The Toyota LandCruiser LC79 is a ute, but a very different kind of ute to the ones setting the sales charts on fire.

MOST UTES on today’s market are independent-front end, leaf rear and follow much the same design criteria. That’s Hilux, Ranger, D-MAX, Triton and the rest, which we’ll call “mainstream utes”.

There are a few standouts though, such as the heavy-duty RAM Laramie (full offroad and tow test here), Mercedes G-Class and of course Toyota’s LC79.

Read on to find out why the LC79 is different to the “normal utes”: