Today marks exactly one year, and 16,804 miles with my 2025 Land Cruiser. I picked it up from Toyota of Manhattan Beach in California on 12-10-2024.
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If you're in the market for one of these, or a fairly new owner, I'll share a little about my first year of ownership. If you've already had one for a bit and you've got your own opinions, I'm not trying to convince you of anything otherwise.
In the past 27 years I've owned three 4Runners (the '99 was my favorite), a 2014 Tundra, 2016 Tacoma, 2023 RAV4 Prime, and now this. The Land Cruisers were always my dream vehicle, but by the time I was earning enough money to buy what I really wanted, the LC's were into the 100 Series. Once LC's hit the 100 series, I felt like Toyota started chasing the G-Wagon and Range Rover crowd/demographic and kind of lost their way with the platform. The 100 series Land Cruiser's were out of my budget, and didn't really appeal to me anyway. Then the 200 series came along and I just couldn't understand why Toyota was chasing the luxury market. We do a fair bit of off roading and I never saw a 200 series on the trail. Fast forward to the last year and a half of watching the forums, and I can maybe understand why Toyota was chasing the luxury market with LC platform.... MANY people in the LC crowd are
SOFT! Over the past couple years I've seen nearly every forum, YouTube video, and all other discussion on the 250. I won't rehash any of it, but I just have to say, I don't agree with
ANY of it! I've been on the 4Runner forums longer than my squirrel-brain memory can compute, and I've never seen the same complaints, whines, or otherwise. And this LC is MUCH nicer than any of the 4Runners. We still have a 2019 with 110k miles. The LC drives nicer, tows better, rides smoother, corners better, has MUCH more power and torque (especially when towing our off road trailer) and gets better MPG. Am I really supposed to find something to complain about???
Immediately after purchasing, I switched out the tires to Yokohama Geolandar G018 in stock size in preparation for a winter trip to Yosemite. The stock Michelin's were nice but I wanted the comfort of the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake. The guy at Discount Tire gave me $600 for the take-offs! And I thought I would be on the hook for a disposal fee. LOL. I also switched out the center caps for the "TOYOTA" ones from the 200 series LC Heritage Edition.
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Also came up with a cool little storage solution for the Ice Box center console. I guess it's true that necessity is the mother of invention:
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In January 2025 we took our first trip in the LC, up to Yosemite from San Diego. Averaged 22-25MPG the whole way there on the Yokohamas. Probably would have been a tick higher on the Michelins. Drove like a dream. Up over the Grapevine was absolutely nothing for the LC, and it pulled like my old Tundra with the 5.7L. Inside, we kept so nice and warm between the heated seats and steering wheel. The full-time 4WD never gave me cause for concern on the icy mountain roads. It was truly a peaceful refuge from the harsh Sierra Winter.
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We tent-camped one night using our backpacking gear. A bear even came through at night to admire the LC, and knock a few of our dishes on the ground. LOL. I think the nighttime low was somewhere around 10 degrees. That's Fahrenheit! LOL.
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The drive back to San Diego was smooth, averaging 24-25MPG the whole way. Win!
Our next trip was to the desert. I got the LC properly fitted to tow and charge our 2020 Patriot X1. Love that thing. Here's proof that Las Vegas isn't all just casinos and buffets!
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Our first night was in a bit of a canyon. The weather was good and wind was non-existent. If you've ever tried to tent camp in the desert, you know how much it's appreciated when the wind isn't howling.
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We only stayed here one night, as there isn't much to keep busy during the day. We drove out to Lake Mead and were able to find a spot right on the water's edge.
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After a night of insanely brutal winds, we bailed on this spot. The winds were absolutely abusive. At one point we had to get into the LC because it seriously felt like the tent wouldn't hold up. Mountain camping is something I like better. LOL
If you haven't seen the Valley of Fire outside of Las Vegas, it should be on your list. It's absolutely amazing, but there isn't any dispersed camping. You'll need reservations at one of the few campgrounds, but if you do score one, you won't regret it. The area is stunning
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Between trips, the LC pulled duty shuttling me between MTB rides and as an every day beach shuttle. My wife says the exhaust makes it sound like a surf mobile. I like that.
