I can tell you, as a non owner yet, that there are exactly two things keeping me from buying. Fuel tank capacity and the hybrid battery deal. I want to roll down the road for 400 plus miles uninterrupted and I am very leery of the hybrid tech, especially how it impacts the interior space and I don’t like the expense of replacing the batteries down the road in 8-10 years. Hopefully Toyota realizes I am not alone in my reservations and provides some alternatives.
Honest LC250 review that goes into more technical details & why Toyota missed the mark on LC250
- Thread starter LC_DFW
- Start date
Best of luck finding a vehicle (ICE) as big and capable as the LC that has a 400+ mile range, there might be one out there, but I highly doubt it. As far as the hybrid system , the factory warranty for the hybrid battery is 10 years. 10K on mine zero issues.
I could not agree more. It doesn’t exist and the market needs it. Wake up Toyota!
I am sure Toyota did a market study and concluded a market for such a vehicle is not profitable.
You could have a conversation with any of six million Prius owners dating back to 1997 to see how long the batteries lasted.
Snark aside, the internet tells me the batteries in Toyota hybrids usually last around 10 years or 150,000 miles. Having a vehicle with no maintenance expense in that long a period of time is a pleasant thought, but perhaps not much more.
To tack on... the battery tech has evolved to the point now that they can typically change out individual cells that are bad, rather than the whole pack. Talking hundreds, not thousands to repair now. Had a ride share driver a few weeks ago with a Prius with over 300K on the clock, did not think to ask about the battery history!
We have a prius that I been dailying that's almost 300k miles. Replaced some of the battery cells for $1.5k around 220k miles.
Egads lads, I think he may be on to something.
Through a brilliant combination of Sherlock Holmes-like deductive reasoning and Captain Queeg-like geometric logic, he might have exposed the LC 250 as a world leading imposter. Somehow, despite many thousands of man hours, many millions of dollars in development, and decades of 4x4 experience, Toyota has failed to capture the elusive value pyramid of cost, features and performance.
Betrayed by a lust for exotic materials like batteries and over exaggerated hybrid claims of endurance, our poor Prado may be destined to be the Danny-boy of SUVs and tumble off the Man Who Would be King bridge to oblivion.
Bravo sir! I only hope that once you do purchase your new vehicle, you will come back and let us know how that Chevy Equinox is working out for you.
Through a brilliant combination of Sherlock Holmes-like deductive reasoning and Captain Queeg-like geometric logic, he might have exposed the LC 250 as a world leading imposter. Somehow, despite many thousands of man hours, many millions of dollars in development, and decades of 4x4 experience, Toyota has failed to capture the elusive value pyramid of cost, features and performance.
Betrayed by a lust for exotic materials like batteries and over exaggerated hybrid claims of endurance, our poor Prado may be destined to be the Danny-boy of SUVs and tumble off the Man Who Would be King bridge to oblivion.
Bravo sir! I only hope that once you do purchase your new vehicle, you will come back and let us know how that Chevy Equinox is working out for you.
This is capable of 400+ miles, just not in America. I spoke with Toyota about this and my concerns were dismissed & was told it is my fault.
A lot of people do not know that The States is one of the only markets with a ~67L tank. 80L & 110L options are available in most other markets. Columbia being the closes to us that has an 80L Petrol version.
IMO due to this change by the American engineers this isn't even an actual Land Cruiser & more of a Prado or Prado LC. Meaning it is geared towards soccer mommies & soccer daddies & nothing else.
Prado's vs. a real LC sacrifice some things & add additional luxuries, with one of the main sacrifices often being fuel capacity—why do you need 80L of fuel if you only drive around town? It might be capable, but the range is pathetic, I get the same range as my 03 Xterra & not even remotely close to my old fj100.
According to the same rep I spoke with—the research conducted by the American Toyota team found that;
That makes sense when you only take those soccer mommies & soccer daddies into consideration.
So, just know given the current specs in The States, you will be purchasing a misbranded Prado not a true Land Cruiser/Prado LC.
I will try and get the transcript from the conversation, but probably won't be given that, Toyota is not being very corporative.
'This is your problem, we aren't going to change the tank for one person, no one else in the country is having this problem. You need to figure it out or talk to your dealer'. -Corp. Toyota rep.
A lot of people do not know that The States is one of the only markets with a ~67L tank. 80L & 110L options are available in most other markets. Columbia being the closes to us that has an 80L Petrol version.
IMO due to this change by the American engineers this isn't even an actual Land Cruiser & more of a Prado or Prado LC. Meaning it is geared towards soccer mommies & soccer daddies & nothing else.
Prado's vs. a real LC sacrifice some things & add additional luxuries, with one of the main sacrifices often being fuel capacity—why do you need 80L of fuel if you only drive around town? It might be capable, but the range is pathetic, I get the same range as my 03 Xterra & not even remotely close to my old fj100.
According to the same rep I spoke with—the research conducted by the American Toyota team found that;
Consumers [American market] do not need or want increased range, the range that the 16g tank provides is sufficient for the market needs.
That makes sense when you only take those soccer mommies & soccer daddies into consideration.
So, just know given the current specs in The States, you will be purchasing a misbranded Prado not a true Land Cruiser/Prado LC.
I will try and get the transcript from the conversation, but probably won't be given that, Toyota is not being very corporative.
I'm seeing in 2025 there is:
Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD diesel: 528 miles per tank
Ford Expedition Tremor 4WD: 519
Nissan Armada PRO-4X: 424
Toyota Sequoia: 450
Last edited:
I wouldn't be hard, just put in a slightly larger gas tank. I love my Land Cruiser but this aspect is pretty indefensible. (And again, the FJ had the same problem!) Toyota (USA at least) sometimes seems really bad at figuring out what US consumers want out of an off-road vehicle. I think @rysn has it right in that they err on the side of what urban users want out of a minivan and just apply that to everything. Just look at the 20" wheels they're putting on nearly every premium package Land Cruiser. I grew up in a pretty rural part of the country, and still visit regularly. I'm not sure whoever makes decisions at Toyota even knows those places exist?
They know those places exist, they just don’t care about the opinions of the minority of possible buyers. Vast majority of LCs are sold in urban areas.
None of these are as capable as the 250 off-road. Sequoia needs higher clearance bumpers.
Hmm so you are saying 200 series LC was also not a real LC since it practically has the same range as 250.
How so? The current Armada is the world market Patrol that competes directly with LCs. It has 2" higher stock ground clearance (10.7") with air suspension standard. Its also has multi-mode full time 4WD, locking diffs, more room for gear, and a three row seating.... Maybe too bad its also priced about the same as a loaded LC250
Oh yes, 3 row seating, a must have for off-roading.How so? The Armada has higher stock ground clearance with air suspension standard. Its also has multi-mode full time 4WD, locking diffs, more room for gear, and a three row seating.... Maybe too bad its also priced about the same as a loaded LC250
For Armada, off-roading ability will depend where a tow truck can reach since it will break down like all Nissans.
This entire thread seems a lot like cherrypicking to set the "what is or isn't a Land Cruiser" goalposts at whatever the poster believes the weakest spot of the 250 is.
Case in point: I can virtually guarantee you that nobody would have said 2 years ago that "it's not a real Land Cruiser unless it has 400 miles of range!"
![First offroad, el. 13,124’ [Summit County, CO] - Compare/Contrast 5th Gen 4Runner](https://www.landcruiserforum.com/data/files/featured_images/47/featuredimages_27982020c576bec5.webp)
Similar threads
