What's the news?

The first details of the 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser have been released. The styling has been updated and the chassis is said to be improved. Prices and final specifications for the UK models will be announced closer to the on-sale date with the first cars due early in 2014.

Exterior

At the front there is a new 'heritage-inspired' grille and light clusters. Depending on trim grade the five vertical bars that make up the grille come with either a metallic or silver finish. New lamp clusters are mounted higher to reduce the chance of damage when driving off road; high and low beams, indicators and daytime running lights are all incorporated within the same unit. Further front-end protection is provided by the 'two-step' front bumper, which adds 20mm to the front overhang but is tapered so that the turning circle and approach angle are not affected. At the back there are new tail lamps with clear lens blocks and red accents. The Land Cruiser also gets new 17- and 18-inch wheel designs and an increased choice of paint colours.

Interior

Toyota has updated the interior to make the control layout more logical and to improve the perceived quality. A new switch panel in the centre console brings together the functions for the terrain select, suspension and all-wheel drive. Between new-look speedometer and tachometer dials is a new, 4.2-inch TFT display, which provides information from a variety of on-board systems including tyre pressure warnings and blind spot monitoring.

Five-door Land Cruisers feature improved access to the third row of seats thanks to a new mechanism that allows the middle seats to fold further forward. The seats themselves now feature double stitching on cloth trim and contrasting stitching with leather upholstery.

Mechanicals

For the UK the Land Cruiser continues to use a 3.0-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel engine. This develops 190hp and 420Nm. Claimed performance figures are 0-62mph in 10.2 seconds for the three-door and 11.0 seconds for the five-door. Carbon dioxide emissions are down slightly at 209- and 214g/km for three- and five-door versions respectively.

Suspension is by double wishbones at the front and a live rear axle with four-link and lateral rod location. Higher-specification models use the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), which uses a number of thicker components including a larger diameter anti-roll bar.

Anything else?

The Land Cruiser retains traditional body-on-frame construction; according to Toyota this is for ruggedness and off-road performance. We're expecting to see the 2014 Land Cruiser at the Frankfurt Motor Show, though its presence has yet to be confirmed.

John Lambert - 5 Sep 2013