Doug Demuro reviews the 80 series

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Demuro has always annoyed me. I was subscribed for about a month, but couldn't take it.
 
The dude is a freaking clown.

For the doubters, go watch his video on the VW Thing.
The dude's clueless and leaves me scratching my head as to what peeps see in him.
 
Doug explained previously he had a bunch of videos in the can when the quarantine hit. He might burn through that backlog if this lasts long enough, but he works by himself AFAIK in what can easily be a no-contact arrangement other than picking up the keys for the subject at hand.
Sorry green. That wasn't a serious question. The traffic in the background indicates this video is quite old.

I skipped through it, but if you don't mention the solid axle and the robust size of the running gear, you miss the point. Outside of the Rubicon and G-Wagon, these were the last solid axle expedition capable rigs available in the United States.

We also never received the really the unique and useful versions of these rigs.
 
One thing that bugged me is he opens by saying it's "one of the most loved SUVs of all time" and then proceeds to not really explain why.
 
One thing that bugged me is he opens by saying it's "one of the most loved SUVs of all time" and then proceeds to not really explain why.
He said some contradictory things also, like calling it a "piece of crap" for the money, and then immediately talking about how every other vehicle in its category was inferior to the Land Cruiser (Range Rover, all the re-badged Infinities and such). Overall I thought the video was ok, a bit shallow, and the commentary sometimes contradictory of itself.
 
I think he was fair and honest about a 2020 perspective, but these things are 20+ years old. Maybe I'm weird, but the creature comforts really don't do anything for me in modern cars... I just want AC when it's hot and heat when it's cold. My '91 seats are still comfy, the ride position is nice, and I feel like I'm really in tune with the car more than the feeling of "fly-by-wire" so to speak. I'm also somewhat of a young buck still, so maybe as I get older I'll want more comfort, but the joy of driving my slow JDM 80 with the windows down is priceless.
 
To be honest a 80 series is only a so so vehicle for dropping off the kids for school. It's not real fast, it's not real sporty looking, it gets poor gas mileage, and it doesn't corner well compared to a BMW or Mercedes suv. That's what matters to a lot of people, including almost all vehicle reviewers on YouTube or motor trend. Also people that aren't mechanically inclined will not understand the original high price tag of the 80. These people think ferrari, BMW, bugatti etc are the pinnacle of vehicle creation. My opinion differs from that.
20180503_105400-1612x1209.jpg
 
To be honest a 80 series is only a so so vehicle for dropping off the kids for school. It's not real fast, it's not real sporty looking, it gets poor gas mileage, and it doesn't corner well compared to a BMW or Mercedes suv. That's what matters to a lot of people, including almost all vehicle reviewers on YouTube or motor trend. Also people that aren't mechanically inclined will not understand the original high price tag of the 80. These people think ferrari, BMW, bugatti etc are the pinnacle of vehicle creation. My opinion differs from that.View attachment 2292015
Spend one weekend doing anything more than an oil change on one of these and you'll appreciate some of the engineering that had to go into the LC.
 
So did he title the video Land Cruiser 80 review?..............Er No!

Why? Perhaps the Land Cruiser was so scarce he could not find one to test?.............Ah yes that would answer that one.

Was I suckered into looking at it yes, will it happen again NO!

He stated the car was crap! I am sorry, a good reviewer does not make a statement like that. He might say "I personally do not like the interior but the millions sold across the world shows it is obviously popular, THAT is the way to present a vehicle.

And slagging it off because it does not meet modern standards, perhaps he should have tried a horse and cart and used that as a comparison, when doing reviews you must compare it to vehicles from the same era, not something produced 25 years later FFS!

If....and I mean 'IF' he had gone out and found let us say just four Station Wagons from 25 years ago and put them side by side then THAT would have been a fairer and more balanced review.

And then took the statistics at the time of reliability, and would have found the 80 at the top of the tree, and then threw in a little off road test, just to get an idea of the stock vehicles capability off road.

