The LandCruiser we wish they sold in Oz

Retro-styled Toyota LandCruisers aren’t anything new. No, really. Last year we saw the US-market Heritage Edition and there’s a thriving cottage industry in making your new LandCruiser 200 look as old as possible. But the latest Heritage Edition bestowed upon the United Arab Emirates is all kinds of cool and has us a little green-eyed.

The body striping is pure late-’80s, because you can never have too many shades of brown, and the orange indicators almost seem Toyota’s way of apologising for introducing ‘Lexus lights’ to the world.

There are actually two flavours of Heritage edition for the UAE. The 4.0-litre V6 gets 17-inch steel wheels and a five-speed manual transmission while the 4.6-litre V8 gets alloys, a six-speed automatic ’box and roof rails. Billed as ‘the original search engine’ by Toyota, this go-anywhere 200 series is fitted with cloth seats because leather in the scorching UAE would probably have you in the burns unit.

Ostensibly base LandCruiser 200s that the local importer has gussied up as a limited edition, 20 V6s are offered and 80 V8s, identified by a limited edition plaque in the cabin. Other trim highlights? The V6 gets rear barn doors with spare wheel and a wood-look gearknob, while the V8 sees a 10-inch nav screen with Bluetooth, ‘Heritage Edition’ embossed on the headrests, crawl control, an air compressor, fog lights and those orange indicators.

Both models are being offered in a range of colours with contrasting decal packs, including the ever popular white, silver and black. The perfect vehicle for extreme social isolation? This could well be it.

2