Toyota Land Cruiser 2025: You can't put a price on cool

A legendary vehicle the world over, the latest Land Cruiser retains its off-road prowess while seeking to improve its on-road comfort. Can it succeed?

When it comes to cars that are trusted to do hard work, one of the first brands that would pop into the head of any self-respecting countryman or woman would be Toyota. From the depths of the Scottish Highlands to the hostile sands of the desert, you will find Toyotas in various shapes and sizes, some with machine guns on them, some without machine guns on them.

In those kinds of environments, you want cars that will take a significant amount of punishment without breaking down. And if it does break down, you want them to be easy to repair. I once watched a Toyota Hilux have a building dropped on it and start. I once met a guy who owned a Land Cruiser that had more than 400,000 miles on the clock and still ran absolutely perfectly.

They run for a long time and they are long running. The first Land Cruiser (albeit with a different name that I shan’t repeat here) was first produced in 1951, which makes it Toyota’s longest running model. More than 10 million units have been sold worldwide. A testament to the Land Cruiser’s practicality, popularity and reliability — and desirability.

At home in the snow.

The latest, or fifth-generation, offering has just landed on our shores. It then landed outside my house, where I took it took the Peak District for a few days. I like the new Toyota Land Cruiser, the J250 to be precise, and here is why.

For starters, it looks good. Cars, as a genre, have suffered from bloating in recent years. Toyotas are no different. I reviewed a Hilux about four years ago and while it could do everything that Hiluxes are supposed to do, it was much bigger than a Hilux was supposed to be, in my opinion. The Land Cruiser is still big, because they are supposed to be, but this version doesn’t seem to have as much flab as its predecessor. I like how the styling is an homage to the original, unnameable-because-this-is-a-family-website, version. It looks like it was made out of Lego. Every piece, from the grill, to the headlights, to the wing mirrors, looks functional and sturdy. The side profile is very similar to how you would draw a car in school when you were nine years old.

Inside, the theme continues. Lots of big sturdy buttons to push, everything looks and feels agricultural and purposeful. There’s a big screen for all your information and technology and lots of cupholders. The steering wheel is thick and chunky. A great driving position. It all feels like a hard-day’s work. But in a good way.

The Land Cruiser can sit seven people too, although that will dissolve the enormous boot space, which had more than enough room to transport four people and their luggage for a three-day trip. A special shout-out for the two seats all the way in the rear, which rise and fall automatically and are adjustable. There’s not much to adjust into, but it’s nice that those in the back aren’t forgotten about when it comes to comfort.

Toyota’s big effort with the latest Land Cruiser has been to improve the driving experience. Where older versions have been more than capable off-road, they were notoriously unpleasant to drive on tarmac. The new chassis is more rigid, the steering is now electronic and the car employs permanent four-wheel drive. I still wouldn’t classify it is as Range Rover levels of comfort, but on a four-hour drive up North, it ate up the motorway with impressive comfort. Combined with all the tech in the interior, the car has no problem if you would like to use it as, well, a cruiser. The engine is a four-cylinder diesel, that doesn’t provide the best MPG to be honest, but when combined with an 8-speed gearbox, was an absolute softie on the M1.

The interior. Lots of satisfying chunk. Credit: Toyota

But it’s supposed to get muddy, so get it muddy I did. Well, snowy, to be precise. Another friend decided that going for a walk after a blizzard would be a good idea and promptly got his Vauxhall Corsa stuck in a field. The Land Cruiser had no such issue when it was dispatched to rescue him. The car has plenty of pre-set off-roading controls, of which snow was one, and handled tiny roads, snowy tracks and a field with consummate ease. While I didn’t tow the Corsa out, with a capacity of 3,500kg, the Land Cruiser would have been more than capable if asked. Toyota claim a wading depth of 700mm, and you can disconnect the front anti-roll bar if you fancy an extra portion of wheel travel. All the relevant trimmings for having fun in the mud.

Some criticism. The Land Cruiser begins at a price of about £75,000, which would get you a fully kitted out Land Rover Defender and is about on par with the Ineos Grenadier. With a few (I would argue necessary) bells and whistles, you are looking at over £80,000 for the car, which is not a million miles from Range Rover money. You get a lot of good tech and features as standard, and the Land Cruiser can off-road as well as, if not better, than its competitors, but it’s a lot for a car that probably isn’t as luxurious on-road as its price-point compatriots.

The fifth-generation version comes with two types of headlight configurations. These are the round ones. Credit: Toyota

But it does have something money can’t buy, which is that it’s very very cool. Throughout the weekend, friends wanted to look at it. People outside the pub wanted to talk about it. One person said that, having seen it, they wanted to buy one. A friend’s dog knew immediately to jump in the back, as if by instinct. Driving on snow-covered roads, the majority of other cars around were Toyotas, and that knowing nod was exchanged as we passed each other. I can’t imagine the same would happen in a Grenadier, Defender or Range Rover. It might not be the lap of luxury, but the Land Cruiser is a signal to others that you know what you’re doing. How much does that cost?

And if you don’t believe me, believe this cold hard statistic. There are plenty of Defenders for sale right now. The Land Cruiser is sold out for the foreseeable future. It’s an exclusive club and it was a privilege to be a brief member. If you want a big luxurious SUV, that makes you stand out a little bit, the Land Cruiser might just be it.