2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Reviews, Pricing & Specs

You can’t have an icon without a distinctive look. Like any good Land Cruiser should be, the J250 is boxy, with a flat roof. Though there’s only one “heritage edition,” each of the three Land Cruiser trims carries details that harken back to the Cruisers of yesteryear. The heritage grille with “TOYOTA” spelled out across the front is a throwback to the 40 series. The round headlights seen on the base 1958 trim and the top-shelf First Edition echo the 20 series, while the rectangular versions found on the middle-grade Land Cruiser refer to the FJ62. All lighting is now LED, serving as a metaphor for the Land Cruiser in general: classic-inspired, but aligned with modern-day standards. The two higher trim levels feature color-selectable fog lights from RIGID Industries. How’s that for a contemporary twist?

Another update for driver comfort? The beltline has been lowered for improved visibility. All 2024 Land Cruisers come with 18-inch alloy wheels, though 20-inch wheels are available for the middle trim. The First Edition gets additional standard off-roader gear like a roof rack, a front skid plate, and mudflaps.

Inside, the base 1958 trim gets cloth seats, while the middle trim’s seats are covered in SofTex. The First Edition gets real leather with unique, trim-specific logos. The front seats are heated in every trim, and a heated steering wheel is standard as well. The Premium Package, available for the top two trims, adds a moonroof and ventilated front seats. We found the cabin of our mid-grade tester quite pleasant. It has many of the visual hallmarks of Toyota’s current truck lineup, but the cushy seats, padded center console, and attractive contrast stitching speak to an emphasis on comfort in addition to capability. It allows the driver to focus on navigating whatever terrain lies ahead without being distracted by sore muscles or scratchy seats.

This review is based on our experience driving the Land Cruiser on a Toyota-hosted launch program, meaning that, as on any first-drive program, the course was curated. Our seat time was spent almost exclusively on an off-road course. While we can make some informed inferences about the Land Cruiser’s on-road behavior, we’ll be updating this review with more driving impressions down the road.

When we last got a Land Cruiser in North America, it had double the number of cylinders we’re seeing now. But this one doesn’t need eight, because it’s got both a turbo and an electric motor supporting it. That’s right; this Land Cruiser is a hybrid. It uses Toyota’s i-Force MAX hybrid powertrain. The 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine works with a 1.87-kWh battery pack and a 48-hp electric motor to produce a total of 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. It’s got an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard full-time four-wheel drive (4WD), with an electronically controlled two-speed transfer case allowing for high and low range. Of particular note is that Toyota’s Multi-Terrain Select system on board the mid-tier and First Edition models can now operate in either 4Hi or 4Lo.

An automatic limited-slip differential is standard for 2024, as are rear- and center-locking differentials. We had the opportunity to try the same section of the course with and without the rear diff locked. Without, that obstacle required more careful balancing of the throttle and brakes to crest. Locking the rear diff added a layer of foolproof-ness that many will find welcome.

Middle- and top-trim Land Cruisers also come with a push-button disconnect for the front sway bar, or stabilizer bar, a feature that’s new to the model and traditionally commands a premium (it’s only available on the Rubicon version of the Jeep Wrangler). The ability to disconnect the stabilizer bar allows the Land Cruiser to benefit from more articulation off-road without excess body roll on-road.

Further updates for 2024 include the latest version of Toyota’s CRAWL control function, essentially a low-speed cruise control capable of managing the vehicle’s braking and acceleration over rocky, steep, slippery, or otherwise challenging terrain. The system now has five speed settings, allowing the driver to dial in pace with more precision. More importantly, its operation is now virtually silent, a welcome improvement over the previous iteration, which drew comparisons to a garbage disposal chewing rocks. We used it to ascend and descend steep, muddy hills, traverse standing water, and rumble over rocks, and heard only the sounds of the engine and the tires. The transmission, too, seemed appropriately unobtrusive, certainly not vying for our attention on this course.

Because it’s the Prado, the new Land Cruiser has just two rows of seating. We’re not getting the third row stateside, at least for now. Headroom measures 36.1 inches in the front seats and 35.3 in the back while leg room clocks in at 33.0 front and 26.7 rear. The center console provides easy access to key off-road features: Buttons for the stabilizer-bar disconnect and the center and rear lockers are all easily accessible directly behind the gear shifter, right next to the switch for 4Hi and 4Lo. Hard controls for climate and media are placed front and center, just below the infotainment screen and in easy reach of driver and front passenger alike. The wireless charging pad lies just ahead of the cupholders, in vehicles that are equipped with it. The one we drove also had the center console cool box as part of the Premium Package (the feature is standard on the First Edition. It handily chilled the cell phone we unwittingly placed in it in mere minutes.

