New Toyota Land Cruiser Rethinks An Iconic SUV

by Zac Quinn August 6, 2023, 8:00 am

The Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco better watch out, as Toyota has just reintroduced the Land Cruiser, and this time with a more affordable price tag and full intention to be used as an off-road machine, not a mall wagon. Think of it as a more direct answer to the popular Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco. What’s more? It pays homage to the original with its fantastic styling reminiscent of the legendary 80 series. However, with this new Land Cruiser for the United States, we lose quite a few things. Namely, the V8 engine, while the SUV shrinks in stature from before.

Please enable JavaScript

If you didn’t know, the 80 series Toyota Land Cruiser also known as the FJ80, was the final production model before the company pushed the car in a more family hauler direction with a sizeable price tag of around $87,000 for the 2021 model. But that’s not the case with the new 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, which features a base price teased at the mid-$50,000 range. This is a fantastic step back from the company, keep the expensive mall-cruiser line with the Lexus LX. As for the new Toyota Land Cruiser, the price is lower than before, thanks to the decision to have this SUV ride on a version of Toyota’s new global TNGA-F truck platform. This modular workhorse underpins Tundras, Sequoias, and even the new Tacoma.

The 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser does away with the third-row seating, which saves cost by eliminating the need to engineer third-row climate distribution ducting, passenger controls, and other fancy whatsits. The 2024 Land Cruiser will have massive appeal to buyers thanks to its narrow body, grille, and greenhouse with prominent fender flares that cover a comparatively broad track. It’s a skinnier vehicle than the 200-series Cruiser, world-market 300-series, and the Lexus LX600. But customers won’t miss out on fancy hardware despite the smaller size.

The new 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser follows the same full-time four-wheel-drive blueprint as the prior model. It has a two-speed transfer case with a Torsen center differential that allows constant all-wheel drive operation on dry pavement. The center diff automatically locks when the transfer case is shifted into a low range, or the driver can lock it in a high range. In addition, all new Land Cruisers have push-button-lock rear diffs, Crawl Control, and Downhill Assist Control. As for the suspension, the SUV still rides on the dual control-arm independent front suspension and a solid rear axle that’s located by four trailing links and a Panhard rod. Simple twin-tube dampers are used all around, but the so-called KDSS system of automatically disconnecting the front and rear anti-roll bars is gone.

As for the powertrain, all 2024 Toyota Land Cruisers will be powered by the same 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid iForce Max powertrain and eight-speed transmission that will power the high end of the Tacoma model range, most notably the TRD Pro. Customers will have 326 combined horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque on tap for off-road enjoyment. As for fuel economy, Toyota will release estimates later this year, but it’s expected to be a massive increase over the 2021’s 14 mpg combined fuel economy numbers. It should also be more than the larger LX600’s 19 mpg combined, so our guess is the mid to high 20s. In addition, the hybrid setup enables the fitment of a standard 2400-watt inverter and power delivery system in the cargo area, similar to Ford’s ProPower Onboard.

Finally, we have three different trims for the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, starting with the 1958 base model, designed for those who will only be going off-roading sometimes. That said, it still appeals to those who will venture out and want to save money on suspension and tire mods of their choosing. With skinnier 245/70R-18 32-inch tires and fixed anti-roll bars. It also has manually adjustable cloth heated seats, a heated steering wheel, a smaller 8-inch touchscreen, and no power liftgate. That said, it does have heritage styling around the headlights. The following two trims are the Land Cruiser and First Edition models, where customers get 33-inch tires with slightly more aggressive tread, a disconnectable front anti-roll bar to improve articulation, and a Multi-Terrain Select system that can optimize the traction control for various conditions in high range as well as low range. Both get a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen, a 10-speaker audio system, and the round LED headlights are replaced with rectangular ones. The round ones come back on the First Edition, along with rock rails, a roof rack, a front skidplate, and more.

Zac's love for cars started at a young age, after seeing the popular Eleanor from Gone In 60 Seconds. From there, fascination and enthusiasm blossomed and to this day the Ford Mustang remains a favorite. His first job started out detailing cars, but also provided the opportunity to work on restoration including an 1968 Ford Mustang, Ford Firebird, and a C3 Corvette, though he left that job before further work and experience could be had. From there, he was a detailer at a car dealership before quitting that job to try and finish college.

Much of his free time while studying was spent watching YouTube videos regarding new cars, or off-roading. 4WD247 is a personal favorite channel which rekindled a dying flame in car enthusiasm, now tailored towards trucks and SUVs and the fun that can be had building up an overlanding rig, and going on adventures, though, that chapter remains unwritten for the time being.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment *

Name *

Email *

Website

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Heck yeah, sign me up for the daily MC&T 10-Second Newsletter!

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Δ

Never miss out on American muscle cars, trucks, and SUV news!

Get your updates from our daily 10-second email newsletter

Email address:

Don't worry, we don't spam. At all, ever.

See more

Trending

Tyrannosaurus Rex Not Included.

With Obligations To GM And A Deep Relationship With Jeep, Will We Ever See A Ford Bronco From AEV?

This Is The Second Time Ford Has Patented Body-Mounted Traction Boards

Clever Engineering Lets A JK or JL Wrangler Pack On The Pounds

Trending

A Clearer Picture Of The Overland Concept

Trending

The Day Will Close Out With A Performance From The Musician

Trending

The Project Will Be For The Mustang’s 60th Anniversary

Trending

Tyrannosaurus Rex Not Included.

Trending Hot

by Zac Quinn July 21, 2023, 9:15 am

Hot

by Zac Quinn July 24, 2023, 12:14 pm

Hot

by Zac Quinn July 7, 2023, 9:02 am

Hot

by Zac Quinn August 4, 2023, 6:31 am