Toyota Land Cruiser Review & Prices

The Toyota Land Cruiser is a real off-road icon. In the UK, the home-grown Land Rover Defender is our mud-plugger of choice - but across Asia, Africa and Australasia, the Land Cruiser reigns supreme as a byword for quality, dependability and off-road prowess, especially in the harshest environments.

The new model keeps all of that, but adds on top some seriously desirable retro style as well as a bit more comfort and refinement on the road. It’s like springing for a luxury sleeping mat in your rough-and-tumble outward bound camping setup.

There are other imperious off-roaders on sale, of course. The Land Rover Defender is the Land Cruiser’s main alternative, but you could also consider the Mercedes G-Class, the Jeep Wrangler or the INEOS Grenadier. If you’re looking for a more traditional SUV, then the likes of the BMW X5 or Hyundai Santa Fe offer as much style and comfort without the off-road nous.

The Land Cruiser we get in the UK is smaller than the one sold elsewhere in the world, but it’s still a really big car. The blocky bodywork sits high up, giving great ground clearance for off-road work, but it’s not devoid of style thanks to a kicked-up window line, angular wheel arches and a rugged-looking grille at the front. You can also get two different headlight setups - a more modern square one or a really retro version with round daytime running lights aping the headlights of older models. This was limited to limited-edition launch trim, but it may return - and you’ll find them on the used market.

Inside, the utilitarian approach continues - but in a good way. Sure, you get a digital driver’s display and a big infotainment screen - but under that you get loads of dials and switches, all clearly labelled, easy to use on the move and chunky enough to be operated with gloves.

There’s plenty of room in all three rows of seats, too - meaning this is a genuine seven-seater, more so than the Land Rover Defender 110 which is a bit cramped in the third row. You don’t get much boot space with all three rows of seats up, but that’s not unexpected. Fold the third row down and you get a much more usable space.

There’s only one engine available in the Land Cruiser - a 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel. It’s built to work hard and it feels like it, with an agricultural sound and power delivery that all comes low down in the rev range. It’s capable, but not as smooth or efficient as the six-cylinder diesels in a Land Rover Defender.

To drive on-road, the Land Cruiser is a huge improvement over the previous model, but you still feel the penalties of its off-road construction. It shimmies and shakes a little over bumps, and it’s not as settled at motorway speeds as its best alternatives.

However, when you head off the beaten track, the Land Cruiser is up there with the very best of them. You can bomb along dirt tracks with little worry for ruts in the path ahead, and there’s loads of clever tech that drags you through the worst the countryside can throw at you. Boggy pits, river crossings and steep inclines are no match for this big Toyota. The Land Rover Defender feels more sophisticated here, but not more capable.

All of which is to say that the latest Toyota Land Cruiser continues its reputation for being near enough unbeatable off road. If that’s what you’re after it’s a brilliant option, but if you’re looking for a family SUV and you don’t need to go off the beaten track there are more comfortable and refined alternatives.

Want one? You can check out our best Toyota Land Cruiser deals here, or find a used Toyota Land Cruiser for sale here. We’ve got more great deals on other Toyota models too, and remember that you can even use Carwow to sell your old car when the time comes.

Prices for the Land Cruiser start from nearly £78,000. That’s a pretty hefty sum - a basic Land Rover Defender 110 is around £15,000 less than that, though the Mercedes G-Class is at least as much again on the other side, so it’s not as if the Toyota is the most expensive option out there.

All variants come fully loaded because the sole version available new is the ‘Invincible’ - this gets leather upholstery, a 14-speaker JBL sound system, panoramic roof, heated and ventilated seats, and a 12.3-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You also get all of the off-road extras that you’d need a high-spec Defender to get.

Clear off-road bias means the Land Cruiser isn’t the most comfortable on a long trip

In town

The Land Cruiser might be a massive 4x4, but it’s actually pretty easy to drive around town. The commanding driving position gives you a great view over other traffic, and the boxy shape means it’s easy to judge where your corners are at all times. You also get an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard, which changes ratios smoothly and quickly.

Big wing mirrors and tons of glass area mean visibility out is great, too, and all models come fully loaded with a surround-view camera system perfect for edging yourself into a tight parking space or navigating inner-city width restrictors.

However, the Toyota is based on a ladder-frame chassis - a rugged construction that, while it gives it amazing prowess off-road, does mean it feels a bit unrefined over bumps around town. It has a tendency to shimmy and shake about, and the steering takes a fair bit of movement before anything happens, which gives it a sort of agricultural feeling.

On the motorway

As speeds increase you really start to notice it’s not quite as quiet and refined as the Defender, or more road-focused SUVs such as the BMW X5. The engine is powerful enough to get you up to 70mph without fuss, but it doesn’t feel too urgent about it - you’ll have to work it hard on short sliproads or when overtaking, especially if you’re fully laden.

The suspension continues to jiggle a bit over bumps and expansion joints and there’s a noticeable whistle from the chunky door mirrors. The seats are at least very comfortable for long stints behind the wheel.

On a twisty road

Out on a country road the Toyota Land Cruiser performs pretty well. The engine is a bit more grumbly than those you get in the Defender and X5, but that’s about where the complaints end. The body doesn’t lean too much in corners and the gearbox is swift to respond when you need a new gear. The steering is a bit slow, though, and you don’t get much feedback about what the front wheels are doing. It’s better taking things at a relaxed pace.

However, when you get off road the Land Cruiser is in its element. Dirt tracks pass by like paved Tarmac, and when the going gets tough it’s easy to switch to the different modes to improve traction. You can switch to low ratio gears and activate the locking differentials, and coupled with the all-wheel drive, pull yourself through some seriously boggy terrain. With all this technology and the clever cameras that can show you what’s beneath the car, it feels like nothing is unsurpassable. It’s just as capable as a Land Rover Defender or Jeep Wrangler out in the wild.

