Moroccan Sahara with Toyota Land Cruiser TX

I rented a lifted, 2023 Land Cruiser Prado TX out of Marrakech for a week to recce and update the sandier desert routes between Foum Zguid and Erg Chebbi. I made the right decision: doing this area alone on the bike would be been too risky and tiring with the constant logging required. I couldn’t have covered the distances we did in the car.

The Toyota of course didn’t miss a beat. A TX is automatic but with a Sport (sequential) shift to keep it in one of the four gears; handy in tricky dunes and other technical sections.
About the size on an 80 series (ie: big), it returned 9-10kpl (compared to 15kpl in a lighter Duster). Still, I’m glad we went for the nuclear option. Though we hardly used low range, it was good to have it there, along with the TX’s reassuring reputation. Amazingly, we paired an iPhone with the display in seconds via Apple/AirPlay (not possible on the Duster), but could not plug in a USB stick to play mp3s, which the Duster easily allowed. It probably could have been done via the phone, too.

At one point we decided to do a Body Twist Test: getting two diagonal wheels airborne to verify clean door shutting. If a body twists under this static tension with two corners unloaded, doors will not close or open freely, even if the separate chassis is twisting a little (as it should). But even with all doors open, the TX passed with flying colours; not a mil of body deflection in the shut-lines. As you’d expect from a Land Cruiser.

And yet, despite the big rubber seal, the TX sucked in dust from the back door or somewhere. This was perhaps the biggest irritation, but is the same in any car with a flat-backed tailgate. I get less dusty on a motorbike. I recall we taped up the back vents in my HJ61, over 20 years ago, but with little success. At high speeds on dusty tracks, I suppose the low pressure across the rear of the car is too great.
Anyway, we covered all the routes I planned to do and even a little bit more, and overall the trip was a bit more comfortable in the Prado (partly due to the reduced ‘will-it/won’t-it’ stress). Our TX cost €110/day (down from €150 last year); Dusters are now €50/day from Medloc).
A few pics from out 1500-km recce.