How is it for long, fast road trips?

Last weekend, the wife and I drove from Wyoming to Santa Clara. Stayed the night in Truckee. On the way home, we drove straight. I relied heavily on all of the driving aids. (I normally have everything off.) Really made it a less tiring drive. The wind was howling in Nevada on the way home so I had to keep a strong hand on the wheel. It was a comfortable cruiser but there were many times during the trip when I was wishing we were in the wife's Macan S. The Macan is a much better highway cruiser (not surprisingly). Also, I can't tell how annoying the fuel situation is. It is crazy how often we had to stop to refuel. I'm not completely sold on this rig; however, there are some things that I really like, especially that I can roll into any town in America and I'm driving a Toyota. I like the low-key part of it. (It goes without saying that the off-road features are great and which is why I bought it.)

Edit: I forgot to answer your question about power. Around Truckee, it had ample power. It doesn't struggle on mountain passes in California or here in Wyoming. The sound is awful though.
The Macan and LC, they complement each other well.
 
The comically undersized gas tank for a thirsty vehicle is easily the worst thing about it. I have some other niggles (as I do with every vehicle), and other than the massive annoyance of needing to stop about every 225 miles I am a big fan. Still hoping someone can engineer a tank with 4-5 more gallons of capacity.
Land Cruiser: Go anywhere, do anything, within 100 miles of your house
 
Very interesting feedback. RAV 4, highlander etc don’t work. I want, need and will use the off road capabilities, probably more than is designed. I already own a F250 diesel tremor, but prefer not to rack up miles empty on the highway in it, and it’s a tight fit in the garage in Tahoe. Also not a great snow vehicle. Honestly, my 5th gen 4runner was perfect. Why Toyota ruined that with this redesign is beyond me. I feel the Land Cruiser is the actual new 4runner. The new 4runner is awful, inside and out.
I can’t be the only person who wants a BOF mid size suv with good range and good off road ability that can be driven hours on the highway.
Bronco is ruled out as well as wranglers. I'm starting to think my vehicle doesn’t exist.
 
Very interesting feedback. RAV 4, highlander etc don’t work. I want, need and will use the off road capabilities, probably more than is designed. I already own a F250 diesel tremor, but prefer not to rack up miles empty on the highway in it, and it’s a tight fit in the garage in Tahoe. Also not a great snow vehicle. Honestly, my 5th gen 4runner was perfect. Why Toyota ruined that with this redesign is beyond me. I feel the Land Cruiser is the actual new 4runner. The new 4runner is awful, inside and out.
I can’t be the only person who wants a BOF mid size suv with good range and good off road ability that can be driven hours on the highway.
Bronco is ruled out as well as wranglers. I'm starting to think my vehicle doesn’t exist.
If the old 4 runner was the ticket for you, then most likely the LC will be very good too. The LC is better IMO in pretty much all ways including highway, they just both pretty much suck to eat up highway miles.
 
From me, my 3/4 ton truck is the road trip vehicle. Big, comfy and 440 (but really 380 or so) for range. Mileage on a good day 14.5. I also travel with 2 pups and I don’t like keeping them trapped for more than a few hours, so honestly, the LC would be fine.

The LC is better than my FJ, so much better, and our 4Runner is good, but frankly the mileage and distance between fill ups isn’t all that much better than my LC.


I’m not sure what is expected from people for their vehicles and travel but the link, which I’ve not read, mostly because the idea of the “perfect vehicle” isn’t realistic. I’m sure all the vehicles have compromises.

I’ve idealized a 1994 Montero as my perfect vehicle, but mostly as it was what I drove from MidMo all over the US to the French/Italian alps. In truth the LC IMO would be so much better with a similar fuel range, better ride quality, and just in general more of a pleasure than the Monte. But ask me on the right day and that Monte was the best vehicle ever.

Long and rambling, as with Tinker “review” it’s mostly how you feel not really about the vehicle.
 
From me, my 3/4 ton truck is the road trip vehicle. Big, comfy and 440 (but really 380 or so) for range. Mileage on a good day 14.5. I also travel with 2 pups and I don’t like keeping them trapped for more than a few hours, so honestly, the LC would be fine.

The LC is better than my FJ, so much better, and our 4Runner is good, but frankly the mileage and distance between fill ups isn’t all that much better than my LC.


