Toyota Land Cruiser J250

The Land Cruiser returned to the United States for the 2024 model year after a two-year absence. Toyota had pulled the previous Land Cruiser, the J200, from the US lineup after 2021, when its price had climbed past $86,000. The replacement, the J250, is a smaller and far cheaper vehicle that starts under $60,000. It rides on Toyota's TNGA-F body-on-frame platform, the same architecture under the Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra, and Lexus GX.

The J250 is sold only as a hybrid. The i-FORCE MAX powertrain pairs a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder with an electric motor for 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, routed through an 8-speed automatic and full-time four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case. The four-cylinder is the sharpest break from Land Cruiser tradition, which ran V8s for decades, and some buyers read it as a downgrade. What the J250 keeps is the hardware that matters in the backcountry. It has a separate ladder frame, low-range gearing, and a locking center differential, at a price the V8 trucks never reached.

Toyota sells the J250 in two US grades. The 1958, named for the year the Land Cruiser first reached American dealers, is the lighter and plainer of the two, with round LED headlights, fabric seats, 18-inch alloy wheels on 245-width tires, and a 7-inch instrument display. The Land Cruiser grade adds 265-width tires, a 12.3-inch display, SofTex upholstery, and an enhanced multi-terrain camera system. Both run independent front suspension and a multi-link coil-sprung rear axle, with a stabilizer-bar disconnect available for more front-axle travel on rocks.

Ground clearance is 8.7 inches and the approach angle is 32 degrees, competitive with the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler the J250 is priced against. The hybrid drivetrain returns an EPA-rated 23 mpg combined, unusually high for a body-on-frame SUV of this weight. Toyota positions the Land Cruiser below the mechanically related Lexus GX, which uses the same frame with a twin-turbo V6, so the two share a growing pool of suspension and protection parts.