10 Things We ‘HATE’ About the 2024 Land Cruiser

Although hate is far too strong a word, after test-driving the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser for a week, there are 10 things we’d put on the ‘Cons’ list.

The ‘Cruiser was a bruiser ever since it was first sold in the US over six decades ago. It was large, capable yet comfortable, and could fit the family, and the dog, and tow the boat wherever you needed. It created a legacy many automakers like Ford, Chevy, GM, and Nissan tried valiantly to mirror. Therefore, many were shocked when Toyota discontinued the Land Cruiser for North America in 2021 at the end of the J200 generation.

While many parts of the world jumped right to the J300 generation (effectively Toyota’s version of the Lexus LX 600), North America went without until the debut of 2024 Land Cruiser — aka the J250 generation, as it’s called in other markets — along with the Lexus GX 550.

Closer in size to the mid-sized 4Runner than the full-sized Lexus LX, the new Land Cruiser boasts several impressive features, including full-time 4WD, center and rear locking diffs, a quick sway bar disconnect, and other goodies we’ll get into later. However, it also emerged with a cringe-worthy base MSRP of $56,450 and a top-tier price of close to $75,000, which isn’t too far off from the Lexus GX. (In fact, HERE’s a comparison between a Land Cruiser Premium and the GX 550 Overtrail with virtually identical MSRPs.)

So, when Toyota loaned YotaTech a Land Cruiser Premium for the week, we set out to cover both everything we LOVE about the new ‘Cruiser (because there’s a lot of great stuff going on here) as well as our 10 least favorite bits. Is everything the Land Cruiser offers really worth the price? I’m not that convinced.

1. It Rides Like a Cheap Truck

After having driven other “rugged” off-road SUVs like the Jeep Grand Cherokee or a Ford Bronco, I came to expect a rough-ish ride from the Land Cruiser. However, I was shocked by how closely it rode to a base model Tacoma as the littlest bumps in my neighborhood made me feel as though I was going to fly through the roof.

I know it’s an off-road truck, but you’d think a vehicle that costs as much as it did would at least come with a mode that softens the suspension enough for daily driving. I mean it when I say a 4Runner rides like a Lincoln in comparison to the Land Cruiser.

This truck also had close to 4,000 miles on the odometer, so for all I know some other automotive journalists could have had their way with it off-road and I’m just feeling the repercussions of their actions. But, even then, I feel like it shouldn’t be so close to unbearable to drive normally.

2. The i-FORCE MAX Powertrain is Incredibly Rough

I’m familiar with how the i-FORCE MAX hybrid system pairs with the 2.4-liter turbo four-gas engine, but I didn’t expect it to shift so abrasively. In normal driving situations, like going to and from the grocery store, the Land Cruiser felt like it was constantly shuffling through all eight gears to find the right one – and incredibly roughly at that.

The hybrid motors created a lot of rough starts and very abrupt stops as the gas motor cut off and came back on at certain speeds. I found it nearly impossible to start from a stop smoothly, as the gas engine would start and lurch forward so hard and fast. My husband said it was the most “jarring” Toyota hybrid he’d ever been in.

It was also loud, as it seemed like the gas motor was always screaming to lug the 6,900 lb vehicle around Bend, Oregon.

3. The Interior is Super Boring

This is a “me” thing, as I’ve always found Toyota interiors to be lacking, but the interior of the Land Cruiser I tested was seriously boring. It also rattled and creaked like it had 150,000 miles on the clock, too. I appreciated many of the everyday functions being knobs and buttons instead of being buried in the settings of a screen, but, c’mon… No contrasting colors, stitching, badging, or anything?

I’d expect this level of basic from a Jeep Wrangler, but not a $71,000 Land Cruiser.

4. Leather in an Off-Roader Doesn’t Make Sense

The marketing of this car was heavily focused on it being a brute off-road. When I did take it off-road is when my opinion of the truck started to shift, but I never understood why automakers use leather in vehicles designed to be dusty, muddy, and tread through water, or snow.

I feel like it would have been smarter to use a waterproof or resistant fabric instead. But, again, that’s just my personal opinion that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. The leather made it harder to clean after my two toddlers were seated in it when taking it off-road, for instance.

It made me feel like the fate of the Land Cruiser was similar to the G-Wagon, where the most off-roading it would ever do was driving down a gravel road to and from a lake house.

