Spotted: a brand new ‘old’ Toyota Land Cruiser

In recent years, we have written regularly about the new Toyota Land Cruiser. These included the model known internally as the J250. But as you may know, the Land Cruiser lineup consists of three model lines. The large luxury-oriented models (also known as the Station Wagon line), the “smaller” Land Cruiser Prado line and the even slightly smaller Heavy Duty line that is primarily intended as a workhorse.

Three types of Toyota Land Cruiser

The luxury models were called Land Cruiser V8 with us, but that model line has not been available in the Netherlands since 2016. In 2021, the current model entered the market in the form of the J300. Because the large Land Cruiser V8 was primarily a niche model with us, the smaller Prado models were delivered here as “the” Land Cruiser, with no addition to the model name. The latest model is the J250, which is thus the only model officially delivered in the Netherlands since last year. The Land Cruiser ‘Heavy Duty’ is still only in its third model generation: the now iconic J70. It was renewed again for the 2023 model year, and that is the model that unexpectedly popped up in front of us in the Netherlands. Below you can see the three current Land Cruiser models in a row.

The spotted specimen

In the center of Leiden, we saw this Toyota Land Cruiser GRJ76, which has been registered since the summer of 2024. The designation GRJ76 stands for this four-door “station wagon body”. Remarkable, by the way, that this specimen has black rear doors. The Land Cruiser spotted is equipped with the 4.0-liter V6 gasoline engine, “obviously” combined with an LP gas system to keep things a bit more affordable. The other engine options for the current model are diesels: a 2.8-liter four-cylinder, a 4.2-liter six-in-line and even a 4.5-liter V8.

The Toyota Land Cruiser J70

As a four-wheel-drive workhorse, the Land Cruiser Heavy Duty is the most direct descendant of the very first 1951 Toyota Land Cruiser. The current J70 generation came on the market back in 1984, replacing the J40, which also lasted 25 years at the time. The then-new J70 was mostly an evolution in terms of design, but was more sleek and square according to the latest car model. There were numerous body styles. A version with a somewhat lighter build was sold as Land Cruiser II, Bandera or Prado depending on the market. So the latter name would eventually stay and grow into a separate model series.

With such a long production period, the J70 has quite a few variants. It is going too far to discuss them all here, but we will take you through the most important changes. In the period up to 1999, not much changed. They were mainly subtle cosmetic changes. In 1999 a first real (but subtle) facelift followed, which also included an improved suspension. In the Netherlands we did not experience this anymore, because in Western Europe the Toyota Land Cruiser J70 disappeared from the range during the 1990s (exact year varies by country).

First major renewal in 2007

The first really major modification came only for model year 2007. What immediately stands out is the completely new front end, which is even slightly wider to accommodate new Euro 4 engines. Furthermore, depending on the market, some shifts took place in the equipment range, with, for example, the introduction of a simple four-door “estate version” on the one hand and the introduction of a relatively luxurious equipment level on the other.

The years that followed were again limited to smaller changes. Some new variants here and there, plus modifications to meet increasingly stringent environmental and safety requirements. Toyota even managed to integrate side airbags and reinforcements into too-old bodywork. Still, the requirements for new cars are the reason that, little by little, the Toyota Land Cruiser J70 disappeared from supply in more and more countries. However, in regions where it was still sold, such as Africa, Australia and the Middle East, it remained immensely popular.

‘New’ Toyota Land Cruiser J70

For the 2023 model year, the Toyota Land Cruiser J70 once again underwent a larger facelift. The front end has again been completely redesigned, with modern LED headlights. Nevertheless, the design is actually more reminiscent of the original 1980s model again. Under the skin are (partly) new engines to continue to meet modern emissions requirements.