spressomon
Expedition Leader
I've heard this thrown around and certainly quite palpable IMO based on the experiences of many LC owners: Toyota designed the Land Cruiser around a 300K mile goal/design center for the Land Cruiser.
100 Series TLC
- Thread starter stevenmd
- Start date
spressomon
Expedition Leader
Fergie
Expedition Leader
Agreed
RHINO
Expedition Leader
LandCruiserPhil
Expedition Leader
x100000000000000000000000000000000000
Brian894x4
Explorer
It's funny because after years of being cramped inside my mini-truck, the 80 felt like a super carrier the first few days I drove it. Now it's starting to feel cramped. Not so much cramped for what I use it for, generally just carrying around myself and the wife, but I couldn't imagine trying to stuff more than 2 people plus gear in one.
I have relatives that have a Sequoia and it is a very comfortable rig. We've driven with it full of people, plus dogs, but no gear. Just around town. At least the 3rd row seat in the Sequoia was actually usable and somewhat OK to ride in.
I steered a friend of mine into buying an '01 100 series for the wife and kids and it was a beautiful rig. But they ended up selling it and getting a "GAG" Tahoe, because they wanted more room for the 2 adults and 3 young kids.
I'm not sure what I would do in your situation. Maybe keep all the gear out of the Land Cruiser and tow everything or store it on the roof. The later 100s have the most powerful engine and 5 speed auto tranny. I think '05 and later. That'd be the one to get. The '05 and later Sequoia like my relatives have also get the same drive train, 5 speed auto and higher hp V-8, but is a lot cheaper overall.
Not sure I'd trust a Sequoia on anything but the lightest trails, however. But I could be wrong. It's not so much that I worry about the Sequioa quality as much as the Sequoia strikes me as being built to do well at exact what it was designed for, whereas the Land Cruisers are so incredibly overbuilt you can load them down well beyond GVW and then still go hardcore wheeling with few worries.
I have relatives that have a Sequoia and it is a very comfortable rig. We've driven with it full of people, plus dogs, but no gear. Just around town. At least the 3rd row seat in the Sequoia was actually usable and somewhat OK to ride in.
I steered a friend of mine into buying an '01 100 series for the wife and kids and it was a beautiful rig. But they ended up selling it and getting a "GAG" Tahoe, because they wanted more room for the 2 adults and 3 young kids.
I'm not sure what I would do in your situation. Maybe keep all the gear out of the Land Cruiser and tow everything or store it on the roof. The later 100s have the most powerful engine and 5 speed auto tranny. I think '05 and later. That'd be the one to get. The '05 and later Sequoia like my relatives have also get the same drive train, 5 speed auto and higher hp V-8, but is a lot cheaper overall.
Not sure I'd trust a Sequoia on anything but the lightest trails, however. But I could be wrong. It's not so much that I worry about the Sequioa quality as much as the Sequoia strikes me as being built to do well at exact what it was designed for, whereas the Land Cruisers are so incredibly overbuilt you can load them down well beyond GVW and then still go hardcore wheeling with few worries.
Last edited:
pint
Adventurer
There are no 100's (in the U.S. at least, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the world as well)) with both factory lockers and traction control. First year for traction control was 2000. Last year for rear locker was 1999.
IMHO, the 100 has all the luxury to appease the better half, has good driving dynamics on-road (for a 5000+ pound truck with a live rear axle), and is still very capable off-road. Best year (no, I don't have any bias, heh) is 2004. You get the 5-speed, updated interior, plus the side and curtain airbags option, Bluetooth, DVD, and it is the first year of the rear-view camera (great if you have small children). It also appears to be the last year it was assembled at Araco by the old guard craftsmen there (if that means anything to you; it does to me). The later VVTi engine is nice, but I wouldn't touch the active suspension with a 10 foot pole.
My $0.02,
spikemd
Explorer
I am in a similar boat, minus the two extra kids. I have two under two years old and one more on the way. I currently have an '03 4Runner V8 which I love, but three car seats across the back is tough. It gets tight with kids, gear and a dog. I have been looking at the 100s and Sequoias for awhile. I drove a Sequoia and was not impressed with the ride. It was stiff, rattled, seemed BIG and I was not impressed with the interior. It is actually bigger than a Tahoe. Not sure I want to go that big and am hoping the 100 will be sufficient.
My wife will be driving the larger vehicle and then I would inherit the 4Runner. I would then outfit the 4Runner for excursions/trails. It would be tough not to modify the 100 though! But my wife is vertically challenged and a lift is out of the question for her daily driver.
I am also considering keeping the 4Runner and then getting an 04' Disco for myself. Yes, I am worried about reliability, but I am very mechanically inclined. I do most all the work on my cars/trucks and did the timing belt on the 4Runner. The issue then, is that I would have two mid-sized SUVs.
Near me, I found an 04 Disco with 35K miles for $12000 and a '99 100 with 120K miles for $12.5K. LR3 is too pricey for me right now. I need something under $15K.
The 100 is a nice size, but overly spacious if you fill it with 7 people. No room for gear. The Sequoia still has a decent cargo with the rear seat in place.
decisions... decisions...
My wife will be driving the larger vehicle and then I would inherit the 4Runner. I would then outfit the 4Runner for excursions/trails. It would be tough not to modify the 100 though! But my wife is vertically challenged and a lift is out of the question for her daily driver.
I am also considering keeping the 4Runner and then getting an 04' Disco for myself. Yes, I am worried about reliability, but I am very mechanically inclined. I do most all the work on my cars/trucks and did the timing belt on the 4Runner. The issue then, is that I would have two mid-sized SUVs.
Near me, I found an 04 Disco with 35K miles for $12000 and a '99 100 with 120K miles for $12.5K. LR3 is too pricey for me right now. I need something under $15K.
The 100 is a nice size, but overly spacious if you fill it with 7 people. No room for gear. The Sequoia still has a decent cargo with the rear seat in place.
decisions... decisions...
2006 and 2007 were the only years with the VVTi engine and the Adaptive Variable Suspension (yuck).
For reasons stated in my last post, I actually don't prefer these model years. But that's just me! :beer:
The problems with a Disco are not mechanical. Well, at least they are not ALL mechanical...
trunk monkey
New member
To answer your original question, there's four kind of "generations" with 100's:
98-99
00-02
03-05
06-
Of those, I'd go '99 for the rear locker and rear AC (both not avail. on '98) or '03 for the ATRAC, updated dash, and other small refinements.
98-99
00-02
03-05
06-
Of those, I'd go '99 for the rear locker and rear AC (both not avail. on '98) or '03 for the ATRAC, updated dash, and other small refinements.
spikemd
Explorer
Slee has the best breakout of year differences for the 100.
http://www.sleeoffroad.com/newbie/newbieUZJ100.htm
Anchor points not available on the 98-00 100s. Kinda bums me out since I need the carseats... anyone know if they can be retrofitted?
http://www.sleeoffroad.com/newbie/newbieUZJ100.htm
Anchor points not available on the 98-00 100s. Kinda bums me out since I need the carseats... anyone know if they can be retrofitted?