The Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series is a beast of a vehicle and one I have imagined adventuring the outback in rather than doing the kindy drop off! I was keen to see if the adventure machine could also be a good family car, so let's find out what I thought when I put it through all our BabyDrive testing…
Where to start with this big car? I liken it to a gentle giant!! It's enormous and the interior feels frumpy and outdated and it has seats like my grandparent's armchairs that are upholstered in velour coach set fabric. BUT it drives all smooth and quiet AND feels like a car you could take across the desert AND has some seriously good boot and interior space.
In fact, the interior space is excellent. I could easily fit three big child seats across the second-row seats, the seat base is lovely and flat and wide so it felt even more spacious. There are ISOFix points in the two outer seats and top tethers on the back of all three seats. The middle seat top tether is right at the bottom of the seat bac,k so you may need an extension strap depending on your child seat. I could sit between two child seats.
The size of the 200 series made it quite difficult for me to reach through from the second-row to put the third-row seats up and down (I'm 162cm). I also found it quite a struggle reaching in from the boot to put the third-row seats up and down.
The third-row seats collapse down from the side of the car and there are no top tethers or ISOFix in the third-row so I couldn't put any child seats in the back. I found space at the back was very good. I could sit in the third row with plenty of head and legroom with a rear-facing child seat in the second row in front of me and a 183cm passenger in the front passenger seat.
The second-row seats have a tumbling mechanism when they fold forward, meaning you would have to uninstall a child seat to climb through to the third-row seats, which is not very practical on a daily basis.
When you are only using five seats, the boot space is enormous, you could get the large family dog in there or it would hold 18 shopping bags when empty and all types of stroller fitted in easily with good amounts of shopping. That is one more than the Toyota Prado which held 17.
Although the floor has a great rubber mat covering it which would make cleaning a bit easier, the boot floor is not as uniform as you would find in most seven-seat SUVs that do not have the seats that fold down from the sides of the car. The fixings for these seats in the floor also create areas where sand/crumbs etc would collect and make sliding strollers and other things in and out slightly more tricky. However, the boot is VERY deep so you really could load it up with a lot of stuff for a family camping trip!
One of my favourite features of the 200 series is the split boot door, making it easier to quickly load and unload the boot.
Storage in the front is quite good in the 200 Series. There is an enormous central console storage box that would house an iPad along with other bits and bobs (in the Sahara top spec models this is refrigerated). In front of that are two large cup holders which are the only place in this enormous car that a large refillable water bottle would fit! There's also a small phone well, glasses case and a glove box that has a handy extra shelf in it but would not hold an iPad.
The storage does fall short in the second row, where there are only net map pockets on the back of the front seats and the door bins are not big enough for a large refillable water bottle.
In the third row, there are small cup holders on either side.
I felt disappointed with the interior, it felt drab and the upholstery made me question whether the car was new or used! I am so used to seeing new cars with leather or suit-like seat upholstery that the LandCruiser's grey velour felt really out of date. It is used on the door panels and armrests too, which seems as though it would wear and get dirty quickly.
I feel the media screen lets the 200 series down. It is very small, basic and outdated for such a big, expensive car and it doesn't have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. I have noticed a lot of these big off-roaders have similarly old-fashioned systems so perhaps technology may just be of lesser importance to their owners?
I found in a lot of light the reversing camera image could be quite difficult to see because of glare and that it is such a small screen.
I found the Toyota Landcruiser 200 series surprisingly smooth and quiet to drive and it had that wonderful confidence that I could take it anywhere!
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How big is the boot of the Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series?
When only using five seats, I could fit 18 shopping bags in the boot, which is one less than the Toyota Kluger and one more than the Toyota Prado which holds seventeen bags.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted in the boot with seven shopping bags beside it.
The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fitted with twelve shopping bags beside it.
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with twelve shopping bags beside it.
The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with fifteen shopping bags beside it.
Or you could fit a very large sized dog in the boot!
When using five seats the boot floor has a great rubber mat over it making it flat and easier to clean however the fixings for the third-row seats are in the floor and would collect sand and crumbs etc.
When using all three rows of seats the boot is still a generous size and would hold seven shopping bags.
The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted with two shopping bags. Which is really impressive when using all three rows of seats.
The Britax Flexx tandem stroller did fit but with no shopping bags.
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with three shopping bags.
The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with four shopping bags.
One of my favourite features on the 200 series is the split boot door, which makes accessing things in the boot easier when you have a stroller standing up in there.
Storage in the cabin of the 200 series is best in the front, where there is a really large central console box which I found great for housing an iPad, this is refrigerated in the Sahara top spec models.
There are two very big cup holders in front of that which would hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup but they rattled around and even my large refillable water bottle rattled a bit in them too! This was the only spot in the 200 series that my large refillable water fitted which is disappointing in such a big car.
In front of the gear lever is a small shelf I used for my phone and there is a 12V socket in there too.
There is a lined glasses case in the ceiling and there are double visors, so you can screen the side and front window from the sun which is excellent and they have lit vanity mirrors in them.
The glove box has a shelf which could be quite useful but I could only fit my wallet in there, an iPad wouldn't fit.
The door pockets in the front would hold a 600ml and my iPad but my large refillable water bottle wouldn't fit.
In the back of the 200 series' front seats are map pockets they are net so they will hold an iPad but not conceal it. There are no fold-down cup holders in the second row so storge is minimal! The door bins in the back are small and will not hold a large refillable water bottle, only a 600ml fits in there.
In the third row, there are small cup holders on both sides. They will not hold a large refillable water bottle, only a 600ml or reusable or disposable coffee cup fits in them.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series?
The media system in the Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series I tested had a very small screen for such a large and expensive car. It felt very outdated and did not have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The sat-nav in the 200 series is simple to use, however, the small size of the screen makes it harder. There is no easy way to mute the sat nav voice, you have to go through a few screens until you reach the customise navigation screen where you can change the verbosity of the announcements to minimal but not mute them, which is disappointing.
I find on most journeys when I use sat nav I only need directions for the last part of the journey. I know how to get to the area I am going and then it’s just the exact address I need help with. Because I need to input the address before I head off I found myself on most occasions when you can’t mute the sat nav voice having to listen to all the directions, which disturbs your concentration, any conversation in the car at the time or more importantly my sleeping baby! So being able to mute the sat nav voice until you reach the part where you actually need it is gold!
I like that within the sound settings screen I can drag the speaker volume to the rear right or left so I could direct the nursery rhymes to my daughter and out of the front speakers.
The engine noise and drive are pretty quiet in the 200 series as well as the indicators being nice and quiet too which are all surprising for a big off-road car and would not disturb a sleeping baby onboard.
The cruise control is on a stalk behind the right of the steering wheel and I found it to be quite accurate for motorway driving at fast speeds or on straight roads, but at slower speeds on undulating roads, it went over and under the set speed when going up and down hills.
The reversing camera image in the 200 Series is quite clear but the screen is so small and difficult to see in bright sunlight, which I find for a car of this size just doesn't match up. Visibility is especially difficult around the back of the car, particularly low down and you want the camera screen to really be your eyes in these areas when parking and maneuvering.
The parking sensors beep to warn you of hazards and you can turn the parking sensors off with a button by your right knee but not mute them.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The doors open nice and quietly but thump closed while the windows are the opposite, they open quite noisily and close nice and quietly.
I found you can come to a stop with the engine still running and get out of the car without sounding any alarms. However, if you get out and you have a window open then it will sound a beeping alarm to let you know and it flashes up a warning in the screen in front of the steering wheel. So I did need to consider that when bub was asleep in the back.
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
There are seatbelt reminders for only the front seats, these light up on the dashboard display. It is really the second and third-row passengers that I can not see that I would want to know if they have taken their seatbelts off.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit on the Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series?
I found I could fit three child seats in the second row of the 200 Series. The second-row seat base is nice and flat and featureless which I find sometimes helps with fitting three child seats.
I installed the rear-facing Britax Graphene and the forward facing Britax Platinum Pro and Maxi Guard Pro.