Space and practicality is good for all but the middle seat occupant - but a Land Rover Defender 130 is more useful still

You sit tall in the Toyota Land Cruiser, and thanks to the low dashboard and window lines, you have a great view of the road ahead. The driving position is comfortable and there’s a good range of adjustment from the electrically operated seats and steering wheel.

The door bins offer plenty of storage and are split into compartments for added usefulness, while the space beneath the armrest can be cooled at the press of a button so your chocolate won’t melt in the sun. There are two cup holders and wireless phone charging ahead of the gear shifter, as well as three USB-C slots and even a space to plug in an HDMI cable.

Space in the back seats

Rear seat space is good, with enough kneeroom and headroom for a six-footer to not feel too cramped. The low window line gives you a great view out and makes the back feel bright and airy - helped further by the standard panoramic glass roof. It’s not great for the third person in the middle seat though, because they will be perched quite high, the cushion isn’t very comfortable, and there’s a wide transmission tunnel to perch their feet either side of.

Go for the seven-seat version and the third row is really good for knee or headroom, but the seat is very low to the floor so your feet are up high and you don’t get any under-thigh support from the cushion. Being able to recline the seat is a nice touch, though. A Land Rover Defender 130 has more space for adults in the third row, though.

Storage is pretty good, with pockets in the back of the front seats, reasonably sized door bins, and cup holders in the centre armrest. Fitting a child seat is easy because the ISOFIX points are just beneath a leather cover, though the doors don’t open too wide which could make it tricky to get the seat in in the first place. You get ISOFIX points on the two outer rear seats, but it’s a shame they’re not in the third row too.

Boot space

With all seven seats in place, the Land Cruiser has just about enough luggage capacity for a couple of carry-on suitcases or a small top-up grocery shop - nothing more. That’s an affliction it shares with all seven-seat SUVs, though.

Drop the third row of seats and you get 566 litres of space, which while it’s not gigantic is at least on par with most family SUVs. A Land Rover Defender 110 has 786 litres with the third row stowed, though.

The Land Cruiser’s boot opening is large, though the tailgate is pretty massive and not the easiest to open in tight spaces. The rear window opens independently to let you chuck things in quickly though, which is a nice touch.

The Land Cruiser’s interior looks cool and is hardwearing, but some of the tech is a bit frustrating

The Land Cruiser’s dashboard design is unashamedly old-school, but with modern tech shoehorned in - like finding an escalator in a cathedral. The top of the dash is dominated by a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a similarly-sized digital gauge cluster, plus a head-up display.

Further down though, you get buttons and lots of them. There’s a full panel of climate controls and big, chunky switchgear for the driving modes both on- and off-road. Even the gear selector is a beefy lever, not the weedy little column stalks you get in some SUVs these days.

It’s also a tale of two halves with usability, though. While the buttons and switches are fantastically easy to use - they’re all clearly labelled, and big enough that you can press them while wearing gloves - the touchscreen infotainment system and driver display are a bit less straightforward. There are lots of menus and sub-menus, and some functions take a long time to figure out.

Others are just needlessly long-winded - like turning off the mandatory speed limit alerts. You have to do this through the driver’s display and steering wheel controls, and it involves cycling through a list of unintelligible acronyms every time. Other manufacturers, such as Land Rover, have implemented shortcuts to make this easier.

You do at least get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can bypass the central display’s software, plus a wireless charging pad to keep your phone topped up - though it doesn’t have a rim or a grippy coating, so your device is liable to slide about a bit.

There’s a real mixture of materials inside the Land Cruiser, too. The dashtop and door cards are all nicely upholstered in posh-feeling leather, but further down things feel a bit less plush. It’s hardwearing plastic rather than cheap, but it does rankle a little on a car that’s this expensive, especially when the Land Rover Defender’s interior feels good pretty much no matter where you press.

There’s just the one engine option available on the Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s a 2.8-litre diesel engine making 204hp and 500Nm of torque. It’s mated to a new eight-speed automatic transmission and permanent four-wheel drive.

Toyota claims an official fuel economy figure of just 26.4mpg. During a week of mixed on-road driving, we beat this by a fair amount, averaging 31mpg - still not great, but a big improvement on the claimed figure. It’s worth noting that a Land Rover Defender D300 will easily manage close to 40mpg, though.

CO2 emissions of 280g/km mean a beefy first year road tax bill, and the Land Cruiser’s high purchase price also means you’ll pay the expensive car supplement from years two - six of ownership. It doesn’t make for a very cost-effective company car, either, whereas you can get a plug-in hybrid Land Rover Defender that cuts bills drastically.

The Land Cruiser hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP, but it has been put through its paces by the Australasian equivalent - ANCAP. There it scored a full five-star rating, with high scores in all areas tested.

You get all the usual safety kit - autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and road-sign recognition with speed limit alerts, plus some nice extras such as blind-spot monitoring and a digital rear-view mirror. It’s annoying, though, that you need to turn these off through the instrument cluster rather than the touchscreen - it’s really clunky and awkward to do.

The Land Cruiser’s trump card has always been its dependability, reliability, and longevity - take a look at the used market and see just how many examples are still going strong with half a million miles on. There’s no reason to expect that this newest model won’t last the course, either, especially since the 2.8-litre diesel engine is well-proven in the previous Land Cruiser as well as the Hilux pickup.

You also get Toyota’s ‘Relax’ warranty, which covers you for up to ten years and 100,000 miles provided you stick to the service schedule. That’s miles longer than the three years of cover you get on a Land Rover Defender, Jeep Wrangler or Mercedes G-Class.