Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial Review

Introduction

Toyota has steadily built one of the broadest commercial vehicle ranges in the UK, from the Corolla Commercial car-derived van, through three different sizes of Proace van, to the Hilux pickup. At the top of that lineup sits the Land Cruiser Commercial, a rugged 4x4 van for operators who need all-weather access to remote sites and who value reliability more than plush refinement.

This new model replaces the previous, more stripped-back Land Cruiser Utility Commercial with a better-equipped, higher-spec vehicle that’s based closely on the Invincible passenger SUV. The Land Cruiser arrives from Japan without its rear seats, but the rest of the conversion from SUV to commercial vehicle takes place at Toyota’s Burnaston plant in Derbyshire, where a flat floor is put in place, a full-height bulkhead installed, and rear windows securely blanked out.

The result is a two-seat commercial vehicle with serious off-road credentials, a roomy load bay, and enough on-board kit to make long shifts bearable. But at over £50,000 ex-VAT, can it justify its price against rivals from Land Rover, Ineos and KGM?

Key Features

Power comes from a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel producing 205hp and 500Nm, paired with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and permanent four-wheel drive with low range. That means there’s serious off-road capability, but without compromising on-road behaviour too much.

Practical credentials are strong. The Land Cruiser Commercial offers an 810kg payload, a 2.0m³ load bay with a flat floor and bulkhead, and a maximum towing capacity of 3,500kg.

Inside, the Commercial is pitched close to the Invincible grade on the Land Cruiser SUV, with heated and ventilated synthetic leather seats, electric adjustment for the driver, dual-zone climate control and a 9.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

As with all Toyota Professional models, the Land Cruiser Commercial is also covered by a rolling warranty of up to 10 years or 100,000 miles, when serviced through the dealer network.

Performance & Drive

Power comes from Toyota’s proven 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel, producing 205hp and 500Nm of torque. It’s been lifted straight from the Hilux, but there’s been one significant change — it’s now connected to a new eight-speed automatic gearbox, which is a vast improvement over the six-speed unit used in the pickup.

As it’s a Land Cruiser, you’ll also find permanent four wheel drive with high and low ranges to tackle tougher terrain.

On the road, performance is steady rather than brisk, with 0–62mph in 10.9 seconds and a 102mph top speed. The gearbox is smooth and makes good use of the torque, though the four-cylinder unit is noisier under load than the six-cylinder engines you’ll find in a Defender or Discovery Commercial.

On tarmac, ride quality is generally ok. The coil-spring suspension gives the Land Cruiser a more settled feel than a leaf-sprung pickup, but even unloaded, it can still feel jiggly over rough surfaces. It’s much better on the motorway than it is in town, but add some weight in the back and things will calm down noticeably. It’s still light years ahead of any pickup, though, including our favourite model, the Ford Ranger.

Steering is light and more precise than before, though it remains slow by modern SUV standards. That said, it’s easy to place on the road, even at speed on country lanes that are slightly narrower than you might like.

Refinement is good, with little wind noise, and the engine settles to a background drone once you’re done accelerating.

Where the Land Cruiser Commercial excels is off-road, with permanent 4WD, a locking centre diff, hill-start assist, downhill control and Toyota’s Crawl Control off-road cruise.

I took it on a course that wouldn’t be dissimilar to the kind of routes farmers might be taking, with some deep ruts, steep climbs, soft gravel, muddy tracks and axle-twisting banks. None of it would ever be considered extreme, but it coped with everything with ease — including barreling along what was effectively a farm track at some speed.

The Crawl Control system is interesting. It’s effectively a low-speed cruise control, allowing you to set the Land Cruiser off at speeds down to as little as 2mph and let it tackle climbs, obstacles, and rivers without needing to be careful with your throttle inputs.

The Commercial does without the SUV’s disconnecting anti-roll bar or rear diff lock, but it’s still hard to imagine it getting stuck in real-world use.

Running Costs

List prices sit at around £52,000 before VAT, making the Land Cruiser Commercial more expensive than a KGM Rexton Commercialbut broadly in line with two very obvious rivals, the Land Rover Defender Hard Top and Ineos Grenadier Commercial. Interestingly, despite just losing a couple of seats, it’s far cheaper than the £78k passenger Land Cruiser, but don’t think you can just bolt a replacement bench in the back — Toyota has made that almost impossible, and the taxman wouldn’t like it either.

Fuel economy is officially 26.6mpg. In mixed driving, around 30mpg is achievable, and a large 80-litre fuel tank means a 450–500-mile range is realistic. A 48-volt mild-hybrid version is due soon, which might be tempting, but don’t expect major efficiency gains.

