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Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial: First Drive
The new Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial adds another car-derived van to the company’s commercial vehicle line-up, and we got to test it on and off the roads!
Words by: Tom Roberts
Published on 30 July 2025 | 0 min read
Let this sink in… Toyota’s Land Cruiser is over 70 years old, has sold in over 170 countries with over 11m produced. The latest version offers all of the quality, durability and reliability Land Cruisers are known for, with the added bonus that this generation has also been converted into a commercial vehicle. We’re happy to report we were among the first to drive this vehicle off-road at Toyota’s test course in Derbyshire, and be able to share our experiences with you here.
What Does The New Land Cruiser Commercial Offer Drivers?
Toyota is positioning the latest Land Cruiser Commercial at “customers who do not require the load-carrying capabilities or additional seats of the Hilux pick-up truck, but want the benefits of off-road performance, on-road poise and a wealth of comfort, safety and convenience features as standard.” That said, the Land Cruiser Commercial is capable of carrying a 820kg payload and towing 3500kg, so it’s not far off the Hilux’s stats. The load space features an edge-to-edge floor tray and rubber matting, and measures 1.09m high, 1.68m long and a maximum 1.28m wide to provide a 2000-litre load volume.
The ‘range’ is just the one model: a five-door, long wheelbase version. Equipment spec is higher than the previous Land Cruiser Commercial offering the same tech, comfort, ADAS and features from the passenger model. The powertrain features the familiar 2.8-litre engine, mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, with permanent all-wheel drive and selectable drive modes, and off-road systems including Crawl Control, Hill-start Assist Control and Downhill Assist Control (all of which we were able to test). Later this year, the Land Cruiser Commercial will be offered with a hybrid powertrain, however order books for the diesel version open on the 1st of August with deliveries to customers expected from September at an OTR price of £51,729.17. The conversion from passenger car to commercial vehicle takes place at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s Burnaston production facility in Derbyshire, which is where we got to test the vehicle on the company’s own off-road course.
The ‘range’ is just the one model: a five-door, long wheelbase version. Equipment spec is higher than the previous Land Cruiser Commercial offering the same tech, comfort, ADAS and features from the passenger model. The powertrain features the familiar 2.8-litre engine, mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, with permanent all-wheel drive and selectable drive modes, and off-road systems including Crawl Control, Hill-start Assist Control and Downhill Assist Control (all of which we were able to test). Later this year, the Land Cruiser Commercial will be offered with a hybrid powertrain, however order books for the diesel version open on the 1st of August with deliveries to customers expected from September at an OTR price of £51,729.17. The conversion from passenger car to commercial vehicle takes place at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s Burnaston production facility in Derbyshire, which is where we got to test the vehicle on the company’s own off-road course.
Off-Road Driving Experience: Toyota Test Track
This was the main event of the day, getting to put the Land Cruiser Commercial through its paces on Toyota’s own off-road course at their Burnaston production facility in Derbyshire. The course was originally built to test the hydrogen-powered Hilux, and combines steep inclines, some deep descents through tight woodland, long grass tracks, gravel pits, log obstacles and elephant footprint-style potholes. Take a look through the pictures to see the vehicle on various stages of the course we were able to drive three times using different control modes and systems each time. You'll also spot our commercial vehicle reviewer Tom Roberts looking various shades of confident through the windscreen.
The track starts with a simple drive through deep grass before coming to a tight left up onto a long section of grass that runs on the top of a big embankment. You then drop down into some tight woodland that hugs the vehicle while you try to negotiate a slanted set of tracks before approaching a steep hill that you go up and then down back into long grass, through the elephant footprints and then into deep gravel to finish off. If you just leave all the settings alone, aside from putting it into its four-low mode, the vehicle just gets you round the course with no issues. It’s such a clever system that nothing seems to trouble it and it just adapts to whatever you ask it to do. You can knock the vehicle into manual gear control, if you like, and it simply adapts to your driving style making this a beginner-friendly off-road vehicle. A particular highlight was being able to test the vehicle’s Crawl Control on the steep hill going up and down in turn. At the bottom of the hill, we activated the function and turned the rotary dial to select the crawl speed at its middle setting. The vehicle moved slowly towards the base of the hill before stopping, thinking, then confidently crawled up the hill smoothly. There was no slipping, no hassle, no panic, it just moved up the hill like a snail up a vertical fence. At the top, we set the crawl speed to its lowest and approached the crest of the hill. Again, it stopped, thought and then slowly crawled down the hill with no slipping, no jerks and then moved on to the next trial. It is impressive how safe you feel on your own driving this vehicle on rough terrain. The agricultural audience is going to love its capabilities. There’s no higher praise we can give at this point beyond saying we wanted to keep driving it on the off-road course. It was such a safe and comfortable vehicle to drive in demanding conditions that it felt more like a theme park ride than a serious test. We were impressed with its intuitive control set and clever systems that were clearly fighting to keep the vehicle upright and moving forward, but we never felt like the vehicle was doing anything other than driving.
