A Look Back At The Toyota 70-Series Land Cruiser Troop Carrier

TEXT AND IMAGES BY JONATHAN HANSON

What is the best expedition vehicle in the world? Picking just one is a tough thing to justify, and whatever you nominate you’re going to get lively arguments. But if there’s one choice that would appear at the top of most lists from those who have turned tens of thousands of miles in the remote parts of the globe, it is Toyota’s mighty 70-Series Land Cruiser Troop Carrier.

By 1980, Toyota’s Land Cruiser had firmly proven itself a reliable, durable alternative to the legendary Land Rover. The British icon, while eminently capable, rugged, and easy to work on, had suffered through ups and downs in quality control that opened the door to the impeccably constructed Japanese competitor, even in formerly stalwart British colonial markets in Africa and Australia.

Toyota’s workhorse 40-series models were then, depending on where you placed the actual beginning of the line, nearly a quarter century old, and had seen scant few genuine updates. Meanwhile, British Leyland was about to transform the Land Rover with the introduction of supple all-coil suspension front and rear, and full-time four-wheel drive.

Evolution

Aware of that detail or not, Toyota knew it needed a comprehensive reworking of its utility vehicle. Yet Chief Engineer Masaomi Yoshii was leery of any changes that might compromise the durability that had earned the Land Cruiser its reputation. Thus, when the 70 Series was introduced in 1984, it was obviously an evolutionary rather than revolutionary redesign, despite the crisp new lines.