Both of the outer second-row seats have Isofix, they are not within plastic guides but are nice and easy to connect to. They are concealed behind velcro flaps, which I fear would become worn and full of crumbs etc over time.
There are top tethers within clearly labelled plastic guides, on the back of the two outer second-row seats and the central one is right down the bottom which I found quite tricky to access and some child seats might need an extention strap to reach it.
There are no top tethers or Isofix in the third-row seats so I could not install any child seats back there.
Posting bub into their child seat from outside the car was totally fine, the doorways are nice and large giving plenty of room to post bub in. From inside the car, the roofline is high so you have lots of room for lifting bub into their child seat.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
Because the second-row seats tumble forward to allow access to the third row, you are forced to take a child seat out before getting in the back!
With a rear-facing child seat installed in the second row, legroom for the front passenger was good and a 183cm passenger could fit in the front with 21cm of knee room while I could sit in the third row at the same time with enough head and legroom (I'm 162cm).
There is room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series?
The 200 Series front seats are very comfortable, a bit like my grandparent's armchairs! The front seats are manually adjusted and upholstered in grey coach seat like velour fabric and they make the car feel used even though it is brand new. I actually double-checked with Sunshine Toyota to see if it was a new vehicle because the seats made the interior feel so dated.
I found I could have a ponytail in the front seats because the headrests were at a good angle to allow for it!
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are comfortable, the leg and headroom were excellent too and overall the interior space is very good.
For the first year of Tulsi’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down but on two separate levers.
There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two central ones on either side of the media screen and one at either end of the dashboard. The aircon controls are below the screen and nice and clear and simple to use while driving. You can also control the rear aircon from here too which is good.
There are rear air vents in the back of the central console box that are reachable from the front while driving.
Ceiling vents are also included above the windows on both sides in the second and third rows. I do find that ceiling vents are something my daughter complains about because the air blows down on her head so I have to set the angle before we set off, but it really is better than nothing on very hot days, especially in the third-row.
There are handles above the windows in all three rows and in the second row they are well positioned for holding a child's toy.
The interior lights in both rear rows are in the ceiling centrally, I could reach back while driving to turn the second row light on and off.
I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
There are lit vanity mirrors in both front visors and there is a lined glasses case in the ceiling too. The front visors are double so you can shade the side windows as well as the front one while driving, this is a fantastic feature!
The windows are heavily tinted which is great because there are no inbuilt blinds. Visibility in the 200 Series is quite difficult for the driver with three child seats installed in the back. The windows are large and deep which helps but visibility around the back low down is a worry when maneuvering especially at kindy drop off. For both forward and rear-facing rear passengers, they get a great view out with the large deep windows and the elevated ride height.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, in the 200 Series it was tricky to park, the visibility was limited and the reversing camera image was small!
The 200 Series interior did feel outdated and the velour seating upholstery is also used on the door and armrest panels which I am sure would become worn and dirty quite quickly and would make it harder to keep them clean at the very least.
There are carpet floor mats in the first two rows of the 200 Series and a rubber mat in the boot floor.
The 200 Series is an enormous car to drive which is something I am sure you get used to and it starts to feel a bit smaller, it is quite smooth and quiet which was surprising for such a big off-road vehicle and it feels like a gentle giant!
The 200 Series I tested did not have a powered tailgate because it is split opening.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series?
The Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2011 for all models from 2015 onward. The top spec VX and Sahara versions have eight airbags (dual frontal, front knee, dual side and head curtain airbags that extend to the third row). However, the GX base model has no third-row airbag or second-row side airbag and the two GXL models don't have second-row side airbags but do have third-row head curtain airbags.
The 200 Series scored an overall 33.09 out of 37. Which was broken down into 13.09 out of 16 for the frontal offset test, 16/16 for the side impact test, 2/2 for the pole test and was scored ‘marginal' for whiplash and pedestrian protection.
As standard, all models of the 200 Series come with electronic stability control (ESC), active traction control (A-TRC), hill launch assist, anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), emergency brake assist (EBA).
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!
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