An avowed Toyota Land Cruiser super fan, West Coast Bureau Chief Conner Golden is more than a little nervous heading into the first drive of the latest-generation SUV. The U.S. market’s only choice of Toyota’s legendary off-roading all-rounder is now the Land Cruiser Prado, a lighter-duty derivative of the larger, more expensive Land Cruiser offered in the U.S. until the 2021 model year. Down both equipment, size and displacement, is this latest Cruiser worthy of the name?
Well, one thing’s for sure - this is likely to be Toyota’s bestselling Land Cruiser generation in at least the past few decades. The new SUV is down some $30,000 over the prior SUV, now starting in the high-$50,000 range rather than in the high eighties. With this segment swap comes less equipment and finery, but more opportunity to move the new Land Cruiser toward its utilitarian roots.
Still, the new Landie’s truckish, tough-as-hell bona fides are still here. Gone is the beloved, giga-reliable naturally aspirated 5.7-liter V-8, with all-new Land Cruisers buzzing around with a hybridized 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder sourced from the Tacoma and new 4Runner. Power is moderately down, but stump-yankin’ torque is way, way up to a mighty 465 pounds-feet. No matter how you outfit it, all Cruisers come with full-time four-wheel drive with locking center and rear differentials.
Is this hardware - and new tougher attitude - enough to earn the respect of the zealous Land Cruiser community? You’ll have to watch the video to find out.
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:51 Off-road course
1:13 Tires
1:30 Crawl control
2:15 Trail cameras
2:50 Locking differentials
3:09 Build quality
3:40 Pricing
3:50 Land Cruiser Prado
4:41 Refinement
5:15 Interior impressions
6:03 On-road impressions
6:20 Versus other Toyotas
6:55 Lexus GX
7:34 Ride and handling
7:45 Steering and inputs
8:04 Engine
8:23 Road noise
9:14 Conclusion
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