Another 200 came up on Autotrader that looked good so we went to see it straight away and decided to buy there and then because of its great condition. Apart from age related scratches it was very unmolested apart from different coloured wheels which we think are Prado items. Everything thing worked as it should and a check with Toyota revealed that in 10 years there was a problems only with the air con and radio. The only MOT advisory was for a rusty chassis. After a good look underneath there was little caked on mud and a previous undersealing job that is failing. A towbar as been recently added which apparently cost £1500. All these things added together leads us to believe that in 73000 miles it was used mainly as a Chelsea tractor. The main thing we have added is an Ultragauge which takes readings from the OBD port below the steering column. We monitor what the gearbox is doing especially when towing our 2 tonne caravan. On a recent holiday we were getting about 16 MPG which we hope to improve with a torque convertor lock up controller. There are 2 lock up controllers that are most popular and we favour the Stocklock which has to be bought from Australia. An added switch on the dash gives manual control if needed that is especially useful descending hills giving better engine braking. The lock controllers address the main complaint that lock up doesn't happen for long enough in 6th gear. Any sniff of a hill above 70 MPH and the torque converter unlocks when the engine torque is very much capable of coping. Most of what we learn is from the 200 Facebook group that is great for advice. They are mainly Australians that modify their 200s for off road use and towing of heavy off road caravans. All interior lights are now LED which gives a better white light and gets away from lamps that get too hot to touch. Originally we were thinking that we would have to make changes to the suspension to improve handling on road and for towing but the level and suspension controls sort all of that out. For a 3 tonne 4x4 vehicle it handles very well compared to the Range Rovers and Land Rovers I have driven in the past. Handling when towing is much better with the boot loaded and we will move a bit more weight to the front of the caravan so it's above the present 75kg and allowed with the higher tow bar weight. We have many plans like LED exterior lights upgrade, extending towing mirrors, catch can, modern head unit, extended fuel tank, undersealing and TPMS but it all can wait until we win the lottery. So it is confirmed the Toyota 200 series Land Cruiser does exactly what we wanted and tows the caravan with ease and sits at 60 MPH all day on any hill towing. Certainly it's a big improvement on the Hyundai Santa Fe which struggled at times especially on steeper European roads. One unexpected thing was that the local Toyota won't service it unless they sold it so we have a longer drive to a better dealer that has better access. This was after the local dealer had said they were happy to deal with a vehicle imported from New Zealand. One striking thing was when we were on holiday was the increased number of twin axle caravans being towed by vehicles which probably are not 15% heavier that the caravans they tow especially if the caravans are up plated to carry more. I think there are going to be changes in the UK where more weighing is done to test whether vehicles are legal. We have a public weigh station close by so we can keep an on the train weight. With extra passengers and gear in the boot, I wouldn't be surprised if we had another 150 kg in the car but there is only manufacturer's recommendations for this and not tested unless the police pull you over to get weighed. We have a few questions: 1. Do any British 200s have the extended fuel tank that we believe are fitted standard to Australian models?
2. Was KDSS an option in the UK?
3. Are there any manual diesel UK cars?
4. Do towbars bolt to the cross members only and not to the chassis legs as well?
2. Was KDSS an option in the UK?
3. Are there any manual diesel UK cars?
4. Do towbars bolt to the cross members only and not to the chassis legs as well?