The 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser is kind of like that guy in school who was good at everything. He was great at sports, he excelled in academics, he was funny, he was nice and everyone who knew him loved him. Yes, that kind off all around excellence is rare but it can also be kind of annoying to those who aren’t so perfect. As such, I can imagine that luxury SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade, Porsche Cayenne, Land Cruiser LR4, BMW X5 and even the Range Rover secretly resent the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser. Really, how can an SUV be this capable and this luxurious and not come from a snooty luxury brand? Because the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser, unlike the aforementioned models, is not just meant to impress your neighbors and make people think you are outdoorsy (although it can do both). No, the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser is actually tough enough to tackle the harshest off-road trail yet it also offers minivan levels of passenger hauling ability. There is enough room in the 2010 Land Cruiser for eight adult sized Americans with serious, life threatening Big Mac addictions. And unlike many SUVs/minivans with three rows of seats, there is still enough room in the cargo area for a folded baby stroller when all of the perches are in use. I don’t imagine that anyone could possibly find a way to really test all of the Land Cruiser’s off-road ability even if they were taking a pleasure cruise across the remotest unpaved roads in Afghanistan. During my week with the SUV I often felt that this would also be the perfect vehicle for someone who lived near a wildlife preserve in Kenya yet still demanded luxurious refinement. Given the long history of the Land Cruiser name, it is no wonder that this granddaddy of the SUV genre is so capable. You don’t become the unofficial vehicle of the United Nations for no reason. While the 2010 Land Cruiser may just be considered by some to be another luxury SUV, it really is a whole lot more than that. Being that this review is intended mainly for North Americans, however, I have to keep in mind that most owners won’t be using their Land Cruiser to cross the Amazon River or the Kalihari Desert. For the geographically challenged, those places are both on other continents. Try pulling out an atlas once in a while! But this all brings up one very important issue relating to a model like the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser. Are they relevant in this country? Really, how does it handle the urban and suburban concrete jungles so many of us call home? Read on to find out. Exterior Styling The 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser is a huge SUV and there is no getting around that fact. But somehow it doesn’t assault the ocular nerves with the same morbid obesity that blights so many other super sized SUVs. It appears macho and tough but never so much as to become a Jeep Wrangler like caricature of itself. What the 2010 Land Cruiser also doesn’t do is cross the line into ridiculousness by fitting oversized chrome rims (18-inch alloys are standard) like you see on most Cadillac Escalades. There is an understated chrome grille and stylishly oversized headlamps but the Land Cruiser is an SUV that is made to work so the no nonsense appearance reflects that. It’s a tricky balancing act when an SUV needs to look just as good covered in mud as it does driving up to a valet on Rodeo Drive. The 2010 Land Cruiser manages to be understatedly elegant in appearance but being dirty doesn’t take away from that at all. Toyota must agree that the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser looks best after it has been off-road. On their U.S. website most of the photos of the Land Cruiser show the SUV covered in dirt and mud both inside and out. That pretty much says everything, now doesn’t it? Interior Design and Execution Sure, a Range Rover or a Land Cruiser may have fluffier feeling carpets and squishier leather but that is not part of the 2010 Land Cruiser’s DNA. This is an SUV designed to survive a stampeding herd of wildebeests. Seriously, do you think inch-thick wool carpets would look good after a week of off-roading in the Australian Outback? You never feel short-changed inside the 2010 Land Cruiser as it offers up all of the luxury features that buyers at this level demand. There is room for eight, the front powered/heated seats have a 3-position memory function (hello overkill) and the JBL Synthsis 14-speaker audio system is awesome. Just because you are miles away from the nearest restroom doesn’t mean you can’t hear Beethoven’s Symphony #9 as clearly as if you were sitting front and center at a performance of your local Philharmonic. The interior door handles and transmission shift lever do come from the Tundra but as they work fine in that application I had no problem with that. I think people that complain of component sharing among different vehicles in an automaker’s lineup need to get a life. Seriously, go to a movie, volunteer at an animal shelter Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society