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In June we made a trip to the Eastern Sierras. I prefer mountain camping, but the Eastern Sierras in Winter isn’t an option. Knowing we’d be hitting some moderate trails, I upgraded the armor to the the OEM rock sliders and transmission skid plate. The dealer package already had the upgraded engine skid plate. Those OEM rock sliders were super easy to install, lightweight and perfect for my needs, as I primarily need them for insurance. We don’t seek out rock-crawling trails.
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Our travels were going to take us pretty deep into the Eastern Sierras, so a simple fix for the range-anxiety prone:
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A quick fill-up before we headed into the mountains, and we never came close to worrying about range. And we were pretty deep into the woods on rugged terrain.
The drive into Kennedy Meadows from Hwy 395 is long and up a VERY steep mountain road. The LC never struggled pulling the trailer. Kept an eye on the transmission temp. since apparently that has been an issue for some owners. Never came close to worry-range.
The road takes you way, way up there. I think we were close to 11,000 feet at one point. A rarely discussed topic is how the hybrid motor is completely unaffected by the altitude. Came up here in my old ‘99 4Runner once and she almost stalled. That thin mountain air. She just couldn’t breathe. But the hybrid? Not an issue.
There is a ton of stuff to see up in that area, but we headed to the more popular area known as Monache Meadows. Once you’re in the meadows, the trails are fairly tame. But the drop in and the climb out can be challenging. The LC ran like a champ pulling our Patriot. When you’re on trail, pulling a trailer, the instant torque of the electric motor really is beneficial. I believe much more so than twin turbos would be.
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The area could seriously be used by Toyota as an advertising campaign. It looked like a festival for heavily modified and customized Toyotas. We were one of the few running close to stock.
It was fun being able to disconnect from the trailer and spend the day exploring.
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The climb out had me worried due to the trailer. We got caught in a bit of a caravan of HEAVILY modified 4Runners and Tacos. That last climb out is heavily rutted, and running over some huge boulders. Some guy in an '87, 2WD Ranger couldn't make the climb and had to be winched up. I watched as the Tacos and 4Runners bounced around, trying to find traction. Pretty sure not one of them was under GVWR. A bit of anxiety started to set in considering the 2500# anchor. I disconnected the sway bar, put it in 4LO and she climbed right out. I could actually feel the LC giving me that look like, “You actually thought that would be tough for me?” The guys in the 4Runners and Tacos stopped me later and said they were all quite impressed.
The rest of the trip went without a hitch and we found a few other places to make for a nice camp.
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After returning to San Diego, LC went back to service as my daily surf mobile, shuttling me enjoyably to my surf sessions, and post-session fish tacos. If you can afford early retirement, I highly recommend it. I count my blessings every day. It’s a good life.
So today marks one year, 16,804 miles. I love this rig more every day.
If you’re reading this and you’re thinking about getting one, know this: It’s a body-on-frame 4x4. It’s purpose-built. It drives nicer and smoother than anything I’ve ever driven. It’s not a G-Wagon. It’s not a 200 series LC. It’s not a Lexus LX. Be honest with yourself about what kind of car you want. Considering some of the numerous complaints and whines I've seen repeated ad nauseam, I’ll say only this: You bought the wrong car. You would have been happier in a Highlander. For many others? The car you’re demanding to own doesn’t exist. Get over it.
To some of the early owners who’ve had catastrophic failures? I have nothing. I feel bad for you. But this is my seventh Toyota and not one of my other six ever gave me any reason to worry about Toyota’s commitment to Quality Dependability, and Reliability. If the turbos need to be rebuilt at 200k miles, so be it. The adventures this will take me on up to that point will be worth it. I grew up in the era when domestic cars were basically thrown in the dumpster after 100k miles. Toyota changed that.
If you think you'll be doing a fair bit of off-road driving, get the disconnecting sway bar. It's worth it. Never even thought about using the rear lockers. Didn't even really need crawl control.
What this is, is a proper off-roader with all the road handling comforts you’d expect from a modern vehicle. And I think it’s priced correctly for what it is. I will defend my claim that it is the perfect Toyota vehicle. This is the vehicle that convinced me to part with my ’99 4Runner, which was the car I swore I’d never sell. The LC has ensured that I’ve never had a day of regret.
I look forward to the many more years, miles, and adventures I’m sure to have in my 2025 LC!
