There are actually four body-styles of Toyota Land Cruiser, the convertible, hardtop, station wagon, and cab chassis. However, in Mount Bromo, you will mostly find the hardtop one. In this article, we are going to discuss everything you need to know about the hardtop Land Cruiser from its upsides to its downsides.

THE UPSIDES OF TOYOTA LAND CRUISER

1. High power and torque

This Toyota Hardtop is an SUV type of car originally produced in 1960 to 1985 in Indonesia. There are two choices of engine available, the gasoline and diesel powered engine. This SUV-type car has a big engine capacity starting from 3000 cc to 4200 cc. This is what makes the hardtop able to produce high power and torque, making this car powerful enough for difficult terrain.

2. High ground clearance with extra grip tire

This car has the power to conquer steep climbs around the mountain. The high ground clearance makes it possible to pass through the damaged road or track easily. The 4-wheel drive combined with the MT-typed car gives this car an extra grip on the steep and slippery track. One of the reasons why Toyota Hardtop is commonly found in an area like Mount Bromo.

3. Great for the uphill ride

People around Mount Bromo use this auto & car to drive uphill up to 2000 masl to 3000 from around 400 masl height. This car is also great to drive through the huge savannah and sand field around Mount Bromo. This Toyota Land Cruiser is common transportation to take tourists coming to Bromo due to its high power. Damaged uphill road with huge rocks or mud during rainy seasons will not stop this land cruiser from passing through.

4. Capable of carrying heavy loads

This Toyota Land Cruiser is built with a strong body. It can carry up to 6 people along with their luggage. However, even adding 6 more people will not be a problem for this car. You can still go through the steep roads easily.

Those are some of the upsides you can get with a Toyota Land Cruiser. While it is an old type of car, its power is worth to be considered. However, if you thought about buying this auto & car, you might want to check out the downsides of this car too.

THE DOWNSIDES OF TOYOTA LAND CRUISER

 a. Spare parts are difficult to get

As you know already, the hardtop is quite an old car, which means that its spare parts are also hard to come by because it has not been produced for a long time. However, it is not impossible to get a spare part you need. You will have to join the Toyota Hardtop lovers club because they usually have a network between cities to foreign countries. If you want something more challenging, maybe you can modify a spare part for your hardtop just like what the people around Mount Bromo usually do.

b. It uses a lot of fuel

Toyota Hardtop needs a lot of fuel to operate due to its high capacity of the engine and 6 cylinders. It needs approximately 1 liter of fuel for just 5-7 km drive in public streets. So, it might be not a wise decision to drive this car daily, but it’s great for once in a while adventure.

c. Classic brake technology that doesn’t run well

This car still uses classic brake technology, so it comes with no surprise that for some people that is not used to this car, the car’s brake is difficult to handle. Some review says that the brake has less grip than the usual modern car. It also sometimes locks itself if you suddenly hit the brake hard. With this problem, you might want to change the brake system into a modern one to make sure it is safe enough for you to drive.

d. Hard suspension

The Toyota Hardtop has a quite hard suspension which makes it uncomfortable to drive through public roads or light off-road. However, this hard suspension is needed for damaged uphill roads or car with heavy loads in difficult terrain. But if you want to use this can in public road, you can adjust the suspension system with a softer shockbreaker.

e. Clutch lining easily runs out

Another downside from this car is that the clutch lining easily runs out. This problem often occurs in a car with huge power. The huge power is channeled to the wheels using this clutch lining as an intermediary. As a result, it burns out faster than other types of vehicles.

Although it is considered as an old car, Toyota land Cruiser or commonly referred to as a Hardtop is a collector’s favorite. Collectors are often visited Hardtop owners in Mount Bromo proposing to buy their car. In general, the second-hand hardtop in a poor condition and without a license can cost around IDR 60 million. But with a standard condition such as having no problems in its engine, good condition of paints and valid license can cost around IDR 100 to 150 million.

A hardtop in a good condition, good engine, good paint, original interior and exterior with a good condition cost a lot more expensive. It is usually cost around IDR 150 million up to IDR 250 million. For a car produced in the ’60s to ’80s, this is, of course, a really expensive price.

This car has become part of people’s life in Mount Bromo, especially for those whose business is renting their car for the tourists. So, it is unlikely for them to sell this car despite the high price offered.