The Toyota Land Cruiser has over the last years become a popular choice with locals, especially as it’s reputation is one of the most reliable cars, but are we missing something? could this model be a future classic in Cambodia?
This might be considered the Land Cruiser responsible for Toyota pulling the historic model from the U.S. market and giving them a new, smaller, less expensive Cruiser. And that’s ironic because the fifth-generation truck known as the 100 Series, codename UZJ100, was designed to appeal to the U.S. market.
By the late 1990s, SUVs and the segment were getting larger, more Americans were buying SUVs every day. More Americans were willing to pay more money for them too. When Toyota decided to brand engineer a Lexus off the previous-gen 80 Series Land Cruiser (sold from 1990 to 1997), the result was the inaugural LX 450 that hit the market in 1996.
As MotorWeek said in a 1998 broadcast, the LX 450 wasn’t quite Lexus enough. So, just as Toyota had upgraded the Camry in to make a better base for the 1997 Lexus ES 300.
The 100 Series Land Cruiser stepped up to provide a better platform for what would be the Lexus LX 470. The Toyota engineer known as “Mr. Land Cruiser,” Takeo Konda, called the 1998 Land Cruiser the biggest advance in the model’s history.
The Controversy
The easy bit was making the 100 Series larger than the 80, quieter, and much nicer inside, with more safety features. The controversial bit was Toyota jettisoning what Cruiser aficionados considered quintessential components of the Land Cruiser formula.
Toyota replaced the 4.5-liter 1FZ-FE inline-six engine with the 4.7-liter 2UZ-FE eight-cylinder. This cast-iron-block engine with 230 horsepower and 320 pound-feet of torque was designed for truck-like durability (the 1UZ-FE and 3UZ-FE V8s in the Lexus LS used aluminum blocks).
But what shocked fans most was Toyota dropping the solid front axle, a feature of every Land Cruiser since the precursor Toyota Jeep BJ in 1951. (An inline six had been the sole or an optional engine since then, too). The new independent front suspension came with double wishbones and torsion bars, paired with rack-and-pinion steering. Some overseas markets got a Cruiser codenamed FJ105 that retained the inline-six and solid axle, but not North America.
Why is this Toyota Land Cruiser a future classic?
Because the 100 Series succeeded at the mission of luring North American buyers, but it did so as the LX 470. The Cruiser got left behind.
Records show, the 100 Series Land Cruiser outsold the Lexus 470 by about 3,000 units in 98-99. Come 2000, the gap narrowed to about 800 units. From 2001, the LX 470 outsold the Land Cruiser every year but one, right up to when Toyota retired the Cruiser here in 2021.
As the Lexus continued to get nicer and more expensive, the Land Cruiser did as well, the Cruiser’s MSRP tracking with the Cadillac Escalade. The 1998 Land Cruiser started at about $46,500, roughly $700 more than a 1999 Escalade. The 2007 Land Cruiser started at almost $57,000, about $400 below the Escalade and $900 above the just-launched Mercedes-Benz GLS 450. The quandary then was that for any shopper after a hardcore truck, there was almost no reason to spend large on a luxurious Land Cruiser.
Proven Land Cruiser’s Reputation
For the rock crawling and expedition groups of people, who have always tested and proved the Land Cruiser’s reputation, getting used to the independent front suspension would take some time. The 100 Series was still a sensational off-road rig.
25 years on, owners are happy to debate whether the 80 or 100 series is a better overall expedition truck. But few will debate that the spiritual over landing heir to the 80 Series is the Toyota Tacoma pickup, not the 100 Series.
For all these reasons, the 100 Series was less loved than it could have been.
The 80 Series sold 80,990 units during its eight model years on the U.S. market.
The 100 Series moved 87,727 units during its ten years on the market, a lower annualized rate.
On Classic.com, which tracks up to 5 years of sales all over the Internet.
The 80 Series stats at the time of writing —
From 1992 to 1997 model years with the larger 4.5-liter engine: 280 sales totaling nearly $8 million. Average transaction price $28,420.
The same stat line for the 100 Series is 202 sales over the past five years with nearly $4.5 million. Average of $22,509.
Surprisingly both fall behind the certified classic 60 Series Land Cruiser and its $31,538 average transaction price over five years.
The 100 Series is much nicer, more advanced, and (nearly?) just-as-capable bargain.
What is the ideal example of a 100 Series Land Cruiser?
There’s no year that’s a bad choice. Toyota engineered the underlying truck to be so tough that model year isn’t a big issue. The primary changes over the years were engine output going from 230 hp to 265 hp. Minor mechanical upgrades most drivers wouldn’t notice, and the list of available and optional features like navigation.
Mileage isn’t a huge factor considering the engine’s Methusela-like longevity given decent care; 300,000-mile trucks are still great daily drivers. It’s service history and current condition you’ll want to note to be safe but these engines go on and on and on.
Are you currently driving a future classic in Cambodia? we would love to hear your comments and see if you too belive in the older is better moto.