If you hear the name Land Cruiser and still find yourself thinking about the bulky, rounded machine from 2021, I’ve got great news: for 2024, Toyota’s stealth wealth off-roader has been revived as the squared-off and capable machine that made it such a star in the first place. Its looks alone have been enough to lure in the adventurous type, but does its capability live up to the hype? I’m pleased to report that yes, it does.
Full disclosure: Toyota invited me to Coronado Island in San Diego, California for an all-out trip test driving four new or refreshed Toyota models in just two days. It was an impressive display of event organization, though I think I was most taken by the ducklings and flamingos living in the pond outside the hotel.
When the 2021 Land Cruiser run came to an end, Toyota told us that the model was dead in the United States. For over a decade the bulbous SUV had lumbered along, mostly unchanged, on the Lexus LX platform. While its reliability and performance was nothing to shake a stick at, it was also just kind of… meh. It looked like every other SUV on the market (see: bulbous), and it didn’t quite impress on the interior, tech, or performance fronts. It was fine, but it wasn’t spectacular.
Now, for 2024, the Land Cruiser is back from a very ignominious death, and Toyota has pulled off an impressive wholesale evolution to bring this off-roader back to its roots while still relying on the best tech that the 21st century has to offer. Let’s dig into what makes this model such a winner.
At its base is Toyota’s TNGA-F truck platform, the same basic structure you’ll find under the Tundra, Sequoia, and Tacoma. That said, the Land Cruiser has also shrunk. In its previous incarnation, it was a full-size SUV twinned with the Lexus LX. Now it’s twinned with the smaller Lexus GX — our new Land Cruiser is what’s sold as the Land Cruiser Prado elsewhere — offering just two rows of seating for five folks to do battle against smaller off-roaders like the Jeep Wrangler and the Ford Bronco.
It also boasts Toyota’s i-Force Max hybrid powertrain, which is composed of a turbocharged 2.4-liter inline-4 engine that makes 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. The EPA estimates you’ll get 23 MPG combined with this configuration, which isn’t super great but still represents a significant step up from previous Land Cruiser models, and it can tow up to 6,000 pounds. To offer some further comparisons, this new LC makes 55 fewer horsepower, 64 more lb-ft of torque, and can tow 2,100 fewer pounds than the old V8 truck. It’s also over 800 pounds lighter than the previous model.
Let’s Get Off-Roading
I had a chance to experience two different off-road trims on two different off-road courses provided by Toyota. The first was a technical trail that involved sharp inclines and declines, lots of rock crawling, and a waterlogged portion, while the second was called the “playground” and felt like such: there were some sharp declines, but it was also far less technically challenging.
Even in its base 1958 trim, the 2024 Land Cruiser is loaded with the kind of tech and componentry you want for climbing around in the dirt. Every model has a 31-degree approach, a 25-degree breakover and 22-degree departure angle. You’ve got basics like locking rear and center differentials as standard for all grades, which helps split the power 50/50 between the front and rear wheels for better traction on even the toughest terrains. You’ve also got full-time four-wheel drive as standard, as well as Crawl Control, which serves as an off-road-y kind of cruise control. Push a button, and you’ll crawl along at a slow, adjustable speed so that all you have to do behind the wheel is focus on steering. If you’ve used this tech before when it was introduced on the 2022 Toyota Tacoma and Tundra TRD Pro models, you might have noticed it sounded… a little gnarly. There used to be a lot of intrusive feedback in the form of engine groan and floorboard creaking, but that has been taken care of to create a much quieter, smoother ride.
Move up a level to the Land Cruiser trim, and you get even more capability — and a friendlier off-road experience for newcomers or short drivers like me. Those changes are more on the tech front, such as a multi-terrain monitor. Essentially, it utilizes several external cameras to display your surroundings on the infotainment screen. I’m fairly short, so it can be tough for me to get a visual on my surroundings without a robust camera system, and Toyota’s is one of the finest I’ve used. The picture is clear, and the abundance of angles helps you avoid the most challenging obstacles that might have otherwise crept up on you.
You can also select one of several different terrain modes that will help your Land Cruiser cater its drive to, say, rocky paths, muddy ruts, or sandy dunes. I didn’t have a chance to really put these different modes into practice, but in essence, they deploy different settings to tackle different terrains. I think I was most impressed with the front stabilizer disconnect mechanism. Plenty of off-road machines have this feature, but on the Land Cruiser, you just press a button, and voilà: you get some ridiculous suspension articulation.
What Trim Is Right For Me?
Some Toyota models out there really go hog wild when it comes to the trim situation, but Toyota has blessedly kept things simple for the Land Cruiser. You’ll have your pick of three different trims for this model year: Land Cruiser 1958, Land Cruiser, or Land Cruiser First Edition. Each successive trim represents a step up the technology and luxury ladder, and I’m here to guide you through just what you’d need to know to decide on the right trim for you.
