2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Is Cool, Affordable, Honors the Original

• The 2024 Land Cruiser is available in 1958, Land Cruiser, and First Version grades, with the bottom value for the 1958 mannequin teased on the mid-$50,000 vary.
• Each Land Cruiser contains a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder hybrid powertrain that delivers 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque.
• All TLCs have full-time four-wheel drive with locking middle and rear differentials; a disconnecting entrance anti-roll bar and 33-inch tires are additionally out there.

Toyota formally pulled the wraps off the brand new 2024 Land Cruiser at present, in a rebirth that was hardly shocking contemplating the enduring cachet this nameplate enjoys internationally. Now off-road fans with sights set on backcountry journey will be capable of hit the path in a brand new Land Cruiser as an alternative of ready years for the value of a used high-mileage Land Cruiser to fall inside attain.

It’s to be anticipated that Toyota wouldn’t stroll away from this iconic car. As a substitute, the automaker referred to as a outing and used it to engineer a clear break from the Land Cruiser’s more and more costly and bloated mall-cruiser trajectory. This fascinating off-roader has stayed trustworthy to the unique idea, however Toyota made a decided effort to return this off-road SUV to a extra mainstream value level.

An Reasonably priced Land Cruiser

Toyota is not disclosing full particulars, however the beginning value will probably be in “the mid-$50,000 vary.” Evaluate that to the $87,030 minimal price of entry for the discontinued 2021 Land Cruiser, and you may see why Toyota expects gross sales to extend considerably over the paltry 3000 to 4000 items per yr they usually moved over the previous decade. They are not saying how a lot gross sales will improve, however we discover it telling that they plan to promote all 5000 examples of the First Version—a quantity they have not hit in a whole yr since 2004—inside the first three months. After these are constructed, manufacturing will shift to the inexpensive base Land Cruiser 1958 (so named for the primary yr of U.S. Land Cruiser gross sales) and the merely named Land Cruiser variant.

To convey the value down, the brand new Cruiser rides on a model of Toyota’s new world TGNA-F truck platform, a modular workhorse that underpins Tundras, Sequoias, and even the brand new Tacoma. It is the inspiration for the world-market 300-series Land Cruiser, and beneath one other acronym it seems beneath the Lexus LX600 (a U.S.-spec 300-series Land Cruiser variant) and the upcoming Lexus GX550. It additionally helps that the brand new mannequin is strictly a five-passenger machine, which saves price by eliminating the necessity to engineer third-row local weather distribution ducting, passenger controls, and different lodging.

What Form of Land Cruiser Is It?

Within the Toyota geek-speak that Land Cruiser aficionados love, the brand new Land Cruiser is technically a 250-series. It is not close to as massive because the pure-300 Lexus LX600, however it’s newer than the 200-series Cruiser that left the scene in 2021. All three of those share a 112.2-inch wheelbase, however the brand new TLC is almost seven inches shorter than the LX from nostril to tail. In comparison with the outdated 200, the brand new mannequin shares an total width of 78.0 inches, stands solely 0.8 inch shorter, and is simply 1.2 inches stubbier entrance to again. That stated, the variations seem large in actual life as a result of the 2024 Land Cruiser has a slim physique, grille, and greenhouse with outstanding fender flares that cowl a relatively broad monitor. It is a clearly skinnier car that appears prefer it has been modded to provide it a harder stance.

Regardless of the narrower physique, the lodging really feel extra beneficiant than the present 4Runner. Inside dimensions will not be but out there, however the car feels right-sized. That is as a result of this smaller Land Cruiser continues to be not as small as the present Toyota 4Runner, which nonetheless has a spot to stay within the hierarchy in its regular place beneath this new Land Cruiser. Toyota is mum about any new 4Runner specifics, besides to say it is not going anyplace. We expect the brand new 4Runner, when it arrives, will slot in at a lower cost level through the use of the Tacoma’s part-time four-wheel-drive system and its base and midlevel engine choices. A high-performance TRD Professional will most likely proceed, as that may distinguish it from the extra overland-focused Land Cruiser.

Downsized Hybrid Powertrain, Higher MPG

All 2024 Land Cruisers will probably be powered by the identical 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid iForce Max powertrain and eight-speed transmission that can energy the excessive finish of the Tacoma mannequin vary, most notably the TRD Professional. This powertrain’s output of 326 mixed horsepower represents a dip beneath the outdated 5.7-liter V-8’s 381 ponies, however its mighty mixed torque of 465 pound-feet betters the outdated mannequin’s 401 pound-feet the place it counts off-road—particularly for the reason that iForce generates peak torque at simply 1700 rpm as an alternative of 3600 revs. An built-in tow hitch is customary, however this smaller and fewer highly effective Land Cruiser’s tow ranking does drop from the prior mannequin’s 8100 kilos to a still-respectable 6000 kilos.

