After the recent presentation of the updated Toyota Land Cruiser in its home market of Japan and then in North America, the full-size 4×4 model has now been introduced in Britain where it goes on sale this March.

Available exclusively with a revised V8 turbo diesel and a single trim level, the 2012 Land Cruiser is priced at £62,285 on-the-road (equal to US$95,900 or €75,000).

On the outside, the large 4×4 sports a new fascia with a different bumper, grille and headlamps with LED daytime running lights, along with restyled taillights and exterior mirrors with LED turn indicators. Furthermore, the UK model gains new black roof rails, side mouldings with chrome details and new 20-inch alloy wheels.

The cabin gets new seats that are air conditioned/heated up front, a central cool box, heated steering wheel and improvements in the quality and appearance of the trims and finishes throughout.

The 2012 model is offered with the new Toyota Touch Pro multimedia and navigation system with a digital tuner, Bluetooth and a rear-view camera as standard, while the Japanese company offers an optional in-car entertainment package with two eight-inch seatback-mounted monitors that are said to be resilient to screen “jitter” when the vehicle is on the move.

Under the hood, the Land Cruiser’s 4.5-liter turbocharged V8 diesel engine has been modified and now features a diesel particulate filter (DPF) along with new fuel injectors in the common rail system to comply with Euro 5 standards.

The V8 is rated at 268bhp (200kW) at 3,600rpm, and has a maximum torque of 650Nm (479.4 lb-ft) delivered between 1,600 and 2,800rpm.

Finally yet importantly, Toyota has introduced a slew of handling and driver-assistance systems. These include:

  • Turn Assist, that reduces the vehicle’s turning radius when driving through tight off-road bends
  • Crawl Control, with five speed settings for tackling steep climbs or descents
  • Multi-terrain Select, with five selectable modes to tailor vehicle performance to different off-road conditions
  • Multi-terrain Monitor, providing a 360-degree view of the area immediately around the vehicle via four external cameras
  • Tyre Angle Display, displayed together with the predicted tyre path guidelines on the Multi-terrain Monitor, showing changes in steering angle between zero and 45 degrees
  • Variable Flow Control power steering, with a unique, dedicated off-road setting

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