Land Cruiser 1958: As Basic As A Land Cruiser Gets
If you’re the kind of person who wants an elevated off-roading experience but who doesn’t need enough technology to make your grandmother weep, then the Land Cruiser 1958 will be your dream machine. If you haven’t already guessed, the “1958″ in this trim grade is a callback to the Land Cruiser’s original debut year in the United States, and it serves as the most basic offering in Toyota’s updated Land Cruiser lineup. You’ll gain the same retro styling as the rest of the Land Cruiser lineup — that neat “heritage” grille, rounded headlamps, fabric seats — with a boost in tech offerings. Included are blind spot monitoring, a 7-inch gauge cluster screen, an 8-inch touchscreen, automatic climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a six-speaker sound system. On the off-road side of things, you’ll stick with some of the nicer basics: locking center and rear differentials, rear coil springs, full-time four-wheel drive, a two-speed transfer case, a brake controller, a 2400W AC inverter, and Crawl Control.
I didn’t have a chance to drive the 1958 trim, but I did get a lengthy off-road ride in one with a fellow journalist. It’s definitely a more laid-back machine designed for the folks who know what they’re doing on a trail, since you won’t have multiple camera angles to give you a sense of your surroundings. If you’re confident and competent, you’ll be fine. I am neither of those things, which is why I was glad to have a ride in this trim on the technical off-road course Toyota had developed for us. As a shorter human being, I have a hard time seeing around bulkier, modern SUVs, and the sharp angles and wide planes of the Land Cruiser gave me a tough time. From the fabric-trimmed passenger seat, though, I was able to appreciate just how comfy I was while facing off against steep declines, water-flooded paths, and rocky outcrops.
As far as cost goes, this is the cheapest trim you can find, boasting an MSRP of $57,345 (including mandatory dealer processing and handling fees).
Land Cruiser (Land Cruiser?): A Formidable Contender
For the folks out there who love the capability of the Land Cruiser but want to take things up a notch in both tech and comfort, there’s the Land Cruiser grade. It bumps up the basics of the 1958 grade by adding rectangular LED headlamps and heated and ventilated synthetic leather seats. You’re also getting some of the beefier off-road features, like color-selectable LED fog lights, a stabilizer disconnect mechanism that allows for greater suspension articulation, multi-terrain select to curate your driving experience to the conditions at hand, and the multi-terrain monitor. Plus, you’re also getting convenience features like larger dashboard and infotainment screens, a 10-speaker sound system, and a power liftgate.
If you’re in the mood for more but don’t feel the need to fully commit to the First Edition model, you can get your mid-tier Land Cruiser with the Premium Package. That’ll give you leather-trimmed heated and ventilated front seats with lumbar support and driver memory features, a 14-speaker JBL audio system, a digital rearview mirror, a head-up display, illuminated entry, a power moonroof, a center console cool box, and additional USB-C charging ports in the cargo area.
During my off-road drive, I nabbed a Land Cruiser with the Premium Package. If you’re strictly concerned about the act of off-roading, you probably don’t need all those premium features that the package provides. Those are going to come in handy when you’re in the throes of a long-ass trip and want ways to keep your water bottles cool, or if you want to listen to some music. For shorter trailside jaunts, you’re probably not going to miss ‘em.
As far as the off-road tech features went, I was impressed with the offerings. The stabilizer disconnect mechanism offered incredible articulation; any time I wasn’t motoring forward on the off-road trail, I was watching the driver in front of me, marveling at just how far apart the rear tires were in terms of lift while still remaining on the ground. From the cockpit, you definitely get a much greater sense of control and comfort. I also really relied on the multi-terrain monitor, as it gives a much greater view of the surroundings than you can get just from the front seat. That means you’ll be able to clock obstacles or rocks sticking out into your way. I did, however, learn the hard way that you cannot go off-roading while relying almost entirely on the monitors; a normal-looking rock on my screen looked harmless from the camera angle, but if I’d have peered out the window, I’d have seen that it was a very sharp rock heading directly for my left rear tire. (I apologize, Toyota, for popping a tire; I will literally never recover.)
The upgrades for the Land Cruiser trim mean you’ll be facing higher prices. As standard, you’ll be paying $63,345. Opt for the available $4,600 Premium Package, and you’ll have a total of $68,245.
Land Cruiser First Edition: Let’s Get Luxe
If you simply cannot live without boasting the best of the best, look no further than the Land Cruiser First Edition. This model gives you all the goodies from the Land Cruiser Premium Package, but it throws in round LED headlamps, special 18-inch wheels, a “First Edition” logo embossed on the door panels, a front skid plate, a roof rack, and rock rails. The First Edition comes in at $76,345. That added off-road protection will definitely come in handy for the avid adventurers, but I didn’t test this trim, largely because the 20-minute off-road courses that Toyota created for us didn’t necessarily require the accouterments that would make a longer excursion far more comfortable.
Vintage But Modern In All The Right Places
I hate to be one of those people who laments the death of the cool cars of our past, but I do have to be honest: The constant push toward chunky, rounded SUVs hurts my soul, especially when those styling cues come for the sick-ass legacy cars of the past — the ones that have cool stories to tell. I did my best to pretend the former generation Land Cruiser just didn’t exist; sure, it was reliable and capable, but it also didn’t provide any of the aesthetics that made the original machine so legendary.
That’s why I’m so stoked on the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser. The Ford Bronco proved we’re back in an era where retro styling has a serious place in the off-road vehicle market, and the Land Cruiser kicks it up a notch with nicer amenities and a more luxurious overall feel — because why should you have to sacrifice capability for comfort? With the Land Cruiser, you don’t have to choose.
