Some Say The 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Is a Mistake - Here’s Why They’re Wrong!

The Toyota Land Cruiser is one of the most iconic off-road nameplates in history, and there have been a lot of generations over the years. And in this video, we're gonna compare them starting from 1961, going all the way up to the brand new 2024 250 Series. The Toyota Land Cruiser hit U.S. shores in 1958, and this one is a really early example. This is a 1961 Toyota FJ25, and you tell a Land Cruiser based on its series number. 25 is pretty early, and now we're all the way up to 250 on the brand new model. But this FJ25 is about as close to an old school Willys or Willis Jeep as you can possibly get. The Land Cruiser was designed in post-war Japan, and its overall design was based on ex-surplus World War II Jeeps. And the similarities are uncanny, but the differences certainly became apparent as the series went on. Now this FJ25 is very utilitarian. You've got these flat fenders, you've got a couple of little vents in the hood, a nice set of running boards, and that's pretty much it from a design standpoint. Now most of the Land Cruisers you see in the U.S., at least the old ones, are gonna be an FJ40, but the easiest way to tell a 25 from a 40 is the grille. This has the horizontal grille slots versus the iconic grille of the 40 Series. And another cool feature, you'll notice the grille actually hinges downward to gain easier access to the engine. Just like the older Willys Jeeps, the engine is actually secured via these latches, but you'll notice they're inverted compared to the Jeeps, and now we can open up the hood. Now the engine of the Land Cruiser is a 3.9 liter inline six cylinder that makes 125 horsepower. And these engines are actually derived off of an old Chevrolet Stovebolt 6 design. Very, very durable engines. Although with 125 horsepower, this is not gonna be a speed demon. The interior of this Land Cruiser is as bare bones and basic as it comes. You've got a very basic bench seat. And one interesting feature is the fuel tank is on the passenger side, unlike the Jeeps where the fuel tank would be on the driver's side, but then of course this was initially designed as a right-hand drive vehicle. But there are almost no frills on the inside of this vehicle. A huge plastic steering wheel with no power steering, a basic speedometer, oil light, temperature, fuel, and charge light, and that's just about it. You do have a little map light here, which I guess is kinda nice, and then your manual transmission selector, your low range selector, and your parking brake. That's it. Now out back, this Land Cruiser has a super simple tailgate system, a couple latches, and then the tailgate folds down. And an interesting feature on these early FJ25s is the rounded wheel arch versus the more squared off ones of the later models. Now the locking hubs on this Land Cruiser look like an absolute puzzle mystery, but they're actually really simple. So the way these work is you have these two levers and you pull them out of their little indents. Sometimes they get a little stuck. And then you actually twist them and place them back in the other indents to lock the hubs on this Land Cruiser. Really cool design. The cars you see today in this video are from the Toyota Heritage Collection, and Toyota keeps a large number of vehicles in near perfect condition for historical reasons. Unfortunately, on the day of the filming, we did not have access to a 40 or a 55 series Land Cruiser, so we're gonna jump to the 60 series, the first of the modern era Land Cruisers. This 60 series is actually specifically an FJ62. You can tell by the square headlights. And the 60 series went from 80 to 89, although actually, in Venezuela, they made them all the way until 1992. This is a very old school platform here. You're looking at four corner leaf springs, solid axles, front and rear, body on frame, of course, as an off-roader should be. And it also has that iconic Land Cruiser split tailgate. This is something hugely important in the history of Land Cruisers. Here on the inside of the 62, it's a lot more modern than something like a 40 series, and especially the 25 that we were looking at at the beginning here, but still a pretty old school interior. This particular model has over 300,000 miles on it, so it's seen some things, kind of like most Land Cruisers have. And yeah, I mean, it's held up pretty well, considering it's still a really comfortable place to sit. And it's the kind of thing that it's not so old school, you couldn't drive it today. One of the big difference between a 60 series and a 62 side from the squared off headlights is what came under the hood. So an earlier 60 series Land Cruiser is going to have a 4.2 liter inline six, whereas a later model like this 62 series is going to have this fuel injected four liter, and that got you as much as 155 horsepower. So it's really not that much. Also, when the 62 came around, the manual transmission went away. However, if you were in some markets other than the US, you could get a few different options, including a couple of diesel engines, one of which was even a turbo diesel. A new decade meant a new Land Cruiser. And starting in 1990, Toyota introduced the 80 series