2027 Toyota Land Cruiser Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Two versions of this SUV are available for 2027—the Land Cruiser 1958 and an unnamed higher trim level—and it's easy to them tell apart. The 1958 has round headlights and cloth seats, while the other version has rectangular lamps and standard artificial leather upholstery. The higher trim level is also available in more colors than the 1958’s limited palette of white, black, or gray, and it's available with more features and optional upgrades.

Starting at $59,775 with the $1,595 destination charge, the 1958 exists for people who love a basic but functional vehicle and might be stretching their budget to reach Toyota’s legendary SUV. Priced from $64,620 (including destination), the upmarket Land Cruiser is made for those seeking a little more for their money.

Our Land Cruiser test vehicle had several options, including two-tone Trail Dust and Grayscape paint, the Premium Package, a stabilizer bar disconnect system, steel skid plates, a center console cool box, a rear bumper guard mat, and a liftgate light. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) was $73,740, including destination.

Climb aboard, and the Cruiser’s cabin emphasizes function over form. It’s not as upscale as its platform-mate, the Lexus GX, but the test vehicle’s optional Premium Package included soft leather upholstery in a rich Java brown and generous padding on common contact surfaces. The all-season floor mats are a reminder of the Land Cruiser’s off-roading and foul-weather capabilities.

The displays and switchgear are similar to those of the Lexus, which costs more, so this is one Toyota that seems a cut above the norm. Aside from a thin metallic echo when a door slams, the Land Cruiser exudes quality in its construction and materials.

Toyota equips the Land Cruiser with the same i-Force Max hybrid powertrain as the 4Runner SUV and Tacoma pickup truck. This hybrid system pairs a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor to produce 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard, along with full-time four-wheel drive (4WD), a trailer brake controller, and 6,000 pounds of towing capacity.

According to the EPA, a 2027 Land Cruiser should return 23 mpg combined on premium fuel, which Toyota recommends. During a significant Southern California heat wave, our test vehicle averaged 20.3 mpg on our fuel economy loop. Later, during cooler weather, the Land Cruiser returned 18.1 mpg on our mountainous evaluation route.

To ensure the latest Land Cruisers live up to the expectations set by their predecessors, the newest generation has center and locking rear differentials, a limited-slip rear differential, hill-start assist, hill-descent assist, and Crawl Control—a low-speed cruise-control system for off-roading. Ground clearance measures 8.7 inches, and the angles of approach, breakover, and departure measure 32, 22, and 23 degrees, respectively.

Upgrade from the 1958 to the higher-spec Land Cruiser, and there's a different 18-inch wheel design with wider 265/70R18 Michelin LTX Trail tires, while 20-inch wheels are optionally available on the upper trim level. Additionally, this version features Multi-Terrain Select (MTS) modes (including Mud, Dirt, and Sand), and the Multi-Terrain Monitor (MTM) surround-view camera system, while a front stabilizer bar disconnect system is optional.

With 5,445 pounds to motivate, the i-Force Max powertrain has its work cut out for it, but it offers more than adequate oomph. That 465 lb-ft of torque feels impressive, especially when drivers gently roll into it instead of mashing their foot on the accelerator pedal. Ultimately, though it feels quick, it’s not.

Designed and engineered for serious off-roading, the Land Cruiser effortlessly scaled a local mountain trail, picking its way across treacherous ruts and dips in 4WD Lo with the MTS Dirt setting active. We didn’t need to lock the diffs or disconnect the front stabilizer bar, though doing so may have prevented some of the wheel-slip we occasionally experienced. The test vehicle’s Michelins might have also been to blame, as they lacked bite. Later, a steep descent was no trouble at all thanks to the standard Crawl Control system.

In daily driving, the Land Cruiser is mostly agreeable. It often rides like a truck but feels impervious to crumbling urban infrastructure. It soaks up speed bumps and humps, and while occupants are aware of poorly maintained pavement, they should expect to feel the road in a rugged off-roader like this. A few times when driving in the city or in traffic, we felt and heard an odd drivetrain clunk, but nothing worrisome. The primary downside here is a touchy brake pedal that can make it hard to slow down smoothly.

Nevertheless, the Land Cruiser was a pleasing conveyance during a day trip into Los Angeles. It navigated the narrow residential streets of the Hollywood Hills just as easily as it did the rutted trail in the Santa Monica Mountains. The boxy dimensions, clear view out, and surround-view cameras made parallel parking a breeze. We also had no trouble squeezing into cramped parking garages thanks to a tight turning radius and reasonably tidy dimensions.

On the mountainous evaluation route, the Land Cruiser proved predictably reluctant to hustle down a canyon road. The Michelins felt squishy and howled in curves, and the SUV exhibited a lot of nose dive when braking, rear squat when accelerating, and body roll in corners. The handling is predictable, though, even over undulating pavement.

On the Pacific Coast Highway, the Land Cruiser proved smooth and easy to drive. Road noise was not an issue, but wind noise sure was. It seemed like one of the windows was slightly cracked, but we checked multiple times to make sure that they and the power sunroof were all tightly sealed. If not for that flaw, we think the Land Cruiser would be a quiet and comfortable road-trip vehicle.

As we mentioned, the 1958 model is basic, equipped with manually adjustable front seats (including for height) and cloth upholstery. Buyers who choose the other trim level get power-adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation, wrapped in Toyota’s SofTex artificial leather. Our test vehicle had the optional Premium Package, which adds genuine leather, memory for the driver’s preferred settings, heated and ventilated rear seats, a power sunroof, and several technology upgrades.

