- Toyota introduced again the Land Cruiser, type of
- The Land Cruiser’s coarse, low cost, unrefined, and poorly packaged
- America deserves the true Land Cruiser, referred to as the 300 Sequence
Lovers bemoaned the demise of the Toyota Land Cruiser in 2021. We then rejoiced upon its return in 2024.
Disappointment has ensued for a lot of, although not all, which have ridden this rollercoaster of feelings.
Throughout our all-too-brief first encounter with the brand new Toyota Land Cruiser in 2024 it was clear the icon tried to pivot to retro attraction. Dwelling with the Land Cruiser has confirmed that the retro attraction solely goes to date, and it’s dissatisfied your entire editorial staff.
Listed below are the professionals and cons of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser after spending time residing with each the bottom 1958 trim and costlier, and barely nicer, Land Cruiser trims.
Spoiler: This merely doesn’t really feel just like the Land Cruiser all of us knew, liked, and missed. Is its totally different components one thing higher, not less than in some respects? We reasoned by way of what you get within the Land Cruiser, now, and got here up with the next professionals and cons.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser 1958
Professional: The Land Cruiser seems to be like a Land Cruiser
Simply not the one you’re considering of. The Land Cruiser seems to be like its namesake. The sq. upright profile, quick overhangs, and flared metallic all communicate the Land Cruiser language. However the 200-Sequence has some throwback queues to its design with a nod to the J80 of the ‘90s with its entrance and rear ends.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser 1958
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser 1958
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser 1958
The brand new 300 Sequence, which is the actual Land Cruiser the remainder of the world will get, is a real evolution of the outgoing 200 Sequence. The brand new Land Cruiser America obtained is called a Land Cruiser Prado to the remainder of the world. The 1958’s spherical headlights and Land Cruiser mannequin’s horizontal chiclet LED headlights are throwbacks to the 1960’s 40 Sequence and 1980’s 60 Sequence, respectively. Respectfully, nobody presently shopping for this stuff goes to appreciate that as a result of they weren’t born but. Identical goes for the vertical taillights harkening again to the FJ60s. Is all of it Land Cruiser design components bin from all of the eras mashed into one? You betcha. It seems to be retro. It seems to be like a Land Cruiser. Nobody underneath 40 goes to know that. Nevertheless it does seem like a Land Cruiser, simply not the one we needed and the remainder of the world will get.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser 1958
Con: Land Cruiser seems like low cost tin can
The Land Cruiser was a flagship for Toyota. Because the Nineties-eras J80 the Land Cruiser’s had huge, overstuffed seats, plush door coverings, and good soft-touch dashboards. It could not have felt like a financial institution vault shutting like a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, but it surely certain as heck didn’t really feel low cost (and it wasn’t). The most recent Land Cruiser fails on all these fronts. Open the door, shut the door, and it seems like this factor is a tin can with skinny metallic. It’s additional confirmed with the skinny sheetmetal on the hood flexing and bending within the wind on the freeway, which might induce an LOL second if it weren’t so unhappy.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser 1958
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser 1958
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser 1958
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser 1958
Whereas we love the bottom 1958’s throwback tweed-like seat upholstery, it feels fully misplaced in a $56,700 SUV. This isn’t a $35k Wrangler. The 1958’s inside has shiny, low cost, arduous plastics in every single place from the door panels to the dashboard overlaying. In case you contact it, it’s low cost plastic. The higher Land Cruiser trim—sure, that’s truly the higher trim stage’s identify, making it the Land Cruiser Land Cruiser—has a nicer inside for $61,470 with a soft-touch dashboard, some middle console and door panel soft-touch supplies, and leather-based upholstery. Nevertheless it all feels skinny with arduous plastic felt beneath on the panels, and the delicate leather-based seat upholstery doesn’t really feel sturdy or up for journey. The Land Cruiser Land Cruiser I examined was $73,344 of yikes thanks largely to the $4,600 Premium Package deal that added a JBL sound system, reminiscence for the leather-trimmed driver’s seat, a heads-up show, and energy entrance seats. There was additionally a $1,440 roof rack that created a ton of wind noise on prime of the wind noise that comes screaming off the aspect mirrors at something greater than 40 mph. At the very least the costly Land Cruiser Land Cruiser will get a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen for the cash reasonably than the 1958 mannequin’s 7.0-inch cluster and eight.0-inch touchscreen.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
Professional: Land Cruiser has sufficient off-road worthy {hardware}
Each Land Cruiser comes customary with full-time four-wheel drive with a 2-speed switch case, middle and rear locking differentials, and Toyota’s Multi-Terrain Choose system, with off-road modes accessible in each 4Hi and 4Lo. There’s additionally a crawl management system, which is like off-road cruise management. It’s extra refined than Toyota’s earlier system that clunked and thunked. The practically $60k base 1958 mannequin can’t be optioned with the electronically managed disconnecting sway bar, but it surely’s accessible on the Land Cruiser Land Cruiser mannequin for $1,250. Sadly, the outgoing Land Cruiser’s trick KDSS (hydraulically managed disconnecting sway bar system) isn’t even an possibility. It’s simply gone.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser 1958