For company car users, the Land Cruiser’s status as a van is a huge bonus. It qualifies for the flat commercial Benefit-in-Kind rate, meaning a 40% taxpayer pays just £134 a month — far less than the £600 or so a month tax bill you’d be facing for a Hilux Invincible X.

Servicing through Toyota main dealers activates a rolling warranty of up to 10 years or 100,000 miles, the longest in the business. That will appeal to those running their cars beyond a simple lease period, but it comes with a regular three-year warranty for those who don’t want to jump through the few hoops required to keep extending it. Given Toyota’s strong reliability record, downtime should be minimal.

Interior & Tech

The previous Land Cruiser Commercial felt spartan; the new one feels almost plush. There’s only one trim, pitched close to the Invincible spec of the SUV, so you get heated and ventilated electrically-adjustable synthetic leather seats, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry, and a powered tailgate with separately opening glass. That’s really handy when the boot is full and you just want to throw a bag in.

There’s also a 9.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, systems you’ll want to make use of, as Toyota’s infotainment software is still a long way from being the best. There’s also a digital driver’s display that provides configurable information, but you’ve got used to the 19 fiddly steering wheel buttons.

Chunky switchgear and physical buttons for climate and drive modes are a welcome sight in a work vehicle. Storage is decent, with deep door bins, cup holders, a large centre console, and useful shelves across the dash. The seating position is commanding, with plenty of adjustment, although the blanked-off rear windows compromise over-the-shoulder visibility, as is the case in any van. Reversing sensors and a camera ease parking for what is a near-five-metre van.

The fit and finish are solid, although some shiny plastics may mark easily. The infotainment system isn’t the slickest, but it does the job, and the digital driver’s display provides configurable information once you get used to the fiddly steering wheel buttons.

Payload & Practicality

The rear conversion is impressive, both in terms of quality and the load space it creates. There’s a flat, rubber-lined load bay measuring 1,685mm long, 1,286mm wide and 1,090mm tall, giving a 2.0m³ capacity. That’s on par with a Defender Hard Top or Grenadier Commercial, though well short of even the smallest Transit. Payload is 810kg, some way shy of the one-tonne pickups can carry, but it’s enough for most users, and means the van avoids the need for tougher, and rougher, rear suspension.

Towing capacity is a full 3,500kg, matching the class best, and permanent 4WD gives plenty of traction when hauling on wet grass or loose gravel. Access is via a powered tailgate — with a separately opening glass panel handy in tight spots — and the retained rear side doors mean you can easily reach kit stashed behind the front seats.

A point to note is that the rear windows have been blanked out with sheet metal between the glass and whatever load you're carrying. Apart from looking far neater than a film that will peel and bubble, it protects the glass from any cargo that breaks free. Eight tie-down points and a 220V socket complete the setup.

Safety

Toyota equips the Land Cruiser Commercial with the same suite of safety features as the passenger SUV, which means there’s adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, road sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, trailer sway control, and autonomous emergency braking.

The system isn’t perfect, as some of the driver attention alerts can be overly sensitive, but most functions can be disabled if needed — assuming you can find where to do that in the various menus of the touchscreen.

Euro NCAP hasn’t crash tested the Land Cruiser yet, but its Australian counterparts have, awarding it a full five stars. While there are minor differences in the testing regime, it’s a fair bet that the vehicle would score the same here.

Options

There’s just one trim level for the Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial, and very little in the way of extras. Beyond metallic paint (which costs around £600) there are a few towing hook options, some body protection upgrades, and pre-installed dashcam choices.

Rival Vans

The Land Rover Defender Hard Top and Discovery Commercial remain the most direct alternatives, offering more refinement and six-cylinder power, but at a higher price and with some question marks over long-term reliability. The Ineos Grenadier Commercial is arguably the most hardcore off-roader, but it’s more awkward to drive day-to-day.

The cheaper KGM Rexton Commercial undercuts them all, though it lacks the polish, dealer support and residual strength of the Toyota. Buyers could also consider a pickup like the Ford Ranger, Volkswagen Amarok or Toyota Hilux, but these are now taxed under emissions-based BiK rules, which makes them far pricier as company vehicles.

Verdict

The Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial is a rare breed: a rugged, capable commercial 4x4 that feels as comfortable on the motorway as it does bouncing over a muddy track. Its 810kg payload won’t worry pickups, and it lacks the refinement of Land Rover’s offerings, but the combination of standard kit, serious off-road ability, strong towing credentials and Toyota’s unbeatable warranty makes it a standout option.

For utilities, farmers, forestry, and anyone who truly needs go-anywhere ability backed by bulletproof reliability, the Land Cruiser Commercial is one of the best-value working vehicles on the market.

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*Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial