by Gabrielle DeSantis

From the factory, the Toyota Land Cruiser is not bulletproof. However, there are plenty of places out there that will help create a bulletproof Land Cruiser. What exactly does making an SUV bulletproof require, and is there a high price on this process?

Is the Toyota Land Cruiser a good car?

Toyota calls the Land Cruiser a “timeless icon.” That it is. The 2021 Land Cruiser starts at $85,565 and only goes up from there. It gets an EPA-estimated 13 miles per gallon in the city and 17 on the highway. It has room for eight.

The Heritage Edition starts at $87,995 and gets the same mileage per gallon. The Heritage Edition has five seats but has the availability for eight.

Both editions offer Toyota Safety Sense Pre-Collision System, vehicle stability control, 10 airbags, and three-point seatbelts for all positions. A 5.7-Liter DOHC 32-Valve V8 engine with Dual Independent Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i) gets 381 horsepower.

How much does an armored Toyota Land Cruiser cost?

AMAZINGLY cool sighting just now. Base-spec Land Cruiser (steel wheels!) on Mexican diplomat plates with bulletproof windows. I’m obsessed!!! pic.twitter.com/iV7eotDxam

— Doug DeMuro (@DougDeMuro) October 12, 2020

RELATED: Toyota Didn’t Make the List of Best SUVs, But it is Still Reliable

Most people do not need an armored Toyota Land Cruiser. Frequently, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), security organizations, or random very important, Very Important People will use one.

Mahindra is one brand that offers such an option. The work done by Mahindra is “tested and certified to BSI PAS 300, VSAG VS6, VPAM BRV 2009 and ERV 2010 standards against ballistic and blast threats, and driveability tested in accordance with BSI PAS 301 for an armored vehicle when operating at its in-service operational mass and achieved good results.”

This defines the various types of ballistic impacts, such as shotgun, rifle, or handgun blasts. It tested for resistance from the side, roof and included projectile fragments.

With that said, there is no pricing available. Since the Land Cruiser costs almost $90,000 to start, it is presumably an expensive process. Carat Duchatelet, a company that produces bespoke high-security vehicles, offered a glimpse at a price.

The company noted to Army Recognition back in 2019 that a sedan costs anywhere from 100,000 to 1,2 million euros. That’s about $122,155 to $1,466,448.00 million. Vincent Lambert, CEO of Carat Duchatelet, said, “An exceptional car takes from 6 months to 1 year.”

What is the process of armoring a vehicle?

RELATED: 5 Reasons the Toyota Camry Is Better Than the Subaru Legacy and Honda Accord

What does the process of making an armored vehicle entail? Mahindra lists a few specifics. The SUV is fitted for radio and has multi-layered ballistic glass. The engine, battery, fuel tank, and ECU are protected from tampering.

All four are fit with a run-flat system. You can include a siren, intercom, and public address system. Plus, upgraded brakes and heavy-duty suspension. All of this can add thousands of pounds to the vehicle, so upgraded brakes and suspension are imperative.

And then there are some additional options, should you need such upgrades. Some might add a secondary electric system or a battery isolation system. The company of your choice can also include a blackout or stealth mode and a fire suppression system.

The options are pretty limitless when it comes to outfitting your SUV, with an unlimited budget, of course.

The post Is the Toyota Land Cruiser Bulletproof? appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

We tend to think of discontinued cars as ones that no one wanted. While that is typically true, there are some instances where a cool car gets the ax because it just didn’t sell enough to make the effort and production time worth it. These discontinued Chevrolet sedans might teach us something about the future of the segment.

The Alfa Romeo 4C and Ford Focus RS are great examples of very cool performance cars that buyers love. The problem was they were too aggressive and not fancy enough to warrant the cost for many people. However, these discontinued Chevrolet models are a bit more pedestrian and simply didn’t sell enough bulk to keep alive. 

There is a pile of discontinued Chevrolet cars 

Chevrolet has discontinued six vehicles recently. And, while they aren’t the most performance-oriented models, some of these are fairly prolific models. Five of the six discontinued models are sedans. While the SUV/ crossover market has dominated, the sedan has really taken a back seat in customers’ hearts. 

Sedans were once the more civilized choice over the rugged, loud, and inefficient SUVs. Over the past decade or so, the SUV/cross has changed so much that many of them are just as, if not more, comfortable, fuel-efficient, and overall more useful. This has put the sedan in real dire straits, hence the five models getting chopped. 

The Chevy Sonic

RELATED: The Chevy Sonic Won’t Be the Last Car GM Has to Kill Soon

The 2020 Chevy Sonic is a very basic economy-grade compact sedan that really doubled down on the basic part. The 2020 model has a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. 

The standard and only engine option makes 138 hp going to the front wheels only. Like the lack of engine, options establish a theme across the rest of the car of very few options. Seeing as the Sonic isn’t meant to be a thrilling ride, its 34 mpg on the highway is its only real positive attribute. It’s not overly surprising that the Chevy Sonic sold poorly enough to get the can. 

The Chevy Impala 

Unlike the Sonic, the Chevy Impala name has been around for many decades and sold millions of units. Seeing the Impala get the ax is probably a better indication of the sedan struggle than any other on this list. 

The Impala is a midsize sedan powered by a surprisingly beefy 305-hp V6 paired with a six-speed automatic. That big V6 doesn’t really do much other than suck up more gas than is necessary. The Impala only gets 22 mpg with no performance or utility to show for it.

 Unfortunately, the overall package is little more than a styleless, inefficient, and relatively expensive sedan that fell from grace many, many years ago. 

The Chevy Cruze

RELATED: Why the Cruze Is the Worst Chevy Vehicle to Buy

The discontinued Chevy Cruze was killed in 2019 and fell in a similar category as the Sonic. In fairness, the Cruze gets a bit more pep from its 153-hp turbo four paired with a six-speed manual transmission as standard. Car and Driver reviewed the Cruze in 2019 and heavily criticized the manual transmission, handling, and diesel engine option. 

The Cruze didn’t seem to be a bad car per se, but like many of the others on this list, it just wasn’t enough of anything to drive sales enough to stay above water. 

The Chevy SS

Let’s call a spade a spade; the now-discontinued Chevy SS muscle sedan is ugly. Dodge has proven many times over that if you slap a massive V8 in something and make it look sporty in some way, people will buy it. The Chevy SS has a 6.2-liter V8 making a massive 415 hp. The problem is, nothing about it looks cool. 

The death of the Chevy SS is the perfect example of poor decision-making on Chevy’s part. Instead of building a performance-focused muscle car, Chevy built a gas-guzzling grandma car that was always doomed to fail. 

The Chevy Volt

The decision to discontinue the Chevy Volt is the only one of these discontinued Chevys that feels a little more surprising. As the EV market continues to pick up steam, many people are interested but can’t swing the cost. The plug-in hybrids have been a big hit as a cheaper alternative.  

The Chevy Volt was also a good example of the segment. It has a 53-mile range of pure electric power which really sends its efficiency into the stratosphere. The Volt is also well equipped. The now-discontinued Volt has Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, two USB ports, and a mobile hotspot, proximity entry with push-button start, and single-zone automatic climate control, all as standard features. 

The post Do These 5 Discontinued Chevrolets Proove the Sedan is Dying? appeared first on MotorBiscuit.