LWB Utility

Perfect for rural living and work needs.

Having moved from a big city to rural North Wales in early 2022 I was in need of a warm, dry, draft free and above all reliable replacement for both my ageing 90 and 110 Defenders. I'd decided never to go back to the LR range of vehicles again so was on the lookout for a suitable replacement. The Grenadier looked perfect and an order placed, but price increases and delivery delays forced me to look elsewhere.

So, I found this, a pre-registered Land Cruiser LWB Commercial.

Suits all my needs perfectly. I've now clocked up 21K fault free miles. It copes well with my business needs lugging tools and equipment across to the greater Manchester area on a regular basis. It is also perfect for dealing with the worst of the weather rural Wales can throw at it. Plus my two dogs love it!!!

Since buying I have added a few things to meet my needs.
A large draw and storage system in the rear but still maintaining a flat loading area for kit and the dogs to go.
A Towing kit.
Reversing camera to aid hitching a trailer
A decent roof rack.

Positives ++++
Effortless go anywhere/any weather capability
Worry free
Anonymous - No one gives it a second glance!
Comfortable
Keeps the VAT and Tax man happy
100k or 10-year warranty


Negatives - - - -
Short (10k) service intervals
DPF regen really knocks fuel economy
The load space is restrictive
Only two seats


Other observations -
Quite an old school driving experience with a soft ride with plenty of pitch and roll. But deals with poor road surfaces and pot holes really well.
I get about 32mpg on shorter -30mile journeys but 37-39 on longer 80+ mile trips which most of my journeys are. I do very little local trips of 5-10 miles. The economy has improved now it has some miles on the engine.
The LWB makes a great tow car but it should really have a 3,500kg towing capacity, not 3,000kg!
Only issue so far - the Tyre monitoring system threw a wobbly in very cold weather.

Would I recommend? Absolutely IF you are looking for something to replace an old school Defender and it fits your life needs. They are not huge inside and can only carry two people. My kids left home years ago.

I plan to run this forever so hopefully the Toyota reliability reputation proves correct. Re-sale values look to hold up really well as there are so few about and I believe no longer available new?

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