of the Land Cruiser with a slew of improvements over the 60 series. It still had the solid front axle, but it got coil springs and it got a lot more refinement inside and out. Now visually, the Land Cruiser got a lot more smoothed out. We saw the introduction of round edges for aerodynamics, but it still retains that iconic boxy shape and it still has the legendary split tailgate. So the top portion opens, then the bottom, and we got to talk about the third row of seats, which do something really cool. The third row of seats, rather than folding forward and into the floor, instead fold forward and then you pull this lever and the whole third row pivots upward against the wall, like that. And then you got these little hooks that keep it up here with that grab handle. Now this is an iconic Land Cruiser trait that they used all the way up through the 200 series and certainly one of the coolest parts about these 80 series. Now, as we step inside the 80 series, this was a very transitional period for Toyota because it was the introduction and perhaps the start of the more luxurious Land Cruisers. So we got much nicer seats, more features, more frills. And by modern standards, this is not a particularly luxurious experience, but for the early 90s, it was really quite nice. And this is an early FJ80. It went to some changes later on in the 90s, we'll talk about in a second, but very simple dashboard, sliding controls, automatic transmission, low range transfer case, very mechanical, very durable. The 80 series came in two different configs, the FJ80, which is this one, and the FZJ80, which got a much improved engine. This one makes 155 horsepower. It's the big issue with these cars is they're pretty heavy, pretty big, not a lot of power, especially like in Colorado where we live, they do struggle going up some of the big hills, but a bulletproof, dirt-simple engine. And the easiest way to tell an FJ80 from an FZJ80 is a Toyota badge on the front. These early ones spelled out Toyota, and the later ones had the little Toyota emblem. All right, Case, behind the wheel of the 80, and I think this is one of your favorites, right? Dude, you love these 80 series. It is, yeah. I mean, I love the look of it. I love the solid axles. Plus you've got that center diff lock here, and a traditional low range. This is most of what you want in an off-roader. You could also get these with three diff locks, right? Yeah, it was incredible. You get them triple locked, which was insane. And, you know, the prices on these have gone mad because people have figured out just exactly how cool these cars are, right? They have the look and the feel of a comfortable SUV, but they've got the underpinnings of, well, let's be honest, a large Wrangler with solid axles in the front and the back. Absolutely, yeah. It's old school in a lot of really good ways, which I like. And I remember, isn't it that the triple lock ones were only the early with this? I'm not sure when they did that. No, so this one is a really early one. I think this one's a 91, and it's got the center diff lock, open diff front and back. But what I love about these 80 series is, first of all, look how big the windows are. You got huge windows to the front, to the sides, low belt line, great visibility outside. You can see the whole world driving along in an 80 series. There's just so much glass in this. And I do really wish that we had the opportunity to drive a few more of the Land Cruisers that we've been able to see today. But this is Toyota's collection, so we have to keep things on their property here in the lot. And there's only certain ones that we can drive, especially because, well, the brand new one, no one's gotten to drive yet. No, no one. And hopefully we'll have that drive for you next year. But look, these 80 series are incredible. They're not fast. They are not great for towing if you have heavy loads, but they'll get you where you need to go, always dead reliable, pretty comfortable. Yeah, they're just awesome. Here we have the 100 series Land Cruiser, which went from 1998 to 2007. So something that we have to talk about with the 100 series is that at the time, this was a very controversial vehicle because this marked the transition from an inline six to a V8, and also was the step away from a solid front axle. So moving here to the 100 series at the time, very, very controversial move. And there's still those people that are diehards for the older solid front axle Land Cruisers. But over time, these 100 series Land Cruisers still prove themselves to be unbelievably capable. Overall, the 100 series has a little bit less of that elongated station wagon kind of profile to it, and takes a bit more of an upright modern SUV shape. However, it's still fairly rounded out like the 80 series was. And of course, you still have the split tailgate like you would expect on a Land Cruiser. And funny enough, because this one is coming out of their heritage collection, they have a few promotional materials here from back when this was new. You could see that they were very excited to promote that V8 engine. Now we've mentioned it, let's actually take a look at it. Here we have the 2UZ-FE 4.7 liter V8 that these had here in the States. There were a few different engine options that you could have overseas, but this was the engine that we got here in the States. And these are extremely venerable, solid, robust engines. These things can go hundreds of thousands of miles. In fact, we even filmed a video with a Toyota Tundra that had the same motor and was over a million miles. While the 80 series was considerably more luxurious than the 60 series, this 100 series is then even a bigger step forward. So you can see a much more modern interior. Instead of sliders, you have these dials here for your climate controls. You have this radio that's nicely integrated into the dash. By modern standards, of course, this is a very simple interior, but you have a lot of nice materials, good leather seats that are heated as well. And in the ways that count, it's still pretty old school because, check that out, you still have a lever to engage low range. All right, Gates, into the 100 series. And what do you think of these vehicles? They're like, they're one of those, there's one of those cars that people really like or they're kind of on the fence on. Well, this was one of my family's childhood vehicles. This is one of the vehicles that I grew up around. So I have a fond set of memories about these 100 series LandCruisers. And they're just so solid. But I know people were really worried when it went to that independent front suspension. But I mean, but you can't deny that these have proven themselves to be really solid vehicles and good off-road. Oh yeah, people love these. These early ones had a rear diff lock. Later on, they went to the A-track, which is like a traction control based off-road system. But you know, they're not quite as like compact and as nimble as like the 80 series, right? But if you wanna cover a large distance in extreme comfort, that's where the 100 is arguably one of the best LandCruisers ever because they are just big cushions that float down the road and can still tackle pretty decent terrain. Absolutely, yeah. No, this is just a good all-around vehicle and it feels a lot more modern. It feels more plush, more isolated here on the interior. And the power of that V8 is also pretty nice to have, especially if you have a small trailer, maybe you wanna pull. Big improvement over the six-cylinder, good comfort, good space, all-around great vehicle. Now we get onto this, the 200 series LandCruiser that went from 2008 all the way to 2021. And here in the States, at least, this was really the pinnacle of LandCruisers being these very premium flagship SUVs. They are still very off-road capable, but this is when they really peaked in terms of luxury. And it didn't go all the way from 08 to 21 without any changes. In 2016, there was a pretty major facelift. Like the 100 series before it, you have a V8 here under the hood, except now, here in the 200 series, you had a 5.7 liter V8. So a bigger displacement V8 that got you 381 horsepower, which was a nice big number for a big SUV. This particular LandCruiser is a later model, and you can tell because it's a heritage edition. Now, we actually thought when this LandCruiser went away in 2021 that we weren't gonna have any LandCruisers anymore, but that's when Toyota surprised us, a couple of years later, with this new LandCruiser. Inside the LandCruiser, you see this very high-end interior with nice materials, nice fabrics, nice leather seats. Admittedly, when this vehicle left production, this interior did feel a little bit dated. The screen, by today's standards, was getting small. It wasn't the best interior in this price range because these vehicles were commanding close to $100,000, especially a heritage edition like this, which made it a difficult sell for a lot of people. And that's part of the reason that here in the States, these went out of production. All right, everybody. So we've got a really great opportunity to talk to someone directly involved on the LandCruiser team. Who are we talking with? Hi, I'm Tyler Lichtenberger. I'm the marketing manager for Tundra, Sequoia, and LandCruiser. So, Tyler, this is your personal 200 series. It is. And why did you end up with this vehicle? Why 200? I kind of fell into this vehicle. My husband and I had a 4Runner on order. We ended up giving it to a very deserving person who was involved in a crash, the Fort Worth FJ, if anybody remembers that story. And I was able to get this LandCruiser as an employee lease. And it's funny, because my husband and I had originally wanted that. We chose a 4Runner, and then we ultimately ended up back in the LandCruiser. So it just kind of was fortuitous in the way that it happened. But ultimately, I was supposed to have this vehicle. And I just love the 200 series, because, I mean, it's iconic the way the heritage edition, specifically with the wheels, the rack, et cetera, and just the power and capability that LandCruiser is known for. And this generation specifically, people talk about. But, and obviously, because it's the last one before the reintroduction. Yeah. And let's talk about that. So why is Toyota reintroducing the LandCruiser? What does it mean to the brand? So LandCruiser is foundational to our trucks, right? And 1958, that is a grade of the new 2024 LandCruiser. And it was named that because 1958 was the year that we sold one LandCruiser