This is the first review of his I have seen......it will be the last...unless of course he changes his name and I get mislead.

regards

Dave
 
I think he was fair and honest about a 2020 perspective, but these things are 20+ years old. Maybe I'm weird, but the creature comforts really don't do anything for me in modern cars... I just want AC when it's hot and heat when it's cold. My '91 seats are still comfy, the ride position is nice, and I feel like I'm really in tune with the car more than the feeling of "fly-by-wire" so to speak. I'm also somewhat of a young buck still, so maybe as I get older I'll want more comfort, but the joy of driving my slow JDM 80 with the windows down is priceless.
I'm only 25, me and my 80 are exactly the same age, as we were both born in January of 1995, and I bought her on January 25th, the first day I was 25.. coincidence? Nah. Destiny? Absolutely. I love the comfortable but still truck like ride. Give me a sunroof and some AC and heat and I'm good. I'm not into cars telling you how to drive, a backup camera would be nice (as a UPS Driver its saved me more than once with that giant Brown truck) but all that tech they put into new cars is making them dated and harder to work on as well as making them obsolete within 5 years. I chose my 80 over a 200 and a 2020 4Runner in Army Green, the 80 has more character and a more timeless design than the other 2. One day I will get a 200 but the 80 will always be right there. You just cant beat that sweet spot of bubble era toyota simplicity and durability.
 
So did he title the video Land Cruiser 80 review?..............Er No!

Why? Perhaps the Land Cruiser was so scarce he could not find one to test?.............Ah yes that would answer that one.

SNIP

regards

Dave

No shortage of 80 series in San Diego when we were there visiting over Xmas. I suspect he chose the truck he did because it had lockers and Doug wanted to clue people in about why this makes some trucks more desirable on the market, The way some folks fetishize lockers here, he didn't miss that one by much. It also gave him a chance to explain that the 80 and the LX450 are the same truck, with the lameness of the Lexus rebadging providing an opportunity to do exactly that.

Along with his entirely appropriate comment about the wrongheadedness of Toyota trying to market running boards as a coveted off-road accessory, I think it shows Doug was at least giving the 80 a fair shake.

I think the crap comment was more about the 80's pretensions to luxury covering up the hard core value of the underlying machinery.
 
I don't even subscribe to his channel, so I didn't expect to need to defend him, but wow, some of you guys are sensitive. It's just a guy who reviewed a car you really like and didn't feel exactly the same as you.

His commentary during the drive and before the Doug score is pretty much spot on. He's obviously a fan of Land Cruisers and especially the 80 series (he owned one!). You don't need to get your britches all wadded because he didn't declare it the greatest vehicle ever made or didn't know every single little detail.

When he says "piece of crap" it's obviously tongue in cheek (he says he loves it right after that). And it is completely is out of context, he is referring to the advancement of luxury features over the years.
 
Last edited:
This guy and TFL are cut from the same cloth. They know a lot about about cars, without really knowing a lot about cars. They know what cars are great off-roaders because people have told them. Not because they’ve figured out what MAKES a car a great off-roader.
 
This guy and TFL are cut from the same cloth. They know a lot about about cars, without really knowing a lot about cars. They know what cars are great off-roaders because people have told them. Not because they’ve figured out what MAKES a car a great off-roader.

Ugh. I can't stand the TFL guy's voice. Makes me want to throat punch him.
 
Hilarious, but not unexpected, that 'Mud would get incredibly pedantic and butthurt when someone reviews their car without spending their entire life pouring over axle diagrams or on this website.
LMFAO

Yes, sorry that not every car review of the 80 is going to be a history lesson of how groundbreaking the car was at the time.

Technologies advance and modern cars are.... more modern? 🤯

The truck is slow as f*** I'm not going to compare the car to a f****** Model T in order to say that his score of '1' for speed is mistaken.

That being said my partner is constantly watching "THIS IS A 1995..." Doug videos and I'm going to kill myself if I hear that intro one more time.
 
I don't even subscribe to his channel, so I didn't expect to need to defend him, but wow, some of you guys are sensitive. It's just a guy who reviewed a car you really like and didn't feel exactly the same as you.

His commentary during the drive and before the Doug score is pretty much spot on. He's obviously a fan of Land Cruisers and especially the 80 series (he owned one!). You don't need to get your britches all wadded because he didn't declare it the greatest vehicle ever made or didn't know every single little detail.

When he says "piece of crap" it's obviously tongue in cheek (he says he loves it right after that). And it is completely is out of context, he is referring to the advancement of luxury features over the years.
Get out of here with your reasonableness :flipoff2:
 
I would say alongside of being a car reviewer “Doug” is also a car flipper! :flipoff2:
 
Pretty good tech in here. :flipoff2:
 
Ur right!

Chit-chat it is
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom