The all new Toyota Land Cruiser in India

Sports-Utility-Vehicle (SUV) is the ultimate dream of every car owner. They are big, spacious, and built to run on any terrain without any problem but not every one can own an SUV. Toyota, one of the top car makers in the world is the proud creator of Land Cruiser. On June 9, 2009, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. (TKM), the Indian joint venture between Toyota and Kirloskar Group, launched the company’s eighth generation Toyota Land Cruiser in India. Though expensive, SUV’s are ideal vehicles for India. The roads are broke in many places and filled with potholes. During the rainy season, it becomes even more difficult to drive. The Land Cruiser is Toyota’s flagship SUV. The company has been building Land Cruiser since 1951. Though established in 1997, TKM did not introduce any small cars like Hyundai, Honda, Suzuki and Ford. The manufacturing plant of TKM situated on the outskirts of Bangalore produces Corolla Altis and Innova. The plant has a production capacity of 60,000 units. In 2008, the company produced 54,327 units. Toyota imports the SUVs from abroad which makes them quite expensive. Still, the company sold 51,800 SUVs in 2008. Economic recession has hurt the sales of autos in India this year. TKM hopes that sales would remain flat in 2009.
The new Toyota Land Cruiser:
The bold design of the new Toyota Land Cruiser makes it a symbol of power and success. The car’s sports chrome plated radiator grille reflects its strength. The front combination lamps enhance visibility and the LED-type tail lamps and stop lamps ensures high visibility at night. The power moonroof makes the car feel more spacious. On the rear spoiler, the LED high-mount stop lamp alerts the driver to stop. On the backside of the car, there is the lift up main door and drop down lower door. The lower door also has additional compartments.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a powerful car and the source of its power is its 4.5 liter V8 Common Rail diesel Engine. The best thing about the engine is that it does not make much noise and can reach a maximum speed of 210 Kw @3600 rpm. Its six speed automatic transmission allows the driver to control the vehicle with great ease. The kinetic dynamic suspension system allows the vehicle to remain steady both on and off road. The new Toyota Land Cruiser has “Crawl Control System,” which automatically controls the break pedal and accelerator. While driving on rough terrain, this system allows the driver to focus on his driving. If you are driving on slopes the Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC) will stop the car from moving backwards and refrains it from skidding on slopes.
The new Toyota Land Cruiser is fitted with ten SRS airbags including knee airbags, side airbags and the curtain shield airbags. Then there is the “Multi Terrain Anti-Lock Braking System” that automatically tunes the ABS system according to the condition of the surface on which car is being driven. The Electronic Brake-Force Distribution balances the front and rear brakes of the car. The Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system allows the vehicle to remain steady while driving through corners by automatically controlling the engine output and brake pressure on each wheel. Clearance and back sonar helps the driver to turn or park the car safely.
The new Toyota Land Cruiser also provides great comfort and convenience. It has twenty eight air outlets that makes sure that there is ample air supply inside the car. The four-zone climate control system allows each passenger to have his/her own comfort zone. The car also has an “ejector type cool box with 8.6 liter capacity” to store cold drinks. There is also the built-in 6 DVD player, Electro Multi Version DVD Screen, USB drive and iPod integration kit and 14 powerful JBL speakers. The large and well-designed optitron meter is placed in a position that makes it very for the driver to look at. The multi-information display shows all the necessary data the driver needs to know while driving the car. You would not even have to pull out and press the key to start the new Land Cruiser. The new “smart key” opens up the car door while key remains in driver’s pocket.