The track starts with a simple drive through deep grass before coming to a tight left up onto a long section of grass that runs on the top of a big embankment. You then drop down into some tight woodland that hugs the vehicle while you try to negotiate a slanted set of tracks before approaching a steep hill that you go up and then down back into long grass, through the elephant footprints and then into deep gravel to finish off. If you just leave all the settings alone, aside from putting it into its four-low mode, the vehicle just gets you round the course with no issues. It’s such a clever system that nothing seems to trouble it and it just adapts to whatever you ask it to do. You can knock the vehicle into manual gear control, if you like, and it simply adapts to your driving style making this a beginner-friendly off-road vehicle. A particular highlight was being able to test the vehicle’s Crawl Control on the steep hill going up and down in turn. At the bottom of the hill, we activated the function and turned the rotary dial to select the crawl speed at its middle setting. The vehicle moved slowly towards the base of the hill before stopping, thinking, then confidently crawled up the hill smoothly. There was no slipping, no hassle, no panic, it just moved up the hill like a snail up a vertical fence. At the top, we set the crawl speed to its lowest and approached the crest of the hill. Again, it stopped, thought and then slowly crawled down the hill with no slipping, no jerks and then moved on to the next trial. It is impressive how safe you feel on your own driving this vehicle on rough terrain. The agricultural audience is going to love its capabilities. There’s no higher praise we can give at this point beyond saying we wanted to keep driving it on the off-road course. It was such a safe and comfortable vehicle to drive in demanding conditions that it felt more like a theme park ride than a serious test. We were impressed with its intuitive control set and clever systems that were clearly fighting to keep the vehicle upright and moving forward, but we never felt like the vehicle was doing anything other than driving.
On-Road Driving Experience: Derbyshire Roads
The normal road driving experience is as confident as you’d expect from a Toyota SUV. It’s already comfortable, and once you’ve driven it up steep inclines, through elephant footprint tracks, over logs and in deep gravel, you kind of stop worrying about how it will handle a town road.
We were able to take it out for around an hour on local roads (a blend of motorway, town and country environments), which didn’t trouble the vehicle one bit. The nav system was easy to use, we opted for Google Maps through Android Auto connectivity (Apple CarPlay is also included), and the odd bits of traffic allowed us to appreciate the sound system which has excellent bass response. We didn’t know what the bass line of the Gorillaz track ‘Dare’ sounded like properly until this test drive. So, we sat back in the comfortable leather seats, leaning on the centre arm rest and enjoyed the pause in driving. It really is a nice cabin to spend time in. In short, the Land Cruiser Commercial drives confidently and you sit at such a commanding height that visibility is never an issue. The blind-covered windows in the side doors at the back do limit your blind spots, but driving like a commercial vehicle and using your mirrors becomes second nature pretty quickly. The suite of safety systems alert you to side traffic nicely, and the open back window on the rear door means you can use your rear-view mirror. It’s like driving a big car: simple and safe, and you just need to take care on tighter corners.
We were able to take it out for around an hour on local roads (a blend of motorway, town and country environments), which didn’t trouble the vehicle one bit. The nav system was easy to use, we opted for Google Maps through Android Auto connectivity (Apple CarPlay is also included), and the odd bits of traffic allowed us to appreciate the sound system which has excellent bass response. We didn’t know what the bass line of the Gorillaz track ‘Dare’ sounded like properly until this test drive. So, we sat back in the comfortable leather seats, leaning on the centre arm rest and enjoyed the pause in driving. It really is a nice cabin to spend time in. In short, the Land Cruiser Commercial drives confidently and you sit at such a commanding height that visibility is never an issue. The blind-covered windows in the side doors at the back do limit your blind spots, but driving like a commercial vehicle and using your mirrors becomes second nature pretty quickly. The suite of safety systems alert you to side traffic nicely, and the open back window on the rear door means you can use your rear-view mirror. It’s like driving a big car: simple and safe, and you just need to take care on tighter corners.
Did You Enjoy This Article?
If you enjoyed this article, head to our vans content section and check out our huge range of van reviews, news, guides and advice articles. And, if you have a spare few minutes, you could also take a look at Rory Reid and Alex Legouix putting the passenger version of the new Land Cruiser through its paces in Prado.