Land Cruiser highlight despite motoring lower profile at Ploughing 2024

Judging by the small number of motoring stands, it appears that the Irish motor industry has deserted the Ploughing in droves, apart from long time supporter Toyota Ireland, who this year are once again joined by Volvo Cars and Tesla.

Toyota to show new Land Cruiser

The singular motoring high point for farmers visiting Ploughing 2024 will be the arrival of the new Toyota Land Cruiser. The 2025 Land Cruiser will be unveiled on the first day of Ploughing and while there will not be an opportunity to sit in and drive Toyota’s latest popular 4x4, you will get a chance to see what’s coming later in the year.

The legendary status of the Toyota Land Cruiser for its toughness and reliability now gets more sophistication and technology features. This new Land Cruiser will be powered by a four-cylinder 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine, coupled to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. This is a similar engine to that fitted to the latest Hilux models, while Toyota claims to have improved the power delivery and refinement of the system in the new Land Cruiser.

The engine is rated to deliver 200bhp and 500Nm of torque. That level of power can ensure a 3.5 tonne towing capacity due to the fact that the Land Cruiser’s torque level peaks at just 1600rpm.

This latest Land Cruiser has a permanent four-wheel drive system. The driveline includes a central and rear-differential lock, plus a dual-range transfer box with both high and low ratios for the gearbox.

The chassis is a traditional ladder frame structure and Toyota claims that both the body and the chassis have been redesigned compared with the previous model. Toyota claims that the torsional rigidity of the frame and body have been increased by 50% and 30%, respectively.

There is a new electric power steering system fitted with claims of very little kickback through the steering rack when driving in severe off-road conditions.

Toyota is using a coil-spring suspension system with a double-wishbone design for the front axle and a four-link rigid rear axle.

A new feature is the option to decouple the anti-roll bars, called Stabiliser Disconnect Mechanism, which Toyota claims improves the wheel articulation by 10 per cent compared with models fitted without the system.

This new Land Cruiser has a terrain response system activated through a knob on the centre-console. This adjusts the vehicle’s setting such as the gearbox, engine mapping, steering and brakes to suit various driving conditions. The differential locking system and Stabiliser Disconnect Mechanism are controlled separately by buttons on the centre console.

There is a new electronically controlled braking system fitted for improved feel and performance. The system combines the hydraulic braking force with regenerative braking force from the motor with the aim of maximising the use of regenerative braking force which contributes to fuel economy.

Disc brakes are fitted front and back and an electronic parking brake operates on the rear wheels.

Downhill Assist Control (DAC) can be used to automatically provide stable braking without wheel-lock while maintaining a low vehicle speed when negotiating steep descents. The system has been developed so that it can be used as a cruise control function at speeds between 4 and 30km/h in the vehicle’s H4 and L4 range.

This new Land Cruiser claims improved rear legroom, as well as head and kneeroom.

The boot provides 620 litres of space and there is the option of a third row of seats. Prices have yet to be confirmed, and they are expected to be announced at Ploughing 2024.

Volvo Cars’ flagship seven-seater EX90 SUV will be introduced to the Irish motoring public at Ploughing 2024 alongside the current generation plug-in hybrid XC90. Volvo claims that the new XC90 all-electric seven-seater, SUV will further raise standards of safety and a more sustainable lifestyle.

The EX90 is an important step to the all-electric future of Volvo Cars, which has an ambition to become a fully electric car maker by 2030. Last year 27% of total sales globally were fully electric cars.

In Ireland, Volvo is getting even closer to its 2030 electrification target, last year 27% of total sales were fully electric cars.

The Volvo EX90 has an invisible shield of safety enabled by Volvo’s latest sensing technology, inside and outside.

Volvo claims that the Volvo EX90 won’t be just a new car, it will be a highly advanced computer on wheels.

Just like your smartphone or your laptop, the Volvo EX90 is designed to get better over time, thanks to regular over-the-air software updates.

The car can deliver up to 600km driving range on a single charge, according to the WLTP test cycle, it charges from 10 to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes.

The car initially will be available twin-motor all-wheel drive version powered by a 111kWh battery and two permanent magnet electric motors together delivering in its performance version 380 kW (517 hp) and 910 Nm of torque.

Volvo claims that the new EX90 contains approximately 15 per cent of recycled steel, 25 per cent of recycled aluminium as well as 48 kilogrammes of recycled plastics and bio-based materials.

This corresponds to around 15 per cent of the total plastic used in the car – the highest level of any Volvo car to date.

This is the first Volvo to allow for bi-directional charging.

This is technology to allow you to use your car battery as an extra energy supply, for example to power your home, other electric devices or another electric Volvo car. The EX90 starts at €117,910, and is expected on Irish roads Q3, 2024. The Volvo Cars Ploughing display will also include the all-electric XC40 and EX30 models.

A Mayo-based company, eco-Mova from Achill, will be unveiling a new trailer design in the Innovation Arena at Ploughing 2024. The novel trailer design is for use behind cars, vans, 4x4s and quad bikes. It claims to be lighter, more durable, and corrosion resistant while still carrying the same load as a conventional car trailer. The trailer has been designed to meet the needs of electric car and van drivers.

Rory Staunton of eco-Mova claims that unlike 99% of the current conventional heavy steel trailers that rust, the eco-Mova trailers are made from zero corrosion aluminium alloy and advanced composites. He claims that this will enable owners to save up to 20% of fuel and reduce emissions. eco-Mova claims that its new trailers are fabricated from rust-free aircraft-grade aluminium alloys and composite, like modern cars and planes, with oil-filled hubs that are easily inspected so they do not run dry, over-heat and fail and using disc brakes, like cars, that actually work.

Towing limitations have been one of the features that has turned many potential electric car buyers off. Towing ratings from most electric cars are more than half those of their diesel engine counterparts.

Equally a turnoff has been the fact that the tare load or unladen weight of the trailer has been such that it will, when even partially loaded, result in halving the driving range from most electric cars, making them impractical for farming and rural driver applications.

eco-Mova’s engineers have been working with Mayo farmers, supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland; University College Dublin and Údarás na Gaeltachta.

The company has received €648,000 in Government funding to lead an environmentally friendly industrial research project based in Co Mayo.

The aim has been to manufacture a trailer, using the latest in aerospace and aeronautic engineering, coupled with composite materials and modern design, that will make trailer towing a possibility for the next generation electric cars and vans.

The Tesla Cybertruck has been in Ireland for a static viewing during June and next week it makes a return to a bigger rural audience for Ploughing 2024. The truck is one of the pet projects of Tesla owner Elon Musk specifically for the huge American pickup truck market.

Apart from the futuristic design, the all-electric Cybertruck has a range on full charge of 547km and a massive almost five tonne towing ability. The Cybertruck weighs in at just over three tonnes and has a 0 to 100km/hr acceleration speed of 4.1 seconds.

There are no indications of Irish or European prices, as yet, Tesla is simply testing the reaction in the pickup truck market.

The Cybertruck has not received European homologation just yet, so it can’t be sold on the market. Irish Telsa enthusiasts will flock to the Tesla stand at Ploughing 2024 to view the Cybertruck. And no one will be talking about the price! The Tesla Cybertruck will be joined by a Tesla Model Y and Model S on the Ploughing 2024 stand.