Overview

WE took the opportunity to join the Grey Nomad brigade and head for the Red Centre towing a large camper trailer with the latest Toyota Landcruiser 300-Series GX for a two-week, 6000km sojourn of pitching a tent, no phone service, dust, flies, barbecues and dramatic scenery.

It was bloody terrific.

We were totally at home in the procession of various caravans and campers being towed predominantly by Toyotas, with a handful or Isuzu and Ford models sharing the scene.

Few other makes were noticed on the main or rough remote roads up to “The Alice”, then on to Yulara, Ormiston Gorge, Gosse Bluff, Simpson’s Gap, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Standley Chasm, Kata Tjuta and environs though some confident individuals were towing with Jeeps, Land Rovers and even a few Chinese makes.

Toyota “owns the outback” as they have an unsurpassed reputation for reliability and there’s a dealer in nearly every whistle stop where you can get parts quickly and cheaply if required which we did after the rear windscreen copped a stone bouncing back from the trailer on the rough Oodnadatta Track to William Creek and Lake Eyre.

In hindsight, those rock tamer mudflaps make sense…

The base ‘Cruiser 300-Series GX sells for a not insignificant $97,990 excluding on-road costs, placing it two grand less than the top of the range but smaller and four cylinder Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu from $99,990 + ORC.

As the “entry” model with fabric upholstery and rubber mats, the GX is no cringe as it features a comprehensive array of safety, comfort and convenience features and shares most of its underpinnings with all the other 300-Series variants. It looks pretty much the same, too.

But the GX has a wider track than all the others and rolls on more accessible 17-inch all terrain rubber, scores the locking centre diff’, full time AWD with selectable high- and low range augmented by a crawl function and six drive modes, same ground clearance and off-road margin capabilities.

Updated this year, the new GX gains improved tech’ and infotainment features, more “luxury” kit, wireless Apple and Android phone connectivity and the latest version of Toyota Connected Services.

Of particular benefit for long distance towing is the model’s adaptive cruise control, auto LED headlights, keyless entry and ignition, remote air-conditioning activation, reverse camera with guide lines, road sign recognition, and downhill assist.

These features are additional to dual-zone climate control, electric park brake, new digital driver’s cluster and centre screen, multi-terrain system, and a full size spare wheel.

Tow specific details of the GX include a weight of 2495kg – the lightest 300-Series, a decent GVM of 3280kg, a 110-litre fuel tank, 11.8m turning circle, and brakes of 354mm at the front with four-piston callipers and 335mm at the rear with a single-piston calliper.

The suspension is double wishbone up front with a stabiliser bar and a rigid axle at the rear held by four links.

For the trip undertaken, the preference would be for the 300-Series over a Prado (or anything else) as it makes lighter work of towing due to its powerful 3.3-litre 227kW/700Nm twin-turbo V6 turbo diesel engine, larger size, roomier cabin and larger components like the brakes, and suspension.

Both 300-Series and the Prado 250-Series share the same TNGA-F ladder chassis and both tow 3500kg maximum.

Hooked up behind the GX was an off-road capable camper trailer with large, heavy-duty tyres, reinforced under-tray and protection, heavy gauge chassis, big disc brakes and a large fold-out tent on top.

Inside was an integrated camp kitchen with everything except a dishwasher, dedicated 12-volt electric system and large alloy toolbox atop the front of the chassis.

All up, trailer weight (ATM) was just over 1000kg with 60 litres of water and full of camping stuff which is well within the ‘Cruiser’s capacity.

Driving impressions

Justifiably called “The Swiss Army Knife of Vehicles” the Landcruiser 300 Series is completely at home towing in the outback, something immediately obvious upon setting out.

It’s comfortable, quiet once the desired pace is set, powerful and can eat huge distances with ease inflicting minimal fatigue on the occupants.

On our trip we wafted along at the speed limit with the windows down and no music playing to fully engage with the countryside and its smells, the balmy weather and the sounds of the bush. It was almost a seminal experience.

The big ‘Cruiser barely felt the tonne it was hauling save for a slight tugging sensation over bigger undulations. It retained impressive acceleration for overtaking and hills made little or no difference to the chosen pace the powertrain only occasionally down-shifting from tenth or ninth gear to a lower cog.

We left it in D (Drive) and Normal mode the entire time as not once was the GX found wanting on- or off-road in performance terms and it was conducive to the relaxed frame of mind we had adopted for the trip. Manoeuvring in camping spots is facilitated by the well weighted steering, impressive turning circle for such a big vehicle and reverse camera with guide lines.

All dynamic functions of “the rig” are enhanced by the ‘Cruisers overall competence including braking, cornering, steering and stability.

Our daily distance target of roughly 500km passed imperceptibly as conversation ebbed between the federal election being held at the time, the 360-degree panoramic Australiana view and myriad other interesting topics to blather on about.

We spent hours in the ‘Cruiser but were ready for action when we got to where we were heading… a worthy measure of any vehicle’s qualities to eat kilometres painlessly.

Fuel use hovered around the 14.5 litres per 100km mark, giving us a safe 700km range between fills (we carried a 20-litre jerrycan of diesel just in case).

Incidentally, fuel on the trip was priced from $1.67 a litre at home on the NSW coast to $2.89 a litre at King’s Canyon.

We adopted a two-hours-on, two-hours-off driving protocol to limit fatigue and it works a treat, with the preference being for the passenger’s seat…

Our only two gripes with the ‘Cruiser are the super annoying adaptive cruise control with corner speed correction that takes a bite out of your set speed at the slightest divergence from straight. After momentarily slowing, the engine needs to accelerate again to the set speed which can’t be optimal for fuel efficiency and is ridiculous as well as annoying.

The other gripe is the default-on intrusive lane keeping assist that is a requirement for a five-star ANCAP rating and bad for towing.

The ‘Cruiser could do with a cooled glovebox and louder horn to ward off the millions of feral goats plaguing parts of the outback.

The cloth upholstery in the GX is sensible and comfy, the rubber floor mats are a necessity outback, the smooth relaxed and quiet drive is welcome on such a trip as is the supple ride and well weighted hydraulic steering not forgetting the space the vehicle provides which is positively expansive.

Now, for our next trip… how far away is the Tele Track again?