KULUZE, a Chinese company, has copied the façade of the Toyota Land Cruiser LC300 and used it on a compact SUV
It was almost always certain that the Chinese would copy the mighty Toyota Land Cruiser LC300. So, we didn’t bat an eyelid on receiving communication on the rip-off from China. Well, at least until we opened the attached images! What you’re looking at on this page are the first pictures of a compact SUV from a company called Kuluze. The only little problem here is that the front-end of this SUV is actually a blatant copy of the LC300. To make matters worse, the relatively diminutive dimensions of the vehicle are in stark contrast to the front-end design from arguably the most loved off-roader ever.
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No Information on Toyota Land Cruiser’s Chinese Clone!
The Toyota Land Cruiser LC300 has been a runaway success world over, so much so that buyers in some places will have to wait for almost four years for the delivery of their vehicle. In such a scenario, it was pretty obvious that the notorious carmakers in China, who have time and again received flak for blatant copying, would come up with a version. In fact, early last year, GBT, a Jiangu-based brand, came up with dress-up kits to transform LC200 into a LC300. This transformation kit did lend the old generation Land Cruiser a fresh appeal. But the copycat from KULUZE leaves a pretty sour taste in the mouth.
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Strangely, not much is known about this puny Land Cruiser. In fact, even the web seems to have little information on ‘KULUZE’. So, the possibility of this car being a one-off or a some sort of kit car can’t be ruled out. Still, though, we find it tough to ignore the almost identical, albeit, tiny, front fascia.
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J300
The latest-gen, J300, Toyota Land Cruiser is underpinned by the carmaker’s GA-F platform. The same has been derived from the much publicized TNGA. It retains the ladder-frame construction. Globally, the LC300 is available with two engine options – 409hp, 3.5-litre, twin-turbo petrol V6 and a 305hp, 3.3-litre diesel unit. Both come mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. The SUV benefits from a ground clearance of 230 mm and has the same 32 degree approach angle as its predecessor. The departure angle is up to 26.5 degrees. ,The 4×4 system works in tandem with Multi-Terrain Select system that now offers Deep Snow and Auto modes. There’s even a Multi-Terrain Monitor system that works with an underbody camera.