Toyota will not launch fuel-economy estimates till later this yr, however we anticipate large will increase over the 2021’s appalling 14 mpg mixed (13 metropolis/17 freeway). The reformulated hybrid Cruiser also needs to handily outclass the bigger LX600’s 19 mpg mixed (17 metropolis/22 freeway).

Using this engine is a giant purpose why the Land Cruiser is strictly a five-passenger machine. The hybrid system’s 1.87-kWh nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery sits atop the axle the place a 3rd row would go, and it even creates a load ground that is a bit increased than we prefer to see. Nonetheless, the cargo space is voluminous, and we admire how the hybrid setup permits the fitment of a typical 2400-watt inverter and energy supply system.

Acquainted {Hardware}

The 2024 Cruiser follows the identical full-time four-wheel-drive blueprint because the prior mannequin. It has a two-speed switch case with a Torsen middle differential that enables fixed all-wheel drive operation on dry pavement. The middle differential mechanically locks when the switch case is shifted into low vary, or the motive force can select to lock it in excessive vary. All new Land Cruisers even have push-button-lock rear differentials, a Crawl Management system, and Downhill Help Management.

The essential suspension idea is identical as earlier than, although the change to TNGA-F structure did end in some element alterations. This Cruiser nonetheless rides on twin control-arm impartial entrance suspension and a strong rear axle that is situated by 4 trailing hyperlinks and a Panhard rod. Easy twin-tube dampers are used throughout, however the so-called KDSS system of mechanically disconnecting entrance and rear anti-roll bars isn’t any extra. The brand new Lexus GX550 will get a brand new e-KDSS evolution of the idea, however the 2024 Land Cruiser eschews that within the title of price containment.

How the Grades Differ

The 1958 base mannequin is designed for individuals who will not go off-road fairly often, however it additionally has attraction for these that can enterprise out and need to lower your expenses to spend on suspension and tire mods of their selecting. It has skinnier 245/70R-18 32-inch tires and glued anti-roll bars. It additionally has manually adjustable material heated seats, a heated steering wheel, the smaller 8-inch touchscreen, and lacks an influence liftgate. It does have heritage-style spherical LED headlights, which we discover fairly cool.

Step as much as the Land Cruiser and First Version fashions, and also you get 265/70R-18 33-inch tires with considerably extra aggressive tread, a disconnectable entrance anti-roll bar to enhance articulation, and a Multi-Terrain Choose system that may optimize the traction management for varied circumstances in excessive vary in addition to low vary. Each get the bigger 12.3-inch touchscreen and a 10-speaker audio system, however the Land Cruiser trades spherical LED headlights for rectangular ones. The spherical ones come again on the First Version, although, together with rock rails, a roof rack, a entrance skidplate, and extra.

If off-roading isn’t your factor and also you’d relatively roll on 20s, the Land Cruiser grade affords them as an possibility. Choose First Version customary fare, akin to ventilated leather-based seats, can be found in a Land Cruiser Premium bundle.

The Jury Has Practically Completed Deliberating

We’re much less suspicious of the brand new Land Cruiser now that we have regarded past the essential specs and examined it in actual life. The downsizing is not as radical in a mechanical sense as we feared, and sure dimensions aren’t that far off the 200-series. The truth that the physique is narrower and extra tightly drawn might be a optimistic off highway, and the truth that it’s a five-seater isn’t any dangerous factor. The simple look of the suspension is bound to fireplace up the creativeness of aftermarket tuners, so a plethora of third-party equipment is bound to come back on-line briefly order.

The most important unknown is the drivability of the two.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder iForce Max hybrid powertrain. The numbers are good, and the concept of getting an electrical motor including easy torque at very low rpm sounds prefer it has potential, however it’s nonetheless theoretical till we get behind the wheel. The identical is true of the relative deserves of the entrance anti-roll-bar disconnect versus the outgoing KDSS system.

Like numerous components on the brand new Land Cruiser, the return to a less complicated and more cost effective method has numerous attraction. It definitely has introduced the value again right down to earth, and that is no dangerous factor. And who can argue with a Land Cruiser that is sure to get respectable gasoline financial system? As for the inevitable outrage of the purists, not more than 4000 of them laid their cash on the desk annually over that final decade or so. How a lot collective upset can there be? It is fairly clear the demand for a bloated and costly Land Cruiser barely existed. This new route is sure to get extra of them within the palms of people who all the time needed one, and we’re trying ahead to seeing model new examples out on the paths.

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