I’m not sure what is expected from people for their vehicles and travel but the link, which I’ve not read, mostly because the idea of the “perfect vehicle” isn’t realistic. I’m sure all the vehicles have compromises.

I’ve idealized a 1994 Montero as my perfect vehicle, but mostly as it was what I drove from MidMo all over the US to the French/Italian alps. In truth the LC IMO would be so much better with a similar fuel range, better ride quality, and just in general more of a pleasure than the Monte. But ask me on the right day and that Monte was the best vehicle ever.

Long and rambling, as with Tinker “review” it’s mostly how you feel not really about the vehicle.
you get a pass because you said you didn't read it, but it lists jeep wrangler as #2. 💀 coming from a 2-door rubicon, the roadtrip is so bad that your destination has to be worth it.
 
you get a pass because you said you didn't read it, but it lists jeep wrangler as #2. 💀 coming from a 2-door rubicon, the roadtrip is so bad that your destination has to be worth it.

Maybe if I was a lot younger it could be good, for the experience. But yes, as a long road trip vehicle, it wouldn’t be my choice.

I was walking dogs, trying to type, read the thread and pick up poo, so, I didn’t read the article. I will shortly. Not as easy as it looks.
 

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Update on trip, I just got home 2 days ago. I was getting 23.5mpg while traveling between 80-85mph through new Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas on 91 octane. I noticed after I got into Missouri, I started finding 93 octane at stations and also my mpg went up to 25mph while cruising between 80-90mph. In total, I covered 3,900 miles in 8 days and unbelievably, not a single member of my family complained about the drive the entire time which has never been done on a trip before owning the lc 😂.
 
Buy an F150 Raptor. It will do all the offroading you will likely need (unless you are going on really narrow trails or doing technical rock crawling). It has 500 mile range, and at those speeds will get nearly the same MPG. I averaged 17.2 mpg in my previous raptors on highway, and average. 17.5 in my LC at those high speeds. LC isnt terrible at high speeds, but it doesnt even come close to rivaling the comfort on long trips.
 
Very interesting feedback. RAV 4, highlander etc don’t work. I want, need and will use the off road capabilities, probably more than is designed. I already own a F250 diesel tremor, but prefer not to rack up miles empty on the highway in it, and it’s a tight fit in the garage in Tahoe. Also not a great snow vehicle. Honestly, my 5th gen 4runner was perfect. Why Toyota ruined that with this redesign is beyond me. I feel the Land Cruiser is the actual new 4runner. The new 4runner is awful, inside and out.
I can’t be the only person who wants a BOF mid size suv with good range and good off road ability that can be driven hours on the highway.
Bronco is ruled out as well as wranglers. I'm starting to think my vehicle doesn’t exist.
lf the 5th gen was your ideal, then the LC250 will work well for you and you'll be happy with it. It is essentially the 5th gen refined and improved. It rides substantially better. It has a simple no thrills interior. And the power and transmission are vastly improved. It also gets better MPG in most scenarios. Plus, the full-time 4WD is awesome for handling, wet, and snow and somehow doesn't seem to impact MPG compared to the 6th gen. The only real issue in the western US particularly is the small fuel tank, which can be remedied with an expansion tank or by carrying extra fuel
 
Buy an F150 Raptor. It will do all the offroading you will likely need (unless you are going on really narrow trails or doing technical rock crawling). It has 500 mile range, and at those speeds will get nearly the same MPG. I averaged 17.2 mpg in my previous raptors on highway, and average. 17.5 in my LC at those high speeds. LC isnt terrible at high speeds, but it doesnt even come close to rivaling the comfort on long trips.
Every time I see a raptor I still kinda wish I had one. Never drove it but hearing folks speak about how comfy it is on the highway just adds to my desire for it.

However I have historically kept my cars for over 100k and really valued reliability this go around.

I’m hopeful with some sound deadening and upgraded suspension the LC can be an even better highway cruiser.
 
Yeah, until there's real world proof that powertrain in these new vehicles is significantly less reliable than the outgoing 4.0L V6 from the Tacoma and 4Runner, I'm just going to continue to ignore all of the critics who can't seem to get the past the idea of a "4 cylinder" engine being inferior despite having never driven it. I think there's just too many folks that stuck in the past and can't wrap their head around the fact that cylinder count and displacement isn't as indicative of performance as it once was.

And yeah, reliability is a valid concern...it is any time significant changes are made...but also one that's impossible to qualify or quantify at this time.
There are still a lot of people around who remember the introduction of 4 cylinder engines in the 70s and 80s as a response to the fuel availability crisis then. Reflexively, “4 cylinder engine” represents something to them, and it’s not the same thing these engines deliver.

These engines are probably going to have issues that the 4.0l did not have, if only because they have parts and mechanisms not present in the old design. If it’s not there it can’t break, and all that. But I am confident that manufacturing processes in general and Toyota’s commitment to quality specifically will keep these vehicles on the right side of the reliability curve - which itself is moving right in general.

I drive ours back and forth the ~120 highway miles between our two homes regularly. It’s fine as a road car, if not necessarily as plush as a Mercedes GLE or as fast as a Cayenne. But it has a great personality and is a cool car. The best thing about it is that there’s very little it cannot do at least competently, which I couldn’t even say for the GLE or the Cayenne, which are specialized in their own ways.
 
Hello there, first post but long time reader. I come from owning 3 gen 5 4 runners, 2 of which my daughters drive now still. I’ve struggled between the Land Cruiser and the gx550, as many have. I prefer the interior of the Land Cruiser, but prefer the drivetrain of the GX, also pretty common. I will use the vehicle as a daily around town driver, but I will really be purchasing it for road trips across Nevada and Idaho up to Montana, as well as trips up to Tahoe from the Bay Area, and lots of trips up highway 5 to my duck property during the season. All these drives require sustained driving at 80 mph or even more. Tahoe is also a pretty good climb as well. How does the drivetrain perform in these situations? Is it struggling to hold speed or does it run smooth? I know the fuel capacity issue, and it sucks, but realistically the greater capacity of the Gx is offset by the poorer fuel economy, so basically the range is the same. I don’t care about mpg but range is an issue. I have ruled out the new 4runner, just don’t like it. I have been put off by the hybrid in the LC, but am beginning to accept it as an option, and really like the inverter part of it.
I know lots of reviews and info here, and I’ve read as much as possible. Hoping to get some specific feedback about my use case. Thanks
The availability of a Land Cruiser vs the gx also pushes me in this direction. Come on Toyota, give us a V6 Land Cruiser!
I made the run back to MT in Sept. 24 from Bay Area. Had a Yakima Skybox on top and was getting close to 24 mpg . Run up to Tahoe was smooth with no issues. The new transmission is certainly a needed improvement over my old 2020 ORP 4Runner. GX550s are scarce around here with the closest dealer in Spokane, WA. Even scarce at that dealership. LC is quite comfortable for long trips. Toyota seems to like the 4 cyl turbo so don't count on a v6 anytime soon. The hybrid does work well on the new LC.
 
Did a 160 mile trip yesterday from NY to PA, averaged around 70/80 mph and got around 21MPG. Had AC running on full for first half hour and then on mid level rest of the trip.

I have 265/70/18 AT tires.
 
I can’t speak to the GX, but I can speak to the powertrain. In my wife’s 2025 Sequoia LTD TRD OR, above 75 mph (no hybrid in use at that speed) we average around 16 mpg. I’m sure the GX is lighter, but that’s a wash with aerodynamics. That V6TT is a monster, but it’s thirsty under speed, and we live in flatland. I’m interested to see which does better when my LC58 is delivered Tuesday.
 
Very interesting feedback. RAV 4, highlander etc don’t work. I want, need and will use the off road capabilities, probably more than is designed. I already own a F250 diesel tremor, but prefer not to rack up miles empty on the highway in it, and it’s a tight fit in the garage in Tahoe. Also not a great snow vehicle. Honestly, my 5th gen 4runner was perfect. Why Toyota ruined that with this redesign is beyond me. I feel the Land Cruiser is the actual new 4runner. The new 4runner is awful, inside and out.
I can’t be the only person who wants a BOF mid size suv with good range and good off road ability that can be driven hours on the highway.
Bronco is ruled out as well as wranglers. I'm starting to think my vehicle doesn’t exist.
I sold a 5th Gen 4Runner for this LC250 and could not be happier. If you liked your 5th gen, I think you will love the LC. The only downside I can think of is the fuel tank capacity, but then when I think on it, I am not sure I would have even noted this issue myself had it not been mentioned in forums and critics of the vehicle. It just requires a fill up a few miles sooner. As for road trips the LC is like a dream compared to that 5th Gen 4Runner and really compared to most vehicles, in my opinion.
 
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