only here in North America, one and one only. But it really was the start of our truck journey here in North America for Toyota. And so LandCruiser is the vehicle that can take you anywhere and then bring you back. And that vehicle in 1958 started all the previous generations. And the 250 series or the new 2024 LandCruiser continues that heritage. And that brings us to the all new 2024 Toyota LandCruiser known as the 250 series. The LandCruiser has gotten a lot smaller than the outgoing 2021 200 series. It's also gotten a lot more affordable now starting in the mid $50,000 mark compared to 80, 90, close to a hundred grand for a fully loaded heritage. So this car has gotten smaller, it's gotten more affordable and it's got some big changes under the hood. Now the progression of LandCruiser engines have changed a lot over the years, in the States especially where we primarily got gasoline LandCruisers. So the 60 series had a six-cylinder, the 80 series had a six-cylinder, the 100 and the 200 went to V8 and the 250 has downsized to a four-cylinder. But it's got a turbo and a hybrid system, a very controversial engine layout in this LandCruiser. What's not controversial though is the engine output, 326 horsepower, which is a good output. It uses nickel metal hydride batteries, which is a fairly old school battery technology and should be proven in this platform. They live behind the rear seats and we'll check those out in a second. But look, I know a lot of people are really concerned about the turbo hybrid setup. If it was any other company other than Toyota on the front, I'd also be concerned, but these are the folks that invented the hybrid system, they're gonna do it right. I really have a good feeling about the setup and if it means more power and better efficiency over the old one, at least, you know, a power to weight, I think this is a cool choice. Now as we make our way to the rear of the LandCruiser, something interesting is that this model is technically worldwide known as a LandCruiser Prado, which is what the Lexus GX has historically been based on. Now it's the only LandCruiser going forward in the States, abroad they also have a 300 series, but the 250 is what we're getting. Good size trunk in this vehicle, doesn't have the split tailgate anymore, which is a little bit of a shame. And also no more third row option, at least for the US, because underneath the floor is where the high voltage battery lives. A pro of that high voltage battery though, is check this out, a 2400 watt inverter back here to power everything you need for camping and that kind of thing. And you also have cup holders, a remnant of the third row LandCruiser, but now super useful if you're out in the woods, for example, you want places to put your drinks, stick them back there, you even have USB ports. All right, now let's check out the inside of this all new 2024. So there are two configurations, primary configurations. There's a 1958 and then this one, the LandCruiser trim, which is the top spec. This is a really early pre-production model. So things may not be final in here, but this interior is very premium. Starting out with these brown perforated leather seats that are both heated and ventilated, which is great. And then we've got contrasting white stitching across the armrest, as well as along the side of the seats. And let's talk about the capability, right? So we have a center diff lock and a rear diff lock, along with a stability bar disconnect and a proper low range. This is a permanent full-time four-wheel drive vehicle. And then beyond that, we also have several different drive modes and several different off-road modes through the multi-terrain select, as well as downhill assist and crawl control. So you've got tons of different off-road aids to help you when you're out on the trail. We also have this large center mounted screen with user profiles. And apart from that, from connectivity standpoint, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, wireless charger, USB-C ports, full camera view system, dual zone automatic climate. So even though this vehicle is much more affordable than the outgoing 200 series, it still is quite luxurious, which is great to see. From a capability standpoint, we do have under nine inches of ground clearance, but we do have skid plates underneath, tow points in the front, and a 6,000 pound rated towing capacity with a hitch in the back and an integrated brake controller. So this Land Cruiser is fully set up for both your off-road and your towing needs. And, you know, it's great to see their commitment with both the center and the rear diff lock, as well as a sway bar disconnect, something we haven't seen in Land Cruisers for a long time. A huge thank you to Toyota for allowing us to come out and film these Land Cruisers side by side from their collection. An amazing chance to see some of the most incredible off-roaders of all time. Now you may have noticed we're missing a few, including the 40 and the 55, but these are the Land Cruisers from the modern era. And I'd love to know in the comment section below, which one is your favorite. Thanks to Case behind the camera. And as always, this has been Tommy. Check out alltfl.com for more news, views, and real world reviews.