TOYOTA has struck gold with its Land Cruiser Commercial model which comes with all the off-road and workhorse capabilities imaginable combined with plenty of on-board luxuries.

It's a vehicle that offers the best of both worlds and features decades worth of Toyota 4x4 know-how that enables it to cover the roughest terrain, yet it still features lots of creature comforts to make longer journeys more enjoyable.

One glance in the Land Cruiser Commercial's direction will confirm this has a workmanlike character and design to match with steel wheels, black roof rails, mudflaps, scuff plates, a black grille, a side hinged rear door, blacked out rear windows, plus neat LED lighting front and rear.

Move inside and there are cloth seats, lots of practical wipe-clean surfaces, a small touchscreen, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, Bluetooth, a CD player with six speakers, practical rubber floor mats and grab handles for easy access.

Our model was priced at £36,975 and the only option was metallic paint that added an extra £700 to the final cost.

It was powered by a 2.8-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine delivering 201bhp and 420Nm of torque, and could reach 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds, topping out at 108mph. According to official figures, under WLTP testing, the Land Cruiser has combined fuel economy of 28.8mpg with carbon emissions of 258g/km.

The Land Cruiser has a reputation as being one of the toughest and most reliable 4x4s on the planet and the van-like version features all the same on-board technology with high and low-range gear settings to tackle any challenge.

We stuck to the Tarmac during our week-long test drive and it is accomplished on-road too with nice, confident handling and plenty of power on tap from the diesel engine.

It's a vehicle that will likely spend a lot of time on the road between jobs so needs to handle well. And it does just that.

Admittedly it's not a powerhouse out the starting blocks, but it cruises nicely on motorways and the elevated driving position offers an excellent view across the hedgerows out on the country lanes. Tight bends need to be given a little respect, but the road holding is grounded and it is deceptively settled on bumpy, uneven roads.

The six-speed manual gearbox offers decent acceleration and the padded seats are comfy on long trips. With the blacked out rear windows, there is no over the shoulder visibility, which can be difficult when reversing into a parking space, but that was my only real concern.

A bulkhead mesh protects occupants from any goods sliding forward and the rear side doors open so you can get to items that are stored towards the front of the vehicle. Elsewhere this is a van with practicality in mind so you get a massive cubby box, cup holders, deep door bins, a lockable glovebox, sunglasses compartment and some useful trays.

There is room in the back for 2,216 litres of goods and the Land Cruiser can also tow a trailer weighing up to three tonnes.

And being a Toyota, the Land Cruiser Commercial is packed with safety kit, including electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist, active traction control, vehicle stability control, tyre pressure warning, two-stage driver and passenger airbags, anti-whiplash active front headrests and permanent 4WD.