I enjoyed the first part of the video that included the history of Toyota and the Land Cruiser
Obviously I don't agree with his entire critique of the LC 250, but the part that I just don't get is how strongly he claims it to be "under powered" and hates on the engine and drivetrain...
I've owned and driven quite a few truly under-powered vehicles (with the worst offender being my 1st gen 4Runner), and I've owned/driven vehicles focused on performance. Personally, I don't find the LC 250 with the iForceMAX 4-cylinder gas hybrid (i.e. the "US version") to be under-powered at all. I never find myself underwhelmed by it's ability to accelerate, between the turbo and hybrid motor, if anything, I'm more often impressed at just how much jump it does have, given the size of the vehicle for a relatively small engine, even when going up hills. Do I feel like I'm in a sports car with unlimited power and acceleration? Do I feel like I'm being thrown back in my seat every time I tap the gas pedal? No...but it's a large, boxy, body-on-frame SUV, that was never an expectation I had.
Full disclosure, I have never driven a 100 or 200 series LC with the V8 (or any other LC for that matter), so I can't make a direct comparison...sure, I imagine that the V8 was both smoother and quieter...at about half the fuel economy. Can anyone that's coming from one of these older LC's or similarly powered vehicle weigh in? Do you feel the new 250 is under-powered?
I have noticed that the transmission is a bit "jerky" when accelerating quickly if the engine is cold, but after about 5 minutes of driving that's completely gone, and that's really the only minor gripe I can possibly come up with.
Also, I don't care that "it's a Prado" or part of the "light duty" LC lineage...that's exactly what I need and want...I was never going to be in the market for a 300 series LC, whether they were offered here in the US or not (though the 70 series might be a lot more tempting), but I was immediately interested in learning more about the 250 once it was announced, as I had already been considering a new 4Runner.
Does the eventual reliability of the new engine (iForceMAX) concern me? Absolutely...admit that I took a leap of faith there, but I've owned many Toyotas in the past, and trust them to make things right...but other than the unproven reliability factor that naturally will come with something like this, I've mostly been impressed and happy with my new Land Cruiser 250 Prado; no regrets, no buyer's remorse...just having a lot of fun driving it.