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It looks easy, but as somebody who's tried and failed for years to master the art, I can tell you it's not. Michael Schumacher can do it, as can actor Al Pacino, guitar legend Eric Clapton and French footballer Zinedine Zidane. I'm talking about the skill of making difficult tasks seem desperately simple.

By Mike Rutherford

04th January 2005

These people are not headless chickens. They adopt a less-is-more approach that doesn't involve screaming and shouting, or losing sleep over inferior opposition. Some of them are wrongly accused of arrogance, but none is guilty. It's justifiable confidence you're witnessing with these naturally gifted, lucky people.

I believe Toyota has similar qualities. This is a company which keeps its head down and gets on with the job. The results are world class. In a league table of international car manufacturers, I would say it's number one. Toyota and Lexus-badged products are arguably joint top for quality, reliability and customer satisfaction. And as I discovered when I recently rode in the back seat of a driverless Toyota in Tokyo, the firm already has the ability to build models which don't need me or you to control them. Plus who else is doing a better job than the company at selling desirable cars with alternative power sources? Nobody.

In view of its successes, how difficult do you think it is for Toyota to build off-roaders capable of taking on the current 4x4 champs from Jeep and Land Rover? Yet when I see the tame styling of its 2005 Land Cruiser, I wonder if the designers were awake as they worked on it, because this model is far from a stunner. But putting its appearance to one side, what a capable and confidence-inspiring set of wheels it is. While the car doesn't do the rough stuff any better or worse than its two rivals, it beats the US and British offerings for quality.

I know this because I've recently driven 400 miles in a Land Cruiser. Toyota contacted me and hinted it was fed-up with my conclusion that Jeeps and Land Rovers are pretty much the only tools for hardcore off-roading. The company vowed to make its point and force me to eat my words. When Mercedes once asked me to test its M-Class in the mud, it provided only a sand pit outside its US factory to play in. Confident Toyota went much further by dispatching me to rural South America, handing over the keys to the new 166bhp 3.0-litre Land Cruiser with manual gearbox, and ordering me to follow a nutcase rally driver called Israel.

Our journey was long and fast. Most of the region of Costa Rica we barrelled through had no paved roads or ones with potholes the size of bath tubs. The Land Cruiser proved unbreakable, which was just as well as we drove on some frighteningly narrow passes. Intriguingly, a hi-tech computer factory already exists in San Jose, the country's capital. I wouldn't mind betting a Toyota 4x4 plant will follow. The firm knows Costa Rica well, and virtually has its own punishing off-road course ready for action. Meanwhile, the company is merely toying with Jeep and Land Rover in the same way a big cat calmly plays with a pair of scared mice. Toyota's holding back for now. When its purr turns to a growl, there will be casualties.

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