Click HERE to read the counterpart of this article,
10 Things We LOVE About the 2024 Land Cruiser

5. It Isn’t Very Family Friendly

At least, not friendly for families with toddlers. My girls loved the big windows in the rear, but there weren’t any kid-friendly features like sunshades to pull up and protect littles, the leather was easy to stain and leave residue on, and the rough ride made them cranky at times.

The trunk is also fairly spacious, and even more so with the seats folded down – but the cargo tray added a few extra inches to clear. So, loading a heavy stroller, groceries, diaper bags, and other items was a tad more annoying than I’m used to. Though, you’d probably get used to that after a while.

Loading the car seats was simple, but getting my girls out of the truck was tricky due to the ride height. However, families with kids who aren’t in car seats wouldn’t have these issues.

6. The Land Cruiser’s Technology Was Glitchy and Unreliable

There were little things about the Land Cruiser that surprised me, like a lack of a motorized sunroof cover, the lack of rear passenger sunshades, and the infotainment system rarely worked seamlessly. Android Auto always disconnected at the most inconvenient times (even with the vehicle settings toggled to use my phone for Android Auto – which I had to re-toggle every time I turned the car on), and rarely worked even with a hard USB connection.

When I took it off-road, I disconnected my phone from the system so I could focus on filming, but it would randomly reconnect and blast music.

In cars at the same price point or even lower, the Wireless Android Auto feature worked every single time without randomly dropping out, skipping audio, or playing music at full blast after I turned off the audio. Other times, the infotainment screen would turn off and not come back on unless I shut the car off and turned it back on.

My father-in-law has a RAV4 hybrid, and said he experienced the same technical difficulties and eventually gave up trying to use Android Auto completely. Hopefully, that can be fixed with an update.

[Editor’s Note: We experienced similar bugs at times using Apple CarPlay in a variety of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. That said, it’s hard to know if these bugs are the phone’s fault, the vehicle’s, or some combo of both interfaces. Still, it can be extremely frustrating.]

7. The Mileage Figures Were Embarrassing

Look, I know the i-FORCE MAX system isn’t necessarily for mileage, but even with highway driving I was lucky to get just over 19 mpg, even in “Eco” mode. Toyota’s webpage for the Land Cruiser says it’s supposed to get 22 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway and… I’ll believe it when I see it.

Like I said, our press loaner Land Cruiser may have been showing some signs of abuse from other journos because there are so many things about it that felt like it had way more miles on it than there actually were.

8. It Doesn’t Seem Like the Land Cruiser is a Smarter Buy Over a 4Runner

If we compare it to a 4Runner, the former has more cargo space than the Land Cruiser. Google says the Cruiser has just 37.5 cubic feet behind the rear seats, while the 4Runner has 46.3. The Land Cruiser is also wider and longer than the 4Runner, but only by a few inches on both sides.

The Land Cruiser is also “full-time” 4WD, meaning the driver doesn’t have to manually shift into 4WD like they would in a 4Runner. However, I kind of like the ability to be in 2WD when not in use for mileage. A 4Runner Limited can also be bought with full-time 4WD and also has a center and rear locking differential for $49,940 MSRP. With similar (if not the same) 4WD tech, a lower price, and more cargo space, I can’t imagine a situation where the Land Cruiser would be a smarter buy.

To me, you buy a Land Cruiser solely because you want a Land Cruiser and have the money to spare. If it were me, I’d get the 4Runner.

9. The Top-Shelf Lexus GX 550 is Only Slightly More Expensive

Lexus, its own luxury division, says the MSRP for the top-of-the-line GX 550+ Overtrail is $77,250. Which is only a difference of $2,300 between the First Edition Land Cruiser and the Lexus. If you’re already planning on spending close to $80,000 for an off-roader, why not just go for the Lexus?

I distinctly remember a time when Lexus models were substantially more expensive than Toyota. Now, it seems like the prices are a little too similar to create a real, true difference between the two brands.

10. Land Cruiser Competitors Offer The Same or More for Less

In case you haven’t caught on, the sticker price is my biggest issue with the Toyota Land Cruiser. Let’s look at the Land Rover Defender. The Defender 130, which is the highest trim level, starts at $69,700. Sure, you’re not getting the Toyota reliability, but you get fancier technology, a V8 engine option, and a two-speed transfer case, too.

The Ford Bronco Heritage Limited Edition has an MSRP of $69,685, too. This isn’t to say that those two cars are better than the Land Cruiser, but it puts itself in a bind when it’s up against such heavy hitters with similar or more 4WD features.

Images: Kristen Finley