The Toyota Land Cruiser is one of the most ordinary vehicles in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) and hundreds of them can be witnessed each day on the highways of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The car is considered to be one of the most reliable ones not just in the Toyota range but in the SUV group. If you have to travel off-road quite frequently then the Toyota Land Cruiser is just the ideal choice for you, offering a very strong engine and unpretentious styling. The popular Japanese automobile manufacturer launched the 2013 model of this well-liked car during the later stages of last year and it established a lot of achievement in the UAE market as Toyota made a lot of changes to this model, which remains very much unchanged between 2007 and 2012.
The starting price of the vehicle is 185,000 Dirhams, which is probably a little too much for this car. A number of car lovers across the UAE have shown their dissatisfaction over the price of the 2013 Toyota Land cruiser. However, the vehicle aims to attract the elite class being a luxury car.
Engine & Performance
Just like the 2011 model, the 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser possesses 5.7 liter V8 engine, which is quite strong and offers exceptional performance, making merging and passing very convenient. The engine has the potential to produce 401 pound feet of torque and 381 horsepower, which is quite good.
I drove the car thoroughly during the test and it performed brilliantly both on and off the road. The engine of the car comes with a six speed automatic transmission and found out that it shifts quite smoothly.
Despite the fact that the car is quite big in size and is also very heavy (2600 kg), I found the acceleration to be brilliant and overtaking other cars on the highway was not difficult for me.
All in all, the performance of the car is pretty good and due to a very strong engine, the 2013 Land Cruiser possesses great towing capabilities as well. As per the claims of the manufacturers, the 2013 Land Cruiser can easily tow more than 8,000 pounds.
Thanks to its powerful engine, I assumed while testing that this model can turn out to be a great choice for people who love desert safari in Dubai.
Fuel Economy
Having tested the car myself, I can state with authority that there is not much difference between the fuel economy of the previous models of Land Cruiser and 2013. It offers about 15.7 liter per 100 km, which is not the worst but surely it could have been a lot better.
Handling & Braking
Handling is probably one of the biggest positives about this car as it delivers the goods on roads as well as on rough terrains and I can safely regard it as one of the most capable off-road SUVs. However, the handling of the Land Cruiser on smooth surfaces is not like a regular car. I found the car to be a touch difficult to maneuver in narrow city streets and tight spaces due to its massive size.
Braking is always one of the most important aspects of a big-size car and Toyota has given a lot of importance to this facet by using four-wheel ABS brakes with disc brakes and Brake Assist. While driving the car, I soon realized that the Land Cruiser possesses brakes of the highest quality and stopping the car was really quite convenient.