The rear liftgate opens onto a cargo area with a raised load floor. In our middle-trim test car, it was equipped with a rubber mat, making the space feel usable and easy to clean. The backs of the second-row seats were another story, however: We wouldn’t want to risk dirtying the cloth. In total, the cargo volume measures 37.5 cubic feet. It comes standard with a 120-volt AC outlet, powered by a 2400-watt inverter, as well as illumination. The trunk also gets USB-C ports in some higher trims.

The Land Cruiser we drove was equipped with the Multi-Terrain Monitor (MTM) system, which is standard for the two higher trims. This made the 12.3-inch center touchscreen display incredibly useful on the off-road course where we tested it. MTM turns on automatically when the vehicle slows down to 10 miles per hour, a natural thing to do anyway when approaching the crest of a hill one cannot see over. Speed demons and those who like to live on the edge, literally, can also jab the button on the center console to bring it up on demand.

For actual infotainment purposes, this larger screen is a good size. We prefer it to the massive version found in the Toyota Tacoma, Tundra, and Sequoia. Toyota’s multimedia interface tends to be sparse in appearance anyway, with minimalist font and lots of unused space, and spreading it out over a large expanse calls attention to that. We like that wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard, along with two USB-C ports for front-row passengers and another two for the back seats.

The Land Cruiser 1958 comes with the base infotainment system, which we did not experience; it consists of an 8-inch center display and a six-speaker sound system. The middle trim comes with a 10-speaker sound system or the option to upgrade, with the Premium Package, to the First Edition’s 14-speaker JBL premium sound system. Further Premium Package content includes a head-up display and a digital rear-view mirror.

The 2024 Land Cruiser has not been rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nor were its predecessors. Nor, before you ask, was the Lexus GX (which is no longer as mechanically close as it used to be, anyway). Some of its platform-mates have been evaluated: the 2024 Tundra, for example, earned a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS. This, combined with Toyota’s track record, does give us a measure of confidence in the Land Cruiser’s safety, though it’s important to note that distinct proportions and height do have an impact on elements like the rollover test.

All 2024 Land Cruisers come standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, the newest iteration of the automaker’s driver-assistance technology suite. In addition to expected content like adaptive cruise control, lane-departure alert, and lane-tracing assist, the package also includes automatic high beams, road-sign assist, and Proactive Driving Assist. And that's full-speed cruise control, meaning it has the stop-and-go capability the 2021 Land Cruiser was lacking. The Premium Package adds lane-keep assist, front cross-traffic alert, traffic jam assist (with subscription after a one-year trial) to the middle trim–these features are standard for the First Edition.

Although the Land Cruiser on these shores is no longer the big boy, it does still sit near the top of Toyota’s SUV lineup, with only the Sequoia above it. The 2024 Toyota 4Runner starts significantly lower, at $42,100 including destination, and we’re not expecting the update for the 2025 model year to add the nearly $15k it would take to edge into Land Cruiser territory.

Base MSRP is $55,950 for the 2024 Land Cruiser 1958. That rises to $61,950 for the Land Cruiser and $74,950 for the Land Cruiser First Edition. Be sure to factor the mandatory $1,395 destination fee into your budget before looking at options. And when you’re ready to explore upgrades, be aware that Toyota is providing plenty of support for customization: More than 100 accessories will be available through the Genuine Accessories and Associated Accessory Products program, with more to come. Between this and the robust aftermarket, Land Cruiser owners can make what they want of their vehicles.

The Land Cruiser we tested came to $66,900. It’s worth noting that the Lexus GX starts at $64,250, including destination, for 2024. Also fitting into this discussion are the Jeep Wrangler and the Ford Bronco, both of which undercut the Land Cruiser by a huge margin of around $20,000. However, while all three are capable off-road, neither the Wrangler nor the Bronco boasts the Land Cruiser’s comfort level, even in trims that reach its pricing tiers.

The EPA estimates fuel economy specs for the 2024 Land Cruiser at 23 mpg combined. This puts it close to the Jeep Wrangler (excepting the plug-in hybrid Wrangler 4xe) and it compares favorably to the 20 mpg combined for which the most efficient Bronco is rated. It certainly bests the last Land Cruiser we saw in the US, which was rated for an abysmal 14 mpg. The big question here is whether Land Cruiser fans will consider that fuel economy advantage worth the switch to the hybrid four-cylinder from the thirsty and well-loved V8.