Toyota UK reveals new Land Cruiser Commercial

Hot on the heels of the new Hybrid, Toyota Professional unveils its flagship, Burnaston-converted model

By PH Staff / Tuesday, 24 June 2025 / Loading comments

Had your fill of Toyota Land Cruiser news? No, us neither. No sooner do we have confirmation of the model’s impending transition to mild-hybrid status than Toyota UK drops a new model bombshell: behold the all-new Land Cruiser Commercial. If the thought of burly SUVs with the back seats ripped out leaves you cold, then stop reading now - nothing for you to see here. But if, like us, you’re partial to the idea of a Land Cruiser with up to 2,000 litres of hard-wearing loadspace, then welcome to the pinnacle of the Toyota Professional range.

Of course, the manufacturer has been here before. There was a commercial version of the previous Land Cruiser and it was perfectly pleasant. But clearly the latest model, which is enjoying the sort of customer demand traditionally reserved for GR variants, offers Toyota the chance to park its tanks on Land Rover’s lawn. An entry-level Defender 110 Hard Top is priced from £63,445. The new Land Cruiser Commercial, with the familiar 2.8-litre motor and eight-speed auto, is from £52,729.

Granted, the 3.0-litre oil burner in the D250 is light-years ahead of Toyota’s four-pot, but that saving is surely significant enough to give anyone pause for thought. Especially when the Land Cruiser’s reputation for bulletproof reliability and all-terrain talent gels so convincingly with the concept of a light commercial vehicle. Don’t want (or need) the full gambit of Hilux pickup capabilities - but want something more car-like that can also tow 3.5 tonnes and look right at home in a quarry? Job jobbed.

Moreover, Toyota is promising a higher level of standard kit than in the Commercial’s predecessor, including 18-inch alloy wheels, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats and steering wheel, a power back door with opening window hatch and even dual-zone air con. You also get the 9-inch touchscreen and all the latest safety and driving assistance systems, if only so you can spend 30 seconds switching them all off. But Crawl Control and Downhill Assist Control are likely to come in handy if you are planning on making good use of the Land Cruiser’s permanent all-wheel-drive system.

The crucial bit, obviously, occurs behind the driver’s seat. The Commercial’s transition to tradesman’s best friend requires the removal of the rear bench - replaced with an edge-to-edge floor tray - and the fitment of steel panel inserts in place of the windows. You also get a full-height metal bulkhead to allow you to fill the Land Cruiser with a small mountain of crap. Or useful items. Or whatever you can fit in a loadspace that’s 1,090mm high, 1,685mm long and a maximum of 1,286mm wide.

Interestingly, the conversion process itself actually occurs at Toyota’s manufacturing facility at Burnaston - so you’ll have the added satisfaction of giving a UK workforce something to do. The bumf suggests that at a later date the powertrain will be ‘upgraded’ to incorporate the 48V hybrid system, but actually what it means is that at some point (i.e. when they’ve run out of existing Land Cruisers) they will switch to converting the newer version. If you’d rather not wait that long, the Commercial will go on sale from August 1st. First deliveries will kick off the following month - which suggests that TMUK is beavering away as we speak…