How does the Toyota Land Crusier compare with the Q7?

This column aims to compare Audis with other premium quality cars and some may say that Toyota does not fit in this category. The land cruiser is a special case, however, as it is an icon in the off-road world and actually costs more than an equivalent Q7 but has better residual values. When i took delivery of the loan land cruiser i jokingly asked the driver for the blue beret and sealed orders for deployment to the middle East. You can’t look at this car without thinking of the un convoys in trouble spots around the world. it is no coincidence the land cruiser invariably features in this sort of application. it is the result of 60 years’ experience of the go-anywhere ability of Toyota four-wheel-drive vehicles and their remarkable reliability. i suspect the rather urbane Q7 wouldn’t cut it in those situations. off road, the land cruiser is more land Rover Defender and the Q7 more chelsea Tractor. in fact, the Q7 seems to be a seven-seat allroad rather than a serious rival to the BmW X5 and Range Rover. if anything, the soon-to-be-launched all-new Q7 will have even less off-road prowess. on road, however, the Q7 completely outclasses the land cruiser which should really only be purchased if a lot of off-road work is required. Despite weighing an extra 150 kg, the Q7 is much quicker and more economical than the Toyota. The Q7 is a wonderful driving experience on the road, the Toyota something of a trial. overtaking in the Audi is easy, in the Toyota it has to be carefully planned. it feels like the 29 per cent quicker 0-62 mph time in the Audi also applies to the in-gear times, which manufacturers don’t quote. The Q7’s V6 is much better insulated than the big old four in the Toyota which is translated into far greater refinement. The 8-speed Q7 automatic is also much smoother than the 5-speed in the land cruiser, although the Toyota ‘box may well be more rugged. The more aerodynamic Q7 also suffers much less wind noise. At least the rather ‘grumbly’ Toyota engine settles to a reasonably quiet cruise at motorway speeds. The Toyota’s ability off-road comes from features including multi-terrain anti-lock braking, vehicle stability control, downhill assist control, 4-wheel active height control, multi-terrain select and monitor, adaptive variable suspension and crawl control. These are not economy cars and the claimed combined fuel efficiency of 34.9 mpg for the land cruiser and 38.2 for the Q7 equate to real world mid to high 20s if driven with any sort of vigour. it would be surprising if the Audi didn’t handle better than the land cruiser, the road behaviour of which is just about acceptable, although the steering is pretty woolly. i assume that the un representatives’ luggage is sent on ahead, as there is very little boot space with all seats up; just 104 litres against the Q7’s 330. With all seats down the Q7 offers a cavernous 2035 mm against a still spacious 1934 mm. There is a difference between quality and fit and finish. The renowned reliability of the land cruiser suggests high build quality but, in terms of fit and finish, it is left for dead by the Q7
which is peerless, with higher quality interior materials which are set to improve even further on the all-new car.

When it comes to reliability, however, it will be the Audi spending more time in the workshop it would be interesting to see what a proper large off-road Audi would look like. could there perhaps be a ‘jacked-up’ version of the new Q7 in the same way that an A6 allroad is a ‘jacked-up’ A6 Estate? Apart from higher ground clearance, it would need a few more off road gadgets to compete with the land cruiser and various Range Rover models in the rough. Both have great presence on the road, the Toyota because of its aggressive front and lofty height and the Audi because of its length and superbly crisp styling. if you had one of each you would use the Toyota at the horse sale and the Audi at the county ball. if i had £55,000 to spend on just one suV it would be a difficult choice and would come down to how much time i spent off-road. if i could only afford a five-year-old used car, i would have to choose the land cruiser because of the reliability; Audis are particularly expensive to repair when they go wrong.