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Some cars just seem to inspire such blind loyalty – such frothing, furious devotion – that they can get away with anything. And sometimes that 'anything' becomes very clear once a rival product launches.
One such car is the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series. Many years ago I dared to posit that, actually, it wasn't all that comfortable in the city (in the same way that drinking lead isn't 'all that' good for your health), and that — while supremely capable — it was also pretty agricultural in the cabin.
You'd swear I'd dared to question the accuracy of David Boon's sky-high beer-crushing claims, or suggested that Daryl Braithwaite's The Horses wasn't the perfect replacement for our national anthem, such was the hatred I copped in return.
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So it was with some amusement that I read through all the push-back against Kia's Tasman and its 2.2-litre turbo-diesel that produces 154kW and 441Nm, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, which propels the Tasman to 100km/h in a leisurely 10.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 185km/h.
'Not enough', they'll tell you. 'Underpowered and gutless', they'll complain. And, compared directly with the Ford Ranger (154kW and 500Nm), the Toyota HiLux (150kW and 500Nm) or the Isuzu D-Max (140kW and 450Nm), they might have something of a point.
But compared with that Holy Grail of hairy-chested adventure, the V8-powered Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series? Please.
For the record, that powertrain produced 151kW and 430Nm, and is comprehensively outgunned by the model's new four-cylinder diesel, which – like the HiLux – makes 150kW and 500Nm.
Now, the 70 Series purists will tell you that it's the fact the V8's outputs are so modest that is part of the magic formula. It's never working too hard, even with a load, and it's the kind of thing you need to drive to fully understand.
Which again sounds familiar. Because 'wait until you drive it' has been Kia's Tasman mantra ever since the covers came off it, and its engine outputs were revealed.
But those, said Kia's product chief, Roland Rivero, are just numbers on a page.
"We understand numbers on paper, they mean something and they have an influencing factor, but we can't wait for you to drive it," Kia's product chief, Roland Rivero, told CarsGuide.
The reality is we haven't driven it. At least, not yet. And so whether the claims it out-drives its official outputs remain to be proven one way or the other.
But if you're rocking around in a V8 70 Series, I'd probably cool my jets until the Tasman touches down.
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