What is the Toyota Land Cruiser like as a tow car? I used it to rescue my Suzuki Jimny to find out

My Toyota Land Cruiser isn’t the only off-roader in my life – my wife also has a Suzuki Jimny. We both love it, but recently it needed to go away for some pretty major surgery.

Rust had taken hold of the underside, as it often does on these cars, so I needed to get it welded up. The workshop I chose to do the work was four hours north, and seeing as the Jimny’s MOT had run out and the cost of hiring someone to transport it was astronomical, I hired a trailer and put the Land Cruiser to the test.

In theory, this should be light work for the Toyota. It’s got a 2.8-litre diesel engine and a maximum towing capacity of 3,500kg. The Jimny only weighs around 1,000kg.

I was also grateful to be putting the detachable tow bar to use, because there’s nowhere to store it in the car so it rolls around in the boot when not in use. It’s really easy to attach, with a green symbol which shows when it’s on properly.

The Land Cruiser has massive door mirrors and plenty of glass, so keeping an eye on the precious load is easy. It also makes manoeuvring in a car park a bit easier, and the reversing camera makes it easy to hitch the trailer.

I also like the way you can open just the glass part of the tailgate. It makes it easy to chuck stuff in when the trailer is attached without opening the whole thing up.

Out on the road, it’s easy to forget you’re towing anything. Alright, so the Jimny wasn’t exactly pushing the car to its limits, but it felt stable and planted, and I didn’t notice a considerable drop in performance. You probably don’t need anything as heavy-duty as the Land Cruiser for a small caravan or boat, but if you want towing to feel effortless then it’s hard to beat.

It’s not bad on fuel either. Usually I get 30mpg, and with the Jimny on board this dropped to around 25mpg.

The most annoying part of the whole experience was towing the empty trailer back. That’s not the fault of the car, but with no weight on it the trailer rattled around a lot for the four-hour drive home.

With the Jimny in the safe hands of a specialist for a light restoration, I can say the Land Cruiser makes an excellent tow car. I just can’t wait to go back and get my little Suzuki when it’s finished.

First impressions of my Toyota Land Cruiser – August 2026

I’ve been driving the Toyota Land Cruiser for a few weeks now, and so far I’m loving life with this big off-roader.

There’s something really relaxing about the way it drives. It feels really solid and planted on motorways, and the seats are comfy, too. I never feel like I’m in a rush in the Land Cruiser, and I can even feel my heart rate drop when I get in.

It’s also not as tricky to drive in town as you might think a massive bus like this would be. Visibility is excellent, and the boxy shape makes it easy to place through tight gaps. The only thing I do have to think about is the height when entering multi-story car parks.

I’ve also been getting around 30mpg so far, which is pretty good for a car like this. Our Jeep Wrangler will do 20mpg if you’re lucky, and that car is smaller than the Land Cruiser. Filling up is an expensive task though, because the Toyota’s tank holds around £120 worth of fuel.

I do have a couple of bug bears though. The boot lip is quite high, so loading heavy camera kit takes its toll on my back after a while. I also can’t find anywhere to store the detachable tow bar in the car, so it has to be fitted all the time. I prefer the look of the car without it, but you can’t leave it rolling around in the boot.

Living with the Toyota Land Cruiser: an introduction to my car

Choosing a Toyota Land Cruiser is pretty simple, because there’s only one model on offer. You choose a colour, in this case Pearl White for £965, and there are a few accessories on offer as well.

You can also get a commercial version with no back seats, but I’ve got the passenger car.

Under the bonnet is a 2.8-litre diesel engine with 204hp and 500Nm of torque, and 0-60mph takes a pretty pedestrian 12.3 seconds. More importantly though, it can tow up to 3,500kg, and I might be putting it to the test as a tow rig at some point.

All Land Cruisers come with adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera, panoramic roof, heated front seats and a 12.3-inch infotainment system. It’s well-equipped, but it should be at over £80,000.

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