First Edition Owners - Feeling about your FE in retrospect

[EOD Guy]

I kind of relate it to watches........ If you just want to tell what time of day it is, a $20 Timex will serve that purpose. If you want to precisely tell the time, a $10K Rolex is a good choice. In 15 years, you might not even remember what happened to the Timex, but I can almost guarantee you'll know exactly where the Rolex is.

 

[HammerTheWall]

Absolutely love my FE. Never considered any other model. Almost 25,000 miles and zero issues. Miles of smiles.

 

[Ed1]

100%. Purchased in May ‘24, over 23k miles on it, and I still look back at it every time I park.

Me too!!

 

[steveg]

Unfortunately in the UK Toyota limits the supply of the Land Cruiser, so they only brought in about 200 First Editions in late 24, early 25. When I looked last summer, there was only a few available and they were mostly from speculators asking about £85-90,000 ($115-120K). Fortunately in the UK we can practically import any vehicle from around the world that will pass an IVA test here in the UK.

So I was able to buy and import one from Japan. The FE there isn’t as well specified as the US one, so has no roof rack, no sliders and no HD skid plate. I’m not fussed about the roof rack, but the other two would have been ok.

Compared to UK version is has no cool box, and just standard sunroof, not panoramic. Both of these I was personally happy about, actually no sunroof would have been better. Also the JDM FE’s all have the Java leather interior. They are all black leather in UK. In Japan they did two versions of the FE, the top spec ZX and mid spec VX. The ZX came with the round or rectangular active LED’s, rear diff and stabilizer disconnect. The VX had standard LED’s that they don’t do in US and just centre diff lock with MTS.

It comes with the 2.8 diesel. It took about 3 months from buying at auction to arrive, but then a 2 month wait for the test and another few weeks to register it, so overall about 6 months. When it arrived in UK it was weird, in a good way, that it still smelt like a new car, had parts like the sun visors still wrapped in plastic and only had 1100 miles on the clock.

In the UK you can now get either the top spec invincible which is probably mostly equivalent to your premium pack spec or the commercial, which removes the rear seats, installs a bulkhead and flat floor. The colors are limited, basically Solid grey or black, Metallic black or Sand (your Trail Dust) and the Pearl White on the invincible and they charge you the equivalent of $109,000.

So very happy with Sand and Grey FE and it was worth all the extra effort of importing. It replaced a 13 year old 4.4 V8 Diesel Range Rover.

cheers, Steve

 

[fftfk]

I went with the FE for 3 reasons 1) round headlights on a top trim , 2) factory skids and rock rails which I’ve put to use; and 3) I’m fucking awesome and need a truck to match.

Do I think it was worth it…probably not. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

I am interested to see if the FE have any sort of bump on the trade in values.

 

[Calokie]

I went with the FE for 3 reasons 1) round headlights on a top trim , 2) factory skids and rock rails which I’ve put to use; and 3) I’m fucking awesome and need a truck to match.

Do I think it was worth it…probably not. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

I am interested to see if the FE have any sort of bump on the trade in values.

i'm about to purchase the skids for my LC-LC, top of my skid list is the FE OE skids, have you actually put them through some descent abuse, do you change your own oil and is it a PIA with the Toyota Skids?

 

[fftfk]

i'm about to purchase the skids for my LC-LC, top of my skid list is the FE OE skids, have you actually put them through some descent abuse, do you change your own oil and is it a PIA with the Toyota Skids?

I have put them through decent abuse. They are fairly scratched up. I hit it one time hard enough the guy behind me got on the CB and said - don’t worry - nothing fell off. My opinion is they are pretty good for normal trail usage but would probably want something more robust for hard core rock crawling. I do have two caveats - I bought the RCI transfer place skid plate (actually for sale right now but I might take that down and install it) and am strongly considering the slee radiator support bracket. The radiator support seems to be the weak spot for the skids.

I have not taken them off yet myself mostly bc I’m in my 50’s and too old to be laying on the ground messing with it. This is actually the only reason I have the RCI skid for sale. From videos I’ve seen they are not too heavy and are well designed for easy removal. If starting from scratch I might go with a set of slee or rci skids which have oil change doors built in just to make it that easier.

Here’s are some photos

of the hardest trail ive done. Photos always make them look easier than it feels while driving.

 

[Calokie]

I just received my slee radiator support bracket yesterday ordering the skids tomorrow. Yea the Toyota skids seem to be the level of protection I’m looking for, honestly the Toyota look the best also.

I am concerned with the shoulders and removal of the Toyota skid.

So how do the lc250 and LC 200 compare out on that trail (hopefully I don’t start any arguments)

 

[SalukiLC]

Hello,

Just a topic for discussion. I know it can be difficult to be objective when you own one and I am one of them. But now that we are approaching two years of ownership and we see the two variants on the market today and the pricing, are you pleased with your decision to splurge on the First Edition? Would you do it again given what you know now?

I bought mine in 10/24 and love it. I am in the process of doing some modifications to it but most likely will have this as long as I owned my FJ or longer which was 12 years.

 

[PDPete]

I noticed one of the Japanese LC250 vloggers saying a model/trim refresh is due to be announced next month on April 3rd. The 2027 LC250 will probably not be exactly the same as previous MY 24-26. Maybe we'll see another special edition .

My prediction would be (at least for US market):

- No more 1958 Edition? ... I've already noticed dealerships in my area seem to have a lot more standard base LC models (i.e. the "LCLC trim") than 1958s, which is a change from how it was when I purchased mine a little over a year ago

- Maybe a new "premium" edition...?

- Possible replacement of Heritage Blue and Trail Dust with new specialty color choices?

