Chris Harris Drives His Toyota Land Cruiser - The Go-Anywhere Off-Roader

"You go into the desert in a Range Rover, and you then use a Land Cruiser to get back out of it afterwards..."

Chris takes us along with him to Walter's Arena to put his 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser through its paces on their off-road course.

Described by many as the ultimate go-anywhere off-roader, Chris talks us through why he decided to chop in his 2020 G350d and replace it with this very usable example of Toyota's robust luxury SUV.

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[shibby]

I'm 30 seconds in and I already know this isn't long enough...

[samthoma]

This is my favourite piece of content in ages, and not in any category just full stop. BBC are sitting on an absolute goldmine just giving Chris half hour segments to himself for this kind of stuff and a half hour wouldn’t be enough for 99% of us I could watch him chatting like this for hours 👌

[georgetaper]

I love vehicles that don’t try and be anything they’re not. LC is definitely part of the dream garage for me.

[theworldaccordingtochris]

I know a farm contractor in Cork Ireland who bought the older version of this new in 2003 with the 4.2L straight 6 diesel and he still has it, uses it all the time and has around 600, 000 miles on it from new and it never misses a beat. He refuses to get rid of it, it's pulled big fendt tractors from fields that broke down and it's a complete donkey that NEVER lets him down.

[tommarino]

Long after the current trendy suvs and crossovers have been recycled in to a fridge or a dishwasher this thing will still be plodding along effortlessly anywhere you take it. What a machine.

[edwardfletcher]

This makes perfect sense, Chris loves well engineered cars 👍

Toyota 4WD's are the singular choice for use in outback Australia.

[YarnDrives]

If anything, Chris really understates just how comfortable these things are. I've owned a lot of cars over the years—Mercedes E350 and C250, BMW 1, 3, 5, and 6 series, VW Amarok and Golf, Ford Ranger, Land Rover Discovery—but absolutely nothing comes close to the comfort and versatility of the 200 series.

You can literally turn the wheel with a single finger. I’ve cruised at 140kph on outback roads in the middle of Australia, and the road noise? None. The sound insulation is that good. Chris is spot on about the seats—they feel like you're lounging in your favorite sofa. You could easily do 10-hour drives without breaking a sweat. The sound system hits harder than Will Smith, and the heating/AC are next level. Even on a scorching 40-degree day, I won’t set the AC to low—it gets too cold!

I've rarely needed the diff locker or low gearbox—this beast has so much power. The only time I engage them is when I'm hauling a 2.5-tonne boat off the beach, and even then, I've never been stuck.

A few years ago, I drove the Robe to Beachport track—huge sand dunes and boggy beaches, seriously tough terrain—all on standard tires. It was 40°C outside. The car was flawless. No overheating, no getting stuck, AC blasting, tunes pumping. The most amazing thing about the 200 series is that, no matter the conditions outside, it’ll get you there—feeling like you're lounging at home on your couch. It’s that comfortable.

Also driven up to the ski fields in Mt Kosciuszko, didn't even bother putting snow chains on the tires - absolutely flawless. Then hammered a 14 hour overnight drive back home in shifts with my mates. We drove through snow, forest, red dirt country and highway in those 14 hours. Hit a stretch of road along where we didn't see another car for 3 hours - not once were we concerned about breaking down.

And it's built like a tank. My dad rear-ended another car once. Her car was written off. Not a scratch on our bullbar. It wasn't until months later that I noticed the number plate was a little bent and he admitted that he crashed it. Lesson learned: you’re driving a 3-tonne vehicle, so you have to be mindful. Give yourself plenty of space, because this thing can do some serious damage if you're not careful.

The only downside? It’s a thirsty beast. We get about 17L/100kms in City. 12L on the highway.
But Chris is right: buy the cheapest one you can find and just drive the hell out of it—weekend trips, camping, fishing, caravanning. If you can, keep a second, more economical car for city driving. If money doesn't matter to you, just drive the Landcruiser in the city, its a great town car too.

If you're on a budget, look at the old Prados. My cousin picked up a 2002 Prado Grande for $3, 500 - 350, 000kms on it. He kept up with my 200 series on all the beach tracks. Fantastic car for the money and very comfortable.

We’ve got the 2008, the first model year, owned it since new. We’ve never had to replace anything. Just hit 200, 000kms with only regular services. Our dogs love it too. It's truly a snow, flood, end of world zombie apocalypse do everything in comfort engineering masterpiece, and we're planning to keep it in the family until it finally gives up... if it ever does.

*On a side note for anyone still reading:
My friend's family has the old diesel troop carrier. They've run it over 1 million kms and the odometer has reset to zero and started over again. They now use it as a beach launch car for their boat. The floor has large holes in it from the rust, so you can see the road and beach passing below you. I think the car will disintegrate before that engine gives out. Toyota is really on another level - I'm very curious to see how the new 300 Series hold up over time.

[MrTheTrafalgar]

I really like these types of chill mostly talking videos with Chris. They actually feel almost like vlog. And it's full of cosy vibes and dogs, and normal feeling like chatting. Perfect

[GT]

Nailed it. I have an 80 series Land Cruiser and every single thing on the truck still works perfectly. This paired with my GT3 are all the car I will ever need.

[katkonkatkon]

Agreed Chris! My '16 LC200 also happens to be the "best" car I've ever owned. And while I haven't owned as many as you, I've owned (too) many. The Land Cruiser is built like a tank, is ultra-reliable, it's comfortable and reasonably luxurious. And certainly highly capable.

Mine is the 5.7L V8 which I always assumed was the same 5.7L V8 in other Toyotas - Sequoia, Tundra etc. A side-by-side comparison by a youtuber revealed the LC engine is different. Built with harder and more durable plastics, larger and more solid reservoirs, etc. Point is: the Land Cruiser is simply "built differently". In a very good way!

[RajSingh-xwbo]

What a review by Chris Harris of the humble Toyota, Absolutely nailed it

[RSADYNAMICS]

I love it when Chris Harris shows us his personal cars and explains why he loves them .The Old M5 Sharknose video was also great as was the 2CV video and the Peugeot 205 video PLEASE MAKE a video showing us your opinions of "The all time Greatest cars" in your opinion and why. start with the Mitsubishi evo5

[Mjln]

I have a 2013 Land Cruiser with the 5.7l V8. i take it off-road on the beach for 2 weeks each year. I've taken it off-road in the mountains in CO. It is a superb vehicle with impressive off-road abilities.

[twasunna]

This is a really good tribute to a car whose real beauty is hidden underneath....The breadth of its abilities, the ownership experience, the static engineering and the real-world dependability of the 200 Series silently screams "SOD OFF" to every proponent of its (non-existent) competitors!!!
Thank you Chris!!!
Cheers from Nairobi, Kenya

[panzr]

Just as I'm moving to Shetland and already thinking of buying one of these, old Chrisy boy nails it for me.. I'd watch 2 hours of this !!

[luceatlux]

A Land Cruiser is not just a car, it's something you look after for the next generation.

[michaeljl]

Having just completed a Safari in one of these with over 400km on the clock, couldn't agree more. The only car you see on the Tanzanian trails for a reason!

[Jason-clhk]

This is a return of peak Chris Harris; reminds me of Autocar and Drive days - a return to form. Thanks.

[tidysampler]

Nothing better than off-road Chris Harris content on a Sunday morning. Than seeing him in his natural element.
Even taken his dog out for the day..
Plus enjoying his time out in front of the camera..
I simply have my coffee & a comfortable sofa 😂

[babeyoulove]

We live in Aus - This is a legendary car here in Australia - in our family we have three LCs all of which are over 700, 000 KM on the clock... These cars get used in here like they are meant to be... one of our LCs has been to every off-road track in AUS and is still like a new car...