Toyota LAND CRUISER

The J7 arrived in November 1984, replacing the J4. Its purpose was plainly defined: work under the harshest conditions — reliable, durable and affordable. Only in 1999 did it gain front coil springs, in 2007 a more modern front — and in that form it is still built today, more than four decades after its debut.

Hence the reputation. The United Nations, the Red Cross and countless aid organisations deploy the 7 series where reliability outweighs everything; across millions of kilometres of dirt track the name "bush taxi" was earned.

The J8 took another path. It had coil springs all round, its body was computer-shaped for the first time, and depending on version it offered permanent four-wheel drive, ABS and airbags — features no Land Cruiser had carried before.

For a used purchase the distinction is therefore decisive: a J7 is a tool with leaf springs and simple engineering, a J8 a markedly more comfortable vehicle. Both are called Land Cruiser, both endure a great deal — but they were built for different jobs.