The vehicle of the week has been a Toyota Land Cruiser assembled in Homura, Tokyo, Japan. This is one of the best-selling SUVs with a long history of success for current owners and for aspiring owners. Toyota customers will not be disappointed in the purchase or lease of this 2025 Land Cruiser. The price might surprise, or depress ownership, but the product is rock solid. This “Cruiser” can really cruise, and it doesn’t need an ocean to earn the moniker. Manufacturer’s suggested list price is $61,476.
What makes this vehicle so good is Toyota engineers and Japanese auto workers, they are excellent in assembling quality motor vehicles. They pioneered these vehicles dating back to Japanese cars reaching American shores and dealership in the early 1970s. There was a time that I wouldn’t purchase a foreign car. It was always a Ford, Chevrolet, or American Motors Nash/Rambler. I once owned a bright yellow Rambler convertible with a stick shift and any number of Chevys and Fords. I wanted a high horsepower Dodge Charger but just never made the connection. Looking back at vehicles, the days of the large horsepower V8 engines has given way to the turbo-charged 4-cylinder engines. It will be interesting as present day efficient 4-cylinder engines age with mileage and wear and tear whether they can outlast those legendary cast-iron V8 engines. (I won’t dwell in this column about what is going to happen after the 10-year warranty runs out on electric vehicle batteries)
This Land Cruiser is a great drive, powered by an I-FORCE MAX 2.4L 4 cylinder turbo engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Mileage for a large, rugged, Land Cruiser is 23 mpg overall. There are three drive modes; eco, sport and normal with a dial hidden on the dash and hard to read. I used “sport” for high-speed freeways and mountain roads, and “eco” for fuel efficiency in city traffic and descending mountain highways.
I had quite a few pedestrians comment on the Land Cruiser; the bright blue paint and the rugged appearance has a pleasing appearance. The performance is perfection for this vehicle that is nimble and fast, with a long list of safety features. They include all the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 features and the Star Safety System; top features are pre-collision, blind spot monitor, and rear cross-traffic alert. More are included in the option category
Inside the cabin are SofTex trimmed seats, heated and ventilated, a leather trimmed steering wheel and a 10- speaker sound system. Toyota has a long list of options with this Cruiser that increases the price from $61,476 to $70,164. Some of the options are 14 JBL speaker premium sound system with a subwoofer. Additional charges are for the moonroof, leather trimmed seats, and the largest option is described as the “Land Cruiser Premium Package at $4,600. This package includes some of the safety features listed plus others. While costly for longevity of owning this vehicle for decades they are worth purchasing and add pleasure, safety, and value to the vehicle.
Along with all the many features, the Cruiser has running boards to assist the climb into the cabin, roof running rails for camping or recreation equipment, a very large trunk space, and multi-terrain selections for all-wheel drive situations like “Crawl” and downhill assistance. This is the vehicle to take on the hunting expedition to N.W. Colorado in the fall big-game season.
This is a very strong recreational vehicle and easy to make friends with, certainly a fun vehicle for all seasons and occasions.