Altogether, the {hardware} is, as the children say, legit, and aggressive with different off-roaders. It’ll get the place the Land Cruiser is making an attempt to go, except for the truth that no Land Cruiser is out there from the manufacturing facility with all-terrain tires—a hilarious and bizarre oversight that claims rather a lot. The truth that entrance, rear differential, and transmission metal skid plates are all non-compulsory is each regarding and speaks volumes. There’s additionally no entrance locker to be seen anyplace on an choices sheet.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
Con: Land Cruiser doesn’t really feel easy, cosplays effectivity
Goodbye, V-8. Each Land Cruiser is a hybrid with a 2.4-liter turbo-4 paired with an electrical 48-hp electrical motor sandwiched within the 8-speed automated transmission. Energy output is rated at 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque for the mixed system. Land Cruisers are supposed, and traditionally, conquer the land effortlessly. This one doesn’t and gained’t. It’ll get the place you’re going, in all probability, but it surely feels strained, sounds and feels coarse, and is unrefined. One may even describe the powertrain as a bunch of hamsters spinning a wheel beneath the engine. Although, you possibly can hear the turbo go whoosh, which is type of enjoyable. The transmission’s a gem with fast, clear shifts. However the engine appears like it will be at house in a third-world nation, not a flagship. The buttery easy V-8? It’s missed. From 0-30 mph the Land Cruiser feels faster than it ought to because of the electrical help, however then issues fall off sharply from there and aerodynamics begin kicking in with the brick-like profile. EPA gasoline economic system rankings of twenty-two mpg metropolis, 25 freeway, and 23 mixed are markedly higher than the outgoing mannequin’s 13/17/14. Nevertheless it’s unrealistic to see these rankings of the newer mannequin translating to the true world. In a number of weeks of testing a number of Land Cruisers over the course of tons of of miles I noticed a mean of 18-19 mpg in combined suburban driving. Notably higher than the 12 mpg the outgoing Land Cruiser averaged? Yup. Environment friendly? Not likely.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
Professional: Land Cruiser sticks to the script with buttons, knobs, toggles
Whereas the Land Cruiser seems like a large step backwards in some ways there’s one factor Toyota didn’t neglect: Simple-to-use controls are king whereas each driving and going off-road. To that time the Land Cruiser wins with massive knobs, buttons for all important off-road controls, toggles and buttons for local weather controls, and an actual quantity knob. If the touchscreen failed you’ll lose your tunes, however making it house wouldn’t be an issue.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
Con: Land Cruiser packaging ought to make engineers weep
The packaging of the Land Cruiser is borderline embarrassing. Someplace, someplace, an engineer should cry softly over the specs and design they have been handed to work round. The hybrid’s battery pack sits within the cargo space. This forces a triple liftover level forcing cargo to be lifted over the bumper, cargo space lip, after which the battery pack shelf. Fold the second row and it’s not a flat load ground. My 11-year outdated sitting behind my 5-foot-10 body famous the second row got here up quick on legroom. The receiver, which is just rated to tow 6,000 kilos, has a plastic cowl that requires both a screwdriver or key to take away push pins, then a second plastic encompass, and that’s all to disclose the trade’s solely receiver (i.e. solely Toyota and Lexus merchandise) that includes a double-wall and air-gapped design. That requires a hitch pin that’s 4.0-inch lengthy, which isn’t frequent. Toyota’s engineering staff has mentioned that the design is for energy, however nobody else within the trade does this.
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser 1958
Time has marched on, and seemingly the Land Cruiser’s making an attempt to return to a land earlier than it grew to become a stealth wealth image. The worth has been rolled again twenty years, however the 2005 Land Cruiser, referred to as J100, was a a lot nicer automobile than in the present day’s Land Cruiser. This newest mannequin will cruise the land, but it surely doesn’t really feel just like the Land Cruiser all of us knew and liked. I wish to like it; I type of prefer it; however I do know what it might be. The remainder of the world will get the true Land Cruiser (300 Sequence), and there’s seemingly little to no cause it will probably’t exist in America for $65,000 to $70,000. The Land Cruiser we received virtually seems like a money seize. Toyota mentioned it will deliver again the Land Cruiser, and it did. However simply because it wears the badge doesn’t imply it’ll meet your expectations. Disappointment may ensue.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
2025 Land Cruiser Land Cruiser
Base worth: $56,700 together with $1,450 vacation spot cost
Worth as examined: $73,344
Powertrain: 326-hp 2.4-liter turbo-4 hybrid, 8-speed automated, 4WD
EPA gasoline economic system: 22/25/23 mpg
The hits: Appears to be like like a Land Cruiser; off-road {hardware}, buttons, knobs, and toggle switches
The misses: Feels low cost; coarse powertrain; not cruising something effortlessly; compromised packaging; not the Land Cruiser you bear in mind
