For thousands of years camels have been known as the “ship of the desert” because they are the primary means of transportation in desert environments and uniquely adapted to withstand its harsh conditions, such as the lack of water, extreme heat, and sandy terrain.
It’s apt then that Toyota call their top spec LandCruiser 300 the ‘Sahara’ as it too has been adapted for harsh environments. This is particular LC300 is the highest dune available the in 2024 Toyota LandCruiser 300 range, the Sahara ZX. On the outside this LandCruiser is differentiated by 20” luxury alloys, unique rear mudguards, a unique front and rear lower bumper design and wheel arch mouldings with a premium grille.
All LandCruiser 300s are powered by a 3.3 litre, twin-turbo V6 diesel engine, which has a maximum power output of 227kW and 700Nm of torque, which is adequate for this vehicle and it sounds good under hard acceleration. All that power is transferred to the wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission and in the Sahara ZX, a rear torque-sensing limited-slip differential means power is smooth and constant. This 4WD has a braked towing capacity of 3,500kg for towing a caravan on your cross-continent adventures.
The on-road drive modes include Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport, Sport+, and Custom and under the Custom mode you can adjust powertrain, chassis, and climate control settings. The multi-terrain select with automatic mode is tuned for Australian conditions, using advanced algorithms to adjust brake hydraulic pressure, driving force, and an Adaptive Variable Suspension system. The LC300 also has Rock Crawl and a centre dif lock with the option of H4 and L4 four-wheel driving. The official combined fuel consumption is 8.9L/100km and for my week driving in Normal mode and H4, I used 14.0L/100km.
On the interior the Sahara ZX features specialty ornamentation and extra touches of luxury and convenience and in this LC300 beige carpet and leather accented upholstery. Both front seats have power adjustment for recline, forward/back, and seat height/tilt front and rear, and driver’s seat also has two-way lumbar support and three memory positions. The front seats are also heated and cooled and both functions work well, but more importantly the cooled seat operation is quieter than most. The steering wheel is also heated and you get powered steering column adjustment as well.
The dual zone air conditioner cools the cabin well of hot days and you will appreciate the central cool box that can be opened from either side or from the back also. My thermometer got down to 4.5 degrees Celsius in the cool box and it fits either two 1.25 litre bottles of soft drink or two full size wine bottles, great for relaxing at the end of a long drive. The drink bottle storage cubbies in the front doors are only suitable for 600mL bottles, but larger drink bottles do fit in the cup holders in the centre console and the driver’s side cup holder has a removable base for taller bottles to fit in better.
I like that the LC300 has big easy to see buttons for the climate controls and infotainment screen, which has the option to be a split screen with the climate controls available on here also. Voice control is activated by pressing the button on the steering wheel with the masculine looking silhouette on it. Its functionality worked well for me for changing the radio station and making phone call and took a couple of times to get the destination right on the sat nav.
The 12.3″ colour touchscreen display can project your smartphone via wired Apple CarPlay or Android Auto with audio enjoyed through a 14-speaker JBL premium audio system. The media sources available include AM/FM radio, DAB+, DVD/CD player, USB, Bluetooth, Miracast and smartphone and you can select the media source for the rear screens from the front also. At the front of the centre console is a wireless phone charger that may not fit larger mobile phones and under the flip down cover there is one USB-C, one 12V socket and one USB-A port, which is used for the wired Android Auto.
For 2025 onwards LandCruiser 300 models will be equipped with Toyota Connected Services, with 1-year complimentary access, providing you with convenient remote features, connected navigation, connected voice command as well as safety and security features that keep you in touch with help when you need it. After one-year full access currently costs $12.50 per month.
The LandCruiser 300 is available as a five or seven seat SUV, but the Sahara ZX is only available as a five-seat option and this is definitely the way to go. The rear seats have enough head and leg room and width to fit three adults or three car seats, with two ISOFIX/three rear tether child seat restraint points available. The rear seats are also heated and cooled and the cooled seats worked quickly and quietly on the rear seats as well. I really like the single mat over the entire rear floor for easy cleaning and protecting the carpet, which takes on even greater significance in a vehicle that has light coloured carpet, and can I ask who would have light coloured carpet in a LandCruiser?
The rear climate control has individual temperature selection, while the fan speed and mode are joint controlled and all of these functions can be adjusted from the front also. There are two central air vents with individual direction and on/off controls and roof vents that can be moved or closed off if not required. For hydration the drink holders in the rear doors only fit slim drink bottles as do the cup holders in the fold down centre arm rest.
Rear seat passenger also get dual rear seat entertainment screens (headphones not included) with the media sources being AM/FM radio, DAB+, DVD with the player located in the front of the vehicle, Bluetooth, rear HDMI, rear Miracast, and rear DLNA, which should link to a smartphone, but I could not work how to get it connected. There are two USB-C ports below the central air vents, one 12V socket and a HDMI port. The ports for headphones also have a very small and fiddly volume control knob, thankfully occupants can also adjust the volume control on the screen.
This LC300 does not have a gesture open tailgate, but it does have a powered tailgate with open/close from the tailgate, key fob and cabin. The boot space is large and it’s even a stretch for me to reach all the way into it, but there is no cargo cover for privacy or safety. The boot space has four substantial tie down points, one light and one 220V 100W power plug, with a full-size spare tyre located under the rear of the vehicle. For even more room the rear seats can be folded up and secured out of the way, which would be great for camping.
All LC300 models (except the GR Sport) have a 5-star ANCAP (2022) safety rating with an Adult Occupant Protection score of 89% and a Child Occupant Protection score of 88%. Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting airbags, and driver and passenger knee airbags are standard.
The Toyota LandCruiser is fitted with an autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system and a lane support system (LSS) with lane keep assist (which is quite aggressive), lane departure warning and emergency lane keeping (ELK) functionality as standard equipment. A blind spot monitoring system is available on the Sahara ZX. ANCAP tests of the AEB (Car-to-Car) system showed ADEQUATE and GOOD performance with collisions avoided or mitigated in most test scenarios, and MARGINAL performance in the AEB Junction Assist, where the test vehicle can autonomously brake to avoid crashes when turning across the path of an oncoming vehicle. Overall, effectiveness of the AEB (Car-to-Car) system performance was rated as ADEQUATE. ANCAP tests of LSS functionality showed GOOD performance in lane keep assist scenarios, and ADEQUATE performance in the more critical ELK scenarios, with the overall performance classified as ADEQUATE. The overall ANCAP Safety Assist score is 77%. For convenience you get auto lights with auto high beam and auto wipers and the Sahara ZX has standard rear-view camera and a 360-degree view camera with front and rear parking sensors.
All new Toyota vehicles come with a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty and this can be extended for up to seven years with unlimited kilometres on Engine and Driveline if your vehicle is properly serviced and maintained as per the vehicle’s Warranty and Service book. The service interval for the LC300 is six months or 10,000kms, whichever occurs first and under the Toyota Service Advantage program the price for each service up to 60 months or 100,000km is $400 each.
If you need to cross a desert, then why not do it in style driving the LandCruiser 300 Sahara ZX. Prices start at $145,791 excluding on-road costs for the 2024 LC300 Sahara ZX and that’s also the price as tested for this vehicle. You can Build & Price your LandCruiser 300 online or visit you preferred Toyota dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| Front and rear cooled seats work well | The beige interior |
| The cool box fits two full-size bottles of wine | Couldn’t get the rear DNLA to work |
| Single carpet mat across the rear floor | No cargo cover |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.