Vehicle Tests > 2007 4WD of the Year

With CC not engaged the VX runs away down the hill and the vision from the driver's seat is only okay despite the fact that the VX has a height-adjustable driver's seat. Around the set-piece loop, the VX is again unfussed although it does touch down its front bumper and its mudflaps on the sharper edged obstacles.

Trail Drive
The VX continues the impressive performance it displayed on the set-piece offroad sections by providing almost limousine-like performance on the trails. Superbly comfortable, extremely quiet (even more so than the Range Rover) and brimming over with ability, the VX is always a welcoming and relaxing place to be when it comes around in the driver rotation schedule.

There are however a few complaints. Given the 200's general refinement we are surprised by the noise from the new electrically switched transfer case when driving in low range. At times this gets so annoying that we switch to high-range even in terrain that suggests that low-range would be the more judicious choice. Thankfully the VX is capable enough in high range to cope on tracks that would demand low-range in many other vehicles. On the trail sections, the petrol V8's fuel consumption nudges 30 litres/100km.

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Touring
In translation from trail to road the VX loses nothing, save some of its thirst for 91 octane. It remains quiet, comfortable, refined and effortless. Such is the general refinement that it could wear a Lexus badge and still stand up to the harshest critic.

We're not so impressed however by the dynamic precision shown on tight roads. The 200 Cruiser doesn't like to be hurried when the road bends and twists and, if you try, it responds with plenty of tyre scrub, especially from the front, and body roll that suggests that the KDSS system does its best work offroad rather than on. Still, without a non-KDSS vehicle to compare it to (our test GXL turbo diesel has KDSS fitted as an option) we don't really know to what extent KDSS helps onroad.

Sand
Proving that the 200 really is an 'all-terrain' vehicle it also makes light work of sand driving. Some of our testers not so used to driving heavy, powerful automatics on the beach were put off by the way the auto constantly swaps the cogs, and the continual locking and unlocking of the torque converter, but that's standard fare with this type of vehicle on the sand.

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