MUSCLE memory is an interesting function of the human body. After driving 70 Series LandCruisers on and off over 30 years, and owning one myself, the action of opening the driver’s door and pulling myself up into the cabin instinctively includes my left boot reaching for the clutch pedal as I land on the slim seat. It took three or four days of living with the new LC79 with its automatic transmission behind a four-cylinder diesel engine before the old habit faded, akin to phantom limb syndrome with the missing pedal.
Getting into a 70 Series is like pulling on a pair of favourite old work boots, and even though this 2024 updated model brings plenty of changes, the familiarity is still there. Like those old boots, the LC70 remains a favourite workhorse.
THANKS TO THE LIGHTER WEIGHT OF THE FOUR-CYLINDER ENGINE COMPARED TO THE V8, THE FOUR-POT HAS A HIGHER PAYLOAD
WHAT’S NEW
TOYOTA hasn’t messed with its 40-year-old formula when revising the 70 Series for 2024. It retains a basic commercial body mounted on a heavy-duty chassis with live axles at each end suspended by coil springs under the front and load-lugging leaf springs at the back.
The front sheet-metal has copped a minor update with a blockier
