Is it genuine love, or perhaps love at first glance upon rediscovery? I am recounting my encounters with new cars following a couple of days of use or sometimes after revisiting them months later.
Car of the week: The 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Sport Utility Vehicle The brand’s most senior truck designation. I covered this topic back in April.
What it is: The 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser is a large four-door, five-seater SUV equipped with a standard hybrid powertrain and all-wheel drive. First introduced in 1958, this iconic vehicle received an updated version for the 2024 model year featuring a hybrid system and sharing fundamental architecture with the Tundra and Tacoma trucks along with the 4Runner SUV.
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What will you be paying for the Toyota Land Cruiser?
Prices start at $56,700. The Land Cruiser FE model I tested stickered at $75,430. Prices exclude $1,395 destination charge.
How's it selling?
Toyota sold 29,113 Land Cruisers in the year 2024.
The thing I enjoyed the most during my initial drive of a Land Cruiser was what stood out to me.
During a short off-road trial last year, the Land Cruiser's hybrid powertrain demonstrated impressive performance on steep, un paved paths. It comes with several off-road enhancements such as locking rear and central differentials along with a disengageable front sway bar. Its compact dimensions allow for better maneuverability on trails and simpler parking compared to bigger SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition.
Land Cruiser competitors
- Chevrolet Tahoe
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Ford Expedition
- Nissan Armada
What I adore about this Toyota at present
The Land Cruiser seems primed for any expedition. Packed with sophisticated capabilities for rough terrain, it remains a cozy choice for everyday use — including bumpy roads. Inside, the cabin offers ample space and high-quality finishes, featuring traditional knobs alongside a 12.3-inch touchscreen interface paired with a digital aide. Additional perks consist of an optional premium JBL sound setup. This large-sized SUV is quite appealing; however, costs escalate rapidly when adding more options.
What improvements could possibly be made to this Toyota SUV?
Even though it offers impressive fuel efficiency, the 2.5L turbocharged hybrid engine requires premium gas to reach its advertised performance and mileage. This makes it costlier to operate compared to the V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which performs well with regular fuel according to EPA estimates.
During my testing, Apple CarPlay occasionally failed to function properly, even though it had connected seamlessly at first.
Things I’m not sure about the Land Cruiser
The dimensions and cost of the Land Cruiser come quite close to Toyota’s 4Runner SUV , which is a new addition this year and slightly larger than the Land Cruiser,Toyota’s premier SUV. Does Toyota really require two SUVs that are so comparable?
Key features of the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV
- Seats five
- Rear- or four-wheel drive
- Standard hybrid power: 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque
- 6,000 pounds towing
- 2.4-liter turbocharged powerplant, Eight-speed automated gearbox
- Predicted fuel efficiency: 22 mpg in-city/25 mpg on highways/23 mpg overall.
Reach out to Mark Phelan at 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com . Follow him on X @ mark_phelan . Read more on autos and register for our autos newsletter . Become a subscriber .
The article initially appeared in the Detroit Free Press. I took Toyota's 2025 Land Cruiser out for a second look ― and loved it more
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