Trying to understand land cruiser import situation

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

My PH in RSA has both the V8 turbo diesel 5spd and the 4cyl diesel auto trans. He swore that the little 4 banger was a horse. I think both of his had a performance tune on them as well. Personally, I prefer a manual for my 4x4's.

I would argue that the difference to me is in the Auto transmission. I probably wouldn't go with the 4 cylinder in a manual. I think it will completely lose its wow factor. That Auto box is the reason it comes out with 50 N.m more torque than the V8, out of the box, which was an issue. The V8 wants revs. I'm always in the correct gear going up the mountains, it has traction control, downhill assist plus the added torque. Probably the biggest factor is that the 4 cylinder comes in at 1763 Lbs lighter than the V8, which changes the drivability of the vehicle. Driving the V8, my body was finished after a day's hunting. Now, its like driving a Hilux. Absolute gamechanger.

 

[SaintPanzer]

I get that LandCruiser series can be confusing. You need to understand there are the "Luxury" Wagons which include the 100, 200 and now 300series.
Then there are the utility workhorses which are basically the 70 series which is very basic and did not have airbags in Australia until about 2010. Any vehicle in Australia of 2000 vintage would have a 4.2L straight 6 single turbo diesel, many believe (myself included) that it was the best engine ever in the Landcruiser 70 series.
The 4.5L V8 single turbo diesel engine was introduced in 2007, it just does not have the punch of the previous straight 6.
In 2024 Toyota introduced the 2.8L 4 cylinder diesel with an auto transmision (prior to this they all had 5 speed manual) , due to immissions issues with the V8.

Currnetly running a 2008 4.5L V8 single cab with tipping tray.

Yes, of course. And that is the point of the "good list". If it doesn't meet the safety standards required in 2006 (where airbags were required), then it cannot be imported. We can consider that issue again in 2031...

 

[Muskox]

The thing is the new land cruisers in the US are nothing more than a SUV period. If I want to stay with Toyota the closest to an Africa Land Cruiser is a Tocoma 2 door pick up

The ones on military bases are FJ's 79 or 80 series.

Here in Germany the Military Police have. hundreds of these: