Some vehicles might fall out of fashion and favour as tastes wane but others manage to weather this storm and emerge as all-time classics. This is a fate we feel will eventually be bestowed upon the Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon, a trusty Japanese off-roader with a decent heritage that could give you a lot of bang for your buck. Particularly if you’re willing to be a little more liberal with the upgrades.
The Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon (also known as the 100 series) has traditionally been one of the slowest-depreciating 4×4 models on the market but the pricing has levelled off in recent years. Indeed, especially if you’re willing to go for a petrol model you’ll be getting an awful lot of bang for your buck.
If you’re willing to take a gamble on a 14 or 15-year old vehicle with over 100,000 miles on the clock, you could bag yourself a pretty reasonable gateway into off-roading.
Why is it so popular?
Aside from a few cosmetic upgrades in the 2006 model, the basic bones of the Amazon barely changed up until it was shelved for the 200 series in 2007. There’s a reason for this – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s a truly formidable monster that’s perfect for towing because of its hefty size and weight.
It’s a proper workhorse too. Indeed, as long as it’s been regularly serviced, the engine can take high mileages in its stride. It’s also built like a tank, so is ideal for ambitious first-time off-roaders who want to get stuck right in. The AHC suspension hasn’t aged particularly well, of course, and the transmission can get tired. It’s also far from immune to rust. But that’s what our after-market 4×4 upgrades are for.
The perfect fixer-upper
The first thing to get rid of is that tired AHC suspension. Converting to coil spring suspension with a damper is a popular upgrade path, as it complements the look and feel of the chassis and is a relatively easy job. For our money, it’s the Old Man Emu OME Suspension Lift Kit that offers the best performance upgrade for your money. This is a fully integrated 4×4 suspension system designed for superior performance and heavy use.
Speaking of the chassis, however, it’s a model that is notorious for developing rust, particularly underneath. It’s also, as we already mentioned, the ideal choice for somebody that’s after a machine ready to do some serious towing.
The wonder of Japanese engineering
There’s something about Japanese cars that it’s almost impossible to put your finger on and the Amazon is certainly a special case. The 4.2 litre engine and large size mean you’ll never mistake it for a subtle giant but if you’re willing to invest a little time and effort, you could end up with an incredibly unique 4×4 setup that will see you through hundreds of miles of off-road fun.
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