57: Toyota Land Cruiser – our Armageddon car and now it’s affordable

Top cars for 2020: new ‘Business edition’ should be a return to the glory days and granite-like build quality keeps buyers happy

This car is a permanent fixture in our Lotto garage: the best Toyota ever built. If trouble descends on your door - from war to apocalyptic weather, then you will want a Cruiser to get you out of trouble.

The best news we can offer you regarding the big bruiser Cruiser is that this year it became a hell of a lot cheaper.

The Land Cruiser ‘Business Edition’ is sort of a return to the glory days of the N1 commercial 4x4, where a loophole in the tax system allowed you to register a luxurious five-seat SUV as a van, thus benefitting from a much lower rate of registration tax.

That loophole has been closed off, but Toyota has found sufficient savings in the Land Cruiser’s price tag that the Business Edition looks like a proper bargain compared to the vastly more expensive ‘passenger’ spec Land Cruiser. It’s that rare beast, these days - a Toyota that’s not only not a hybrid, but which actually uses diesel power.

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Comfort and space are high on the agenda, as is a granite-like build quality. Interior appointments and ride comfort are not up to snuff compared with premium brand rivals, but they don’t have the ‘Cruiser’s legendary reliability, nor its ability when the terrain becomes genuinely tough. Other SUVs are mere pretenders - this is the real deal.

Best model: Land Cruiser LWB Business Auto for €71,110

Price range: €71,110 Finance from POA per month.

Co2 emissions: 197 to 206g/km

Sum up: Swiss army car - and we love it

* A note on Co2 figures: For almost all the cars in the Top 100, we've quoted the stricter WLTP figures for Co2 emissions. A few are still quoted on their older NEDC2 figure, and that's the number they'll be taxed on. If you're confused at all, just consult your local dealer for specific data for the make and model in which you're interested