Meet the three-door short wheelbase LandCruiser 70 series and we dig its retro looks and smaller silhouette. While a handful of markets including Australia get the 5-door variant, this ultra-cool three-door iteration is reserved for the UAE market only. It’s been tough for Toyota to keep this 40-year-old workhorse on sale with the ever-stringent emissions and safety regulations. Hence, the three-door’s market has been narrowed down even further.
Measuring 4,235 mm in length, the Toyota LandCruiser 71 Series, is considerably shorter than the 5-door but still looks muscular with its 16-inch wheels wrapped around off-road tyres. The retro headlamps and boxy shape hark back to the era of old-school off-roaders.
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However, with the latest update, the 70 Series now gets new headlamps, more chrome at the front and more features for the interior including amenities like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
The new synthetic leather upholstery is also a sepia tinted throwback to the earlier LandCruisers while also bringing in a bit of luxury into the off-road focussed design ethos of the cabin. The 71 Series three-door also keeps up with the times with the inclusion of advanced driver assistance features like a pre-collision system, lane departure assist and adaptive headlamps.
Unlike the Australian market or even in Japan, the three-door version for UAE is exclusively sold with a large hearted 4.0-litre petrol V6 with a six-speed automatic transmission. Do note that the Australia spec 76 Series wagon gets a V8 and/ or a 4-cylinder diesel engine. Of course, just like the rest of the line-up, the three-door gets a heavy duty 4×4 system while the smaller size will further increase its off-road abilities.
We’d love to see the shorty LandCruiser 70 Series sold here, but Australia will not get this three-door version as the line-up will include the 76-Series wagon, a 79-Series Ute, and a 78-Series troop carrier.
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