Based on my observations as well as Toyota sales numbers for the US, it appears Toyota plans to keep the 4Runner as it's primary model in this segment. While annual sales of the LC were pretty strong last year, the monthly numbers at the end of 2025 were already dropping compared to the same months from 2024, coinciding with the arrival of the 6th gen 4R which saw a large boost in those same months.

Because of this, I expect Toyota to keep available options for the LC fairly simple and limited, compared to the multitude of trim levels available for the 4R... I also expect them to position the LC as a slightly higher tier compared to the 4R, and replace the basic 1958 with a more "fully loaded" edition model to further achieve that.

"Specialty" colors that are limited to certain model year(s) is also common in Toyota's playbook, which is why I feel like they'll probably introduce the new premium edition with one or two new color options that won't trickle down to the base model for a year or two beyond that, replacing the current specialty colors (heritage blue and trail dust)...an easy way to make things seem "fresh" without really changing anything.

(and I say all of this as a 1958 edition owner who LOVES it...but that's still my prediction).

 

[Bananaclip]

Unfortunately in the UK Toyota limits the supply of the Land Cruiser, so they only brought in about 200 First Editions in late 24, early 25. When I looked last summer, there was only a few available and they were mostly from speculators asking about £85-90,000 ($115-120K). Fortunately in the UK we can practically import any vehicle from around the world that will pass an IVA test here in the UK.

So I was able to buy and import one from Japan. The FE there isn’t as well specified as the US one, so has no roof rack, no sliders and no HD skid plate. I’m not fussed about the roof rack, but the other two would have been ok.

Compared to UK version is has no cool box, and just standard sunroof, not panoramic. Both of these I was personally happy about, actually no sunroof would have been better. Also the JDM FE’s all have the Java leather interior. They are all black leather in UK. In Japan they did two versions of the FE, the top spec ZX and mid spec VX. The ZX came with the round or rectangular active LED’s, rear diff and stabilizer disconnect. The VX had standard LED’s that they don’t do in US and just centre diff lock with MTS.

It comes with the 2.8 diesel. It took about 3 months from buying at auction to arrive, but then a 2 month wait for the test and another few weeks to register it, so overall about 6 months. When it arrived in UK it was weird, in a good way, that it still smelt like a new car, had parts like the sun visors still wrapped in plastic and only had 1100 miles on the clock.

In the UK you can now get either the top spec invincible which is probably mostly equivalent to your premium pack spec or the commercial, which removes the rear seats, installs a bulkhead and flat floor. The colors are limited, basically Solid grey or black, Metallic black or Sand (your Trail Dust) and the Pearl White on the invincible and they charge you the equivalent of $109,000.

So very happy with Sand and Grey FE and it was worth all the extra effort of importing. It replaced a 13 year old 4.4 V8 Diesel Range Rover.

cheers, Steve
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sorry to derail - is that engine food standard on the FE or after market?
I just got a 1958 the engine bay looks crazy.

 

[steveg]

sorry to derail - is that engine food standard on the FE or after market?
I just got a 1958 the engine bay looks crazy.

Apart from bonnet struts, yes all stock factory. It’s the 1GD-FTV 2.8 diesel. No mild hybrid on this one, although Toyota, as of 2026, now only sells the 2.8 diesel with the 48v mild hybrid setup in the UK, so like the US the 7 seat version has been dropped and you lose the 4” of storage space.

 

[fftfk]

I just received my slee radiator support bracket yesterday ordering the skids tomorrow. Yea the Toyota skids seem to be the level of protection I’m looking for, honestly the Toyota look the best also.

I am concerned with the shoulders and removal of the Toyota skid.

So how do the lc250 and LC 200 compare out on that trail (hopefully I don’t start any arguments)

We both handled the whole trail! I will say the driver of the 200 was more experienced than me and helped me quite a bit with guiding me, etc so maybe guided me over easier lines than he took. His truck was also more build than mine with mine being 100% stock except for tires.

 

[LCOceans]

We both handled the whole trail! I will say the driver of the 200 was more experienced than me and helped me quite a bit with guiding me, etc so maybe guided me over easier lines than he took. His truck was also more build than mine with mine being 100% stock except for tires.

Maybe I missed it somewhere in your post, but where were you? It looks amazing and difficult terrain.

 

[fftfk]

Maybe I missed it somewhere in your post, but where were you? It looks amazing and difficult terrain.

Right outside Ouray, CO. It was part of the Rocky Mountain Round Up

 

[b407driver]

Right outside Ouray, CO. It was part of the Rocky Mountain Round Up

Which trail, specifically?

 

[fftfk]

Which trail, specifically?

California Pass

 

[b407driver]

California Pass

Weird, I don't remember anything on California Pass (or the Alpine Loop in general) looking quite
like that.

 

[@Luke_Schnacke]

Hello,

Just a topic for discussion. I know it can be difficult to be objective when you own one and I am one of them. But now that we are approaching two years of ownership and we see the two variants on the market today and the pricing, are you pleased with your decision to splurge on the First Edition? Would you do it again given what you know now?

I'm a fan. Getting more trail time in it now and enjoying all the features that it has available. Personally, not interested in the "aesthetic" features, all the mechanical ones are great though. Had it out in the Oregon Cascade mountains this last week, Mud, Snow. Also had a 5th Gen 4Runner, a 6th Gen 4Runner, and a F150. The Land Cruiser handled the terrain and conditions better than any other.

 

[fftfk]

Weird, I don't remember anything on California Pass (or the Alpine Loop in general) looking quite
like that.

It’s interesting you say that. It was listed a mid level trail. The group leader was worried about mine not being lifted and said the trail had significant trail erosion making it more difficult than the rating. Some schmo with a 4 runner with every piece of aftermarket bs you could imagine on his truck complained over the radio his truck wasn’t built for the trail about half way up. They used the fact that I was doing it in a stock vehicle to basically shame him.