Just returned from a family Christmas ski trip to Taos, NM and happy to share my experience from the trip... This was not a real test of off-road features/prowess, but more of those style trips in the future.
Vehicle - LC/LC Trim with premium package. FE roof rack, rock rails, First Edition style mudflaps (the non-FE branded Toyota ones from Japan), OEM 18" wheels and factory Michelin AT tires. I put the little front lower-bumper rubber air dam things back on for this trip to try to help gas milage as much as possible. Odometer now at 11,500 miles after the trip. Had a dealer 10K service done just before leaving.
Trip-
Loaded up with 4 adult family members and a medium sized dog (sitting in the back between wife and daughter), along with luggage for all 4, food/beverages in a cooler, and a few gifts. Had to use a Thule cargo bag on the FE roof rack to overflow three large duffels of ski gear and luggage. The rear cargo space was jammed to the ceiling (thank goodness for the rear view camera). Drove around 80-82mph on I-40 with slight headwind to Tucumcari the first day (9 hours) and consistently got 15 mpg. Stopping about every 3 hours to fill up wasn't a huge problem with the need for bathroom breaks and snacks for the crew. But I found myself pushing the tank until right at empty, knowing that "zero" really means I still had about 40 miles in reserve (a tank with 3-4 more gallons would be much appreciated!). Wife and daughter commented on lack of cup holders for their big Stanley "girl cups", especially since the dog was sitting where they usually fold out the center arm rest/cup holder. My wife commented on the low rumble noise, probably coming from the roof rack and wind noise from cargo bag. Closing the sunroof helped a bit.
Day#2 - Shorter travel day of 3-4 hours. We left the interstate and headed into the mountains up to Taos. Slower speeds helped the mileage a bit, but still driving up in elevation, so got around 17mpg. LC handled the smaller, hilly climb without any effort. Cut a Christmas tree down on the way, in the National Forest (purchased a $5 permit) and strapped it to the little remaining space on the roof rack.
Day #3-5 - mainly parked as we skied, but some fresh snow late in the trip gave me a chance to drive on some snow covered dirt roads around the ski village and no problems or slips at All! Didn't even have to engage any other drive mode, than just standard and all I have are the factory Michelin AT tires.
Return trip- launched early for the 14 hours home in one long haul. Left the area at sunrise through a pass toward Eagle's Nest Lake and the roads were snow/ice covered, but had no traction issues. My added LED light bar, behind the lower grill and yellow factory fog lights helped visibility in a few remote spots when the weather was dicey. Coming down out of elevation with a lot of "electric only coasting" afforded 21mpg until back on the interstate. This was a nice surprