Ute popular with farmers

The Land Cruiser 70 series was most popular in New Zealand’s provinces and rounded up its sales total at 200 in 2013. The range includes a single-cab ute, the 11-seat three-door hardtop and the LX grade five-door wagon, but it was double cab launched here last year that made up sales on 146 units. “The arrival of the double cab heightened the idea of it as an ‘all things to all people’ workhorse,” says Neeraj Lala, Toyota NZ’s general manager of product. The vehicle features a 4.5-litre V8 common rail-turbo diesel engine, which delivers 151kW peak power at 3,400rpm and 430Nm of torque at 1,200rpm, while the four-wheel-drive was most popular in the regions last year, including Canterbury, Manawatu and Otago. “These trucks play their part in primary industries – whether it’s a single-cab truck on the farm or a three-door hardtop at the forestry skid site.”