2016 Toyota Land Cruiser Takes On the Gold Mine Hill in the Snow and Highway MPG [Video]

2016 toyota land cruiser snow
2016 Toyota Land Cruiser

This TFLtruck episode is packed full of action and information. This is when we find out how the refreshed 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser does going up the challenging Gold Mine Hill in the snow. We also run a 100-mile highway loop in this truck to get a real-world MPG number.

The 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser received an exterior and interior refresh. The head lights, tail lights, and front and rear facia are new. The center console and dash have also been updated with a new look and button placement.

The SUV uses the same 5.7L V8 as the previous model, but it is now mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission in place of the old 6-speed).

High MPG Test:

Our standard highway MPG loop is a stretch of I-76 north-east of Hudson, Colorado. We fill up all vehicles using the “double-click” method… filling it up using the nozzle’s automatic shut off, waiting 30 seconds, and then topping off again. This allows the fuel to settle and get a more accurate MPG calculation. We perform the same procedure at the same pump after the highway loop to get the gallons of fuel used.

2016 Toyota Land Cruiser  2016 Nissan Titan XD
Model 4×4 Crew Cab PRO-4X 4×4
Engine 5.7-liter V8 gasoline 5.0-liter V8 turbo diesel
Transmission 8-speed Auto 6-speed Auto
Power (hp / lb-ft) 381 / 401 310/ 555
Axle Ratio  3.31 3.92
EPA mpg 13/18/15 N/A
Curb lbs 5,850 lbs 7,320 lbs
Observed MPG 19.2 16.7

Gold Mine Hill Test:

We are fortunate to have our offices situated at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. This is an area of endless off-road trails, including Gold Mine Hill, which is a steep section of trail with a sharp 90-degree turn near the top. This is where an old gold mine used to be located. We use this hill to evaluate AWD crossovers at TFLcar.com and test 4×4 trucks for TFLtruck.com. The difficulty level goes up significantly in the winter when the trail is coated in ice and packed with snow.

Did the 2016 Land Cruiser make it to the top of the hill? Watch the episode here.