200 series Landcruiser

I have a 200 GXL and tow a 1600kg van. In this configuration, the 200 series is a fantastic tow vehicle. In the past 18 months I have traveled about 40,000km with the van and would describe it as the most comfortable, stress less experience. There is always the trade off of fuel use. About 18.5 l/100km towing and about 14l/100km normal driving. Hills are not a problem. The engine has so much torque.
Rough experience has been The Cape, Gulf Savanah and Great Central Road (towing) with no problems. The supplied tyres (Dunlop Grand Treks) are great on tar but fragile in the rough. I have done a fair bit of low range work and it performed as it should. I have not had a single problem with the vehicle. There were some problems with early builds (pre 2009) but they have been worked out with later upgrades. Like all modern cars, the electronics is daunting if you think about it - but they are all the same so you choose the one that gives you the greatest confidence.

Bernie

Have a look in here http://www.lcool.org/forum/index.php

I tow my 2.2T van regularly and the 200 would have to be the best all-round tow vehicle bar none. You simply set the cruise control and it eats the miles, up and down any size hill with a huge amount in reserve.

I once had a guy in a new Hilux D4D sit on 80 km/hr in a 100 km/hr zone. As soon as we got to the overtaking lane (uphill) and I strated to overtake, he sped up to 100. I continued to overtake but we were now both doing 120 km/hr side by side. OK, time for full throttle and I then got around him. I was towing 2.2T and he was a single cab ute with an empty tray - thats the grunt a V8 with twin turbos has!

As for quirky things, there is the odd 200 with the odd problem, but far less IMHO than any other vehicle I have owned. There is no generic issue that would make me think twice about buying another.

Offroad they are great, they have MORE wheel travel than a 2" lifted live axle Patrol - if you have the KDSS option. The standard traction control is almost as good as dual diff locks - it has got me places I thought not possible. I have replaced my sidesteps (too soft and bend easily) as well as an OME lift kit. I am in a 4WD club and it gets an off-road workout often enough.

Its a great vehicle and buying one was a great decision, haven't looked back for a second from my previous 3.0TD Patrol.

Cheers

Captain

I second the other owners. Just back from towing a 3t bushtracker around Australia. It towed perfectly and went many places in many taerrains without trouble.

I now have 90+K on the clock and love it. It does use fuel if you plant your foot but it sure is nice to not delay other traffic while towing and I can pass other traffic with a quick tap of the foot.

I have done several punctures but these are not the fault of the vehicle and I have had to replace a fuel filter on the road but a simple job and I carry two spares as again this is nothing to do with make of vehicle.

If you can afford to buy it will not disappoint.

Alan

My sons got one, 3 years old and 30K on the clock. Tows a 3 ton boat regularly. It's just been off the road for nearly 4 months with transmission probs which they eventually repaired.
4 weeks later it can hardly get out of his driveway with no boat on the back. Toyota hired a Pajero for the first breakdown at 3.5K per month. Wonder what they get for him this time as they don't seem to want to give him one of their own vehicles? Maybe they don't trust them.
Plus it's got the galloping oil consumption probs. many others have.
Not good for an over 80K vehicle with not much use.
AlanH.

The 200 series is overall not to bad for a 4 wheel drive.... except for!

1) Drinks fuel at a astounding rate.... some owners get really good fuel economy and others don't, after doing a bit of research it appears 3lt Nissan Patrol owners have the same issue.... some good some bad.

2) Slight torque steer under hard acceleration.

3) Trans will not hold the vehicle on a slight incline with out rolling back.

4) Chimes, chimes and chimes..... everything has a chime.

5) The factory radio has a user set function that turns the screen off after 20 seconds.... the down side is you still have to push a button every time after starting to activate this function.... there is a prompt that comes up on the screen saying" Display off/on after 20 sec".

6) Hate the trans.... why do I have to be pulling 3000 rpm up a slight hill in 3 gear at 100Kph.... the massive power and torque is let down by the trans down shifting to early... the trans is set this way in the name of meeting emission targets.

7) The GXL is over priced and the Sahara is over priced, get a VX.

8) Requires a GVM upgrade if touring with any more then 3 people.... LOL

9) Keyless engine start is good but becomes annoying when switching between acc-on-start-off when wanting to use the elec windows or windscreen wipers ( like at the footy sitting in your car).

10) Head lights don't turn off with the ignition unless you open the door.... if you pull up somewhere turn the vehicle off and turn it to accessories to listen to the radio with out getting out the vehicle the lights stay on.

11) Struggles to climb big hills with heavy loads when taking off... trans issue.

12) Have to stop and place the trans in neutral before selecting Hi or Low range.



Apart from those thing that an average drive will not notice they are a very capable hiway and off road tourer that eats up the kilometres with ease, we have not had any of the so called "common" problems that the internet seems to discover.... there are some known issues on some Landcruisers but few and far between.

Ours is a 2011 VX with all the after market junk including a Lovell GVM upgrade and suspension lift.

Most of the things I have listed above are our personal gripes only because we upgrade our vehicles regularly and have other late model hi end vehicles that we are comparing the Land cruiser to... is the Land Cruiser over priced NO.... believe me after working on a friends fleet of Patrols in our workshop you can see where the other $40,000 is and even he is starting to bit the bullet and look at 200 series.

hey thank you all so much for your valuable information. it gives me a better perspective of the vehicle.
John

My wife has a 200 Series VX Petrol. We bought the petrol because of the common rail issues you can have with bad diesel and because it was $10k cheaper. Lovely car to drive, no issues whatsover, occassional towing of boats etc. The car is great however they are very big, great for trips away etc, next time might see if I can talk her into a Disco 4 TDV6, one less seat, a little less storage space at the back, reckon Toyota make a great product, most likely the best but getting a little boring compared to the competition. If the competition can get as reliable I might jump ship. Don't think anyone makes a towing vehicle as good for the money.