Toyota LandCruiser v Land Rover Defender

These are two of the most rugged and capable four-wheel drives on sale. We find out which one is king off the road.

Few cars enjoy the reputation of the Toyota LandCruiser and Land Rover Defender. Their forebears helped create the Snowy Mountains Scheme and each has graced paddocks, tracks and trails across the country for decades.

Both the Land Rover Defender and Toyota LandCruiser are all-new.

Whereas most modern SUVs are primed for suburban duties, the LandCruiser and Defender have rugged off-roading at their core.

So, which is the best if you want to get down and dirty?

LAND ROVER DEFENDER SE D300

Buying a Defender 110 (five-door) is complex: there are four engine choices, six trim levels and myriad options (ours had $21,000 worth).

The vehicle on test is the $112,000 SE D300 with a 220kW/650Nm 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder turbo diesel.

Equipment advantages include a digital driver display, adjustable air suspension, seven standard colours and a fitness tracker-style activity key. It trails the LandCruiser on some gear, but there’s enough of a price advantage that you can add items from the extensive options list to match or beat it.

The Defender is economical and very capable off-road.

The up-market cabin has modern textures blended with natural finishes, while exposed bolts and metal provide a utilitarian twist.

The Defender oozes practicality. The passenger dash houses one of almost a dozen useful storage binnacles and the bar above it doubles as a grab handle. Those in the rear get acres of knee space and a deep floor. Wireless Apple CarPlay is handy and blends nicely with an 11.4-inch infotainment screen.

While the Defender has a 165kg payload advantage over the LandCruiser, you work harder to fit it in. Open the swing-out tailgate and it’s a shorter, narrower load area.

The Land Rover interior is luxe and hi-tech.

The six-cylinder is refined, hearty and vaguely sonorous – it’s more economical, too. Independent suspension all-round – a rarity in off-roaders – means the Defender is beautifully behaved, displaying terrific mid-corner adjustability.

But you feel more of what’s going on at ground level when things get bumpier, partly because its 20-inch, lower profile tyres struggle to absorb sharper rocks or ridges.

The Defender excels in simplifying off-road tasks. Differentials imperceptibly lock when required and the air suspension provides a towering 290mm when you dial up one of the 4WD modes. Excellent articulation helps keeps wheels in contact with the road.

These are two of the best 4WDs on sale.

The Defender also keeps the front and rear extremities away from rocks and logs, although the benefits in outback touring and Aussie bush roads are less pronounced.

TOYOTA LANDCRUISER GR SPORT

There are six flavours of 300 Series LandCruiser and the GR Sport is at the pointy end, sacrificing some luxury for off-road hardware.

Triple locking differentials provide supreme traction for those who push past the (excellent) traction control; all four wheels will need to be spinning before progress ceases.

The GR also has active stabiliser bars to counter leaning in bends.

The LandCruiser is a big beast and is in high demand.

Advantages over the Land Rover include a big cool box in the centre console, a head-up display and a 220V power point in the load space. There’s also more metal.

The width of the cabin is emphasised by a broad centre console housing a 12.3-inch infotainment screen.

Yet with so much real estate Toyota hasn’t provided much storage. Dark plastics dominate, although at least they’re immaculately put together, some wood-look trim and silver finishes lifting the ambience. There’s a broad back seat better suited to three bums than the Defender, but passengers’ knees are perched higher.

Unlike the Land Rover, the LandCruiser sticks to a traditional-for-4WDs truck-like ladder frame chassis with a solid rear axle.

The cabin has everything you need but isn’t as plush as the Defender.

Steering is predictable but dull, albeit respectably balanced.

Tip into a corner and the wheels react before the weight follows suit. It’s more at home cruising at 100km/h on open stretches than being hustled around tight, twisting back roads.

On gravel, though, the LandCruiser’s tough DNA shines. It cushions its occupants better over rocks and bumps, its softer set-up and higher-profile 18-inch tyres delivering on comfort. You can step up the pace with less chance of feeling it through your bones.

Both V6 diesel engines are fairly evenly matched.

The new V6 is a world apart from the V8, even if the two appear to share components. It’s beautifully muscular and swells with more torque when required. The 700Nm peak arrives swiftly, too and the 10-speed auto decisively plucks ratios when accelerating or overtaking.

The diesel soundtrack is more pronounced than the refined Defender unit, though.

The Toyota has a couple of advantages that can’t be assessed during a short back-to-back test like this, though. Its reputation for durability and reliability is stellar, while the Land Rover’s is poor. Superior resale forecasts will also appeal to a lot of customers.

VERDICT

The LandCruiser is immensely capable but expensive and heavy compared with the Defender, which has a classier cabin to go with its impressive off-road ability and on-road refinement.

LAND ROVER DEFENDER SE D300 VITALS

Price: From about $112,000 drive-away

Warranty/servicing: 5 years/unl’td km, $2650 for 5 years

Safety: 6 airbags, auto emergency braking, blind-spot and lane-keep assist, 360-degree camera, exit warning, rear cross-traffic alert, speed-sign recognition

Engine: 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder turbo diesel, 220kW and 650Nm

Thirst: 7.9L/100km

Luggage: 919 litres

Spare: Full size

TOYOTA LANDCRUISER GR SPORT VITALS

Price: About $150,000 drive-away

Warranty/servicing: 5 years/unl’td km, $3750 for 5 years

Safety: 10 airbags, auto emergency braking, blind-spot and lane-keep assist, speed-sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert

Engine: 3.3-litre V6 turbo diesel 227kW and 700Nm

Thirst: 8.9L/100km

Luggage: 1131 litres

Spare: Full siz