The Land Cruiser’s front and rear seats are quite comfortable, with plenty of room for up to five people. A third-row seat is not available—that's the Lexus GX's territory.

Storage is a mixed bag. For example, the test vehicle’s optional center console cool box is sized to hold just four beverage cans, so it’s not particularly large. It also seems to be smaller than whatever storage bin is standard, so unless buyers are really big fans of chilled beverages, we think they should skip this option. And speaking of drinks, the cupholders can’t hold larger water bottles, such a 32-ounce flask.

A power liftgate is standard with the upper trim level, granting access to a 46.2 cubic-foot cargo area. The liftover height is extremely high, due to the placement of the hybrid powertrain’s battery pack underneath the cargo floor. Also, unlike with a Toyota 4Runner, the rear window doesn’t power down to create an open, airy cabin environment when driving with the windows down.

The cargo space expands to a maximum of 82.2 cubic feet. The 60/40-split rear seat folds down or tumbles forward. Either way, it isn't possible to achieve a flat surface, which makes it even harder to load bulky, heavy items.

A 7-inch digital driver display and an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system are standard in the Land Cruiser 1958. Upgrade to the other trim level, and there's a more sophisticated tech stack, featuring a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation panel and a 12.3-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system.

Our test vehicle had the bigger displays, along with wireless phone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, and Toyota Connected Services. The Premium Package equipped our Land Cruiser with a 14-speaker JBL audio system, a digital rearview mirror, and a head-up display.

Five connected service plans are available. They include Service Connect, Safety Connect, and Remote Connect with complimentary five-year subscriptions to each, and Wi-Fi Connect for 30 days or three gigabytes of data. Drive Connect, which adds a cloud-based navigation system, an Intelligent Assistant voice recognition system, and concierge services, is free for three months in the higher-spec Land Cruiser, but not the 1958 model.

During testing, the Intelligent Assistant worked almost flawlessly, quickly and accurately responding to our commands. The exception, as usual, was the prompt: “I want to listen to reggae music,” which the system interpreted as “ragtime music”. We also noticed that the response to “I need to go to a hospital,” did not consistently list the hospitals in order of distance.

This infotainment system is simple and easy to use. It lacks a home screen showing different data panels, but it's possible to replicate the experience to some degree by programming the data panels in the digital driver display. We prefer the Night mode even during the day, because the Day mode offers low-contrast graphics that can be hard to see.

Every Land Cruiser has Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 (TSS 3.0), which includes high-beam assist, forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, and front and rear parking sensors with automatic low-speed braking. Additionally, TSS 3.0 features adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, and lane-centering assist with automatic emergency stop capability.

Proactive Driving Assist (PDA) is also part of TSS 3.0. It can automatically add subtle braking and steering inputs to provide an extra layer of safety, and while it is effective, it can also be a bit too aggressive with those braking inputs for our liking.

Additional standard features include blind-spot monitors with trailer coverage, rear cross-traffic alert, and a safe-exit assist system. A surround-view camera system is optional, and the Premium Package adds lane-change assist, front cross-traffic alert, and Traffic Jam Assist (TJA).

At speeds below 25 mph, TJA offers hands-free driving in heavy traffic. We found it effective in thickening afternoon rush-hour traffic, but 25 mph is a low threshold, and the system kept switching on and off, becoming a distraction instead of a solution.

On the winding Pacific Coast Highway, the lane-centering assist was overly intrusive and seemed to require more effort to override than we'd like. It doesn’t help that the Land Cruiser’s steering is relatively slow, a common trait of off-road vehicles, and when we counter steered to choose a different line through a turn, the SUV would wobble a little on its soft suspension.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), gave the 2027 Toyota Land Cruiser an overall safety rating of four stars. The federal safety agency also gave the Land Cruiser four-star ratings for the driver and front passenger in the frontal-impact crash test, five-star ratings in the side-impact crash test, and a three-star rollover resistance rating.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the Land Cruiser mostly Good ratings, with some Acceptable and Marginal scores in the mix. That Marginal result is from the updated moderate overlap frontal impact test, which measures protection for rear-seat passengers. The rectangular headlights on the more expensive Land Cruiser model score lower (Marginal) than the more affordable 1958’s round headlights (Good).

A Toyota Land Cruiser’s cost-effectiveness depends on what it's measured against.

There are more affordable ways to explore deep into the backcountry, such as a low-spec Ford Bronco or Jeep Wrangler. Compared to those two models, the more refined Jeep Grand Cherokee can also hold its own off-road and is also priced lower than the Land Cruiser (though a fully loaded model costs about the same).

Add the Land Rover Defender 110 and the Lexus GX to the mix, and now the Land Cruiser seems like an economically prudent decision. Toyota has a well-known reputation for reliability that Land Rover can only dream of, and a Defender still costs a few grand more than a base Land Cruiser. The Lexus GX is based on the Land Cruiser but is more powerful and has exclusive features—upgrades that require a higher price tag.

The upshot is that it's possible to buy a less refined vehicle for less money that can tackle the same terrain as the Land Cruiser—or an equally refined Land Rover, but it won’t offer an equal promise of reliability and resale value. The other option is to spend more and get the nicer Lexus version of the Land Cruiser. In that context, the 2027 Land Cruiser strikes us as a good value.