Sibling Rivalry
The other month, when I had the new Toyota Land Cruiser on loan, good friend Andy decided it would be a grand idea to head out for a bit of an off-road mooch together — not a competition, just a fun day on the lanes to see how his Land Cruiser Colorado (90 Series) stacked up alongside the shiny new LC250. I had one route in mind: Bootle Fell in Cumbria.
It’s a favourite of mine. Not only is the lane itself a good test, but the two-hour drive to get there tells you plenty about a vehicle’s handling, especially along those brilliantly twisty Cumbrian A-roads.
Regular readers will know this route well — I’ve used it for testing more than a few ‘proper’ 4x4s. From the M6 you snake along the A590, A5092 and A595 towards Bootle. It’s all twists, turns, climbs and dips, and in the right vehicle it’s a whole heap of fun. The Land Cruiser 250 was no exception, though under hard braking for some tighter corners, I couldn’t help feeling it would rather keep going straight on…
As we reached the start of the lane, I was a bit miffed with myself. I’d left Bolton in glorious sunshine, but now we were stood in driving rain and thick mist — and I hadn’t brought a coat. School-boy error.
“It’s only water,” I muttered as the rain soaked straight through my T-shirt.
I’ve mentioned before that this lane can be pretty testing, especially if you’re tackling it west-to-east. It’s not necessarily damaging, but years of storms have carved some impressively deep channels into the track.
Thanks to the recent downpours, the vegetation on the lower section was a tad overgrown. Thankfully it’s mostly soft leaves, so neither Toyota was in danger of acquiring “designer” scratches, but it still felt a bit unnerving pushing through it.
Once past the treeline you’re treated to a scattering of ruts and holes. Some you can avoid, but others cut clean across the lane and, if you’re not paying attention, can have your front wheels waving about in the air and traction disappearing. Not so much of a concern today though, both Land Cruisers have proper traction toys to play with.
A little further on we reached the first properly technical section: deep channels that look as though they could swallow a car whole.
With low-range already engaged, I eased the LC250 forward and dropped the off-side wheel into the rut. Was that the running boards I could hear, protesting as they scraped across the ground? Possibly…
The new Land Cruiser simply flexed its way through without any fuss. Andy’s 2005 Colorado followed with equal composure - turns out his two-decade-old Toyota wasn’t about to be embarrassed by this new kid on the block.
When I’m in something as capable as a Land Cruiser, I don’t always take the sensible line. I’ll often go for the sillier one, partly to test the vehicle, and partly to grab more dramatic photos. Both trucks handled everything in good humour, their suspension flexing beautifully and wheels occasionally lifting, yet traction was never in doubt.
Despite its gnarly appearance, the lane is passable in smaller 4x4s, I’ve taken an AWD Dacia Duster and Jeep Renegade up here before. But that required proper, precise wheel placement. Today’s pair of Toyotas made it feel straightforward by comparison.
At the top we pulled over for a brew and to admire the view. It was only then I realised I hadn’t even used Toyota’s secret off-road party trick: Crawl Control.
For the uninitiated, Crawl Control is essentially off-road cruise control. Engage it, and the system automatically manages engine torque and braking to keep the vehicle creeping along at a steady, very low speed over rough, steep, or soft ground. It lets you focus purely on steering, rather than juggling wheelslip and throttle.
There were more lanes I’d planned to tackle, but daylight was slipping away and there was a river crossing I was desperate to photograph the LC250 powering through. So we pointed both Land Cruisers back towards civilisation (the other side of the M6), and, more importantly, pub grub.
The LC250 is, without doubt, a cracking 4x4 worthy of the Land Cruiser name. But it is expensive - very expensive. And over burger, chips and a pint of shandy, I couldn’t help catching a wry grin from Andy. His 20-year-old Toyota had just followed the brand-new model every step of the way, proving that while technology moves on, that rugged Land Cruiser spirit is very much alive and kicking in both generations.
