 gain upgrades to meet new safety standards, as well as improvements to the truck's payload capacity figures.
The Land Cruiser 70 first arrived on the scene back in 1984. For a bit of context, that is the same year that Chevrolet introduced the C4 Corvette. And while we've seen the American sports car become almost unrecognizable to its middle-aged sibling, the Land Cruiser 70 remains strikingly similar to its mid-Eighties predecessor. Despite its ancient roots, the Land Cruiser 70 remains popular in Australia, routinely updated over the past few decades, with 2016 bringing a new emissions-compliant 4.5-liter diesel V-8, side curtain airbags, and a suite of basic driver assistance tech. Last year, Toyota fit the truck with modern niceties such as a 6.1-inch touchscreen infotainment and dual USB ports.
Toyota has been openly considering a fully redesigned take on the Land Cruiser 70 since 2013, but this 2022 update suggests the current platform will stick around for a few more years. The current lineup includes several body styles, including a single cab and double cab pickup, as well as a five-door wagon and two-door Troop Carrier model. Regardless of which style you choose, that 4.5-liter V-8 is the sole powertrain option, and it's mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The diesel is good for 202 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque, which are respectable figures for a small pickup. Don’t expect that to change for 2022, even if we'd all prefer the twin-turbo V-6 diesel from the Land Cruiser 300.
The idea of selling largely the same vehicle for nearly four decades is a rare one in the automotive industry. It’s not entirely out of character for the Land Cruiser nameplate however. The Land Cruiser 70’s predecessor, the 40 Series, was on sale from 1960 until 2001. If that 41 year production cycle is anything to go by, the Land Cruiser 70 still has some life left to give.
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