There’s a moment, usually a few minutes after you pull out of the driveway, when you realise a Toyota LandCruiser has changed the way other drivers behave around you. People let you merge. Mirrors get checked. A bloke in a ute gives you the nod.
The 300 Series GR Sport Hybrid commands road presence in a way very few other vehicles manage, and after a week behind the wheel, we can confirm that it looks every bit as good as it does in the photos, if not better.
It’s also the most powerful LandCruiser ever sold in Australia, and it costs $156,060 before on-roads. We’ll come back to that number, because it’s arguably the most interesting thing about this car.
The GR Sport wears its blacked-out grille and sportier detailing well. It’s a big, upright, unapologetic shape that somehow avoids looking brutish, and it turns heads in a way that has nothing to do with being loud.
Park it next to anything else on the street, and it simply makes it’s neighbours look smaller. Under the bonnet is a twin-turbocharged 3.4-litre V6 petrol engine working with a hybrid system, delivering 341kW and 790Nm.
That’s a serious step up from the 3.3-litre diesel V6 used in the rest of the range, and you feel it. The LandCruiser surges forward with conviction, and it does so without any drama. It sounds good too.
The V6 has a smooth, slightly gruff note that suits the car’s character, and it’s far more enjoyable to listen to than a diesel. Toyota claims 10-litres/100km combined, which is a respectable number for something this large and quick.
The 98-litre tank means range anxiety is not part of the ownership experience. Inside, the cabin is a breath of fresh air for anyone tired of touchscreen-everything interiors. Physical buttons and dials are scattered everywhere, and using them is a pleasure.
You can adjust the climate, switch drive modes, and change settings by feel, without taking your eyes off the road or diving into a menu. After spending recent weeks in cars that hide basic functions behind layers of software, it’s very refreshing.
The four-zone climate control is more useful than it sounds, especially with passengers who have different ideas about temperature. The digital instrument cluster is another highlight, showing a generous amount of technical information without feeling cluttered.
That suits a vehicle you might take well off the bitumen. All of that goodness makes the audio system disappointing. The speakers are a massive weak spot. Sound quality is average at best, and in a vehicle at this price, that’s hard to forgive.
And for the love of your selected deity, disable the automatic sound adjustment (which alters the volume depending on the road noise and speed you drive at). It might just be the worst calibrated version of this system we’ve ever come across.
On the upside, there is wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, cord-free phone charging, with heated and vented front and rear outboard seats, in a car that’s only available in a 5-seat configuration.
The other big plus in a vehicle this large is that there’s heaps of boot space, and plenty of storage scattered throughout the cabin. The downside of all that girth is that you pay for all of it in car parks.
At nearly 5.0m long and close to 2.0m wide, the GR Sport Hybrid is not an easy thing to park, and tight multi-storey options and shopping centre bays require patience and a good deal of mirror checking.
To its credit, the turning circle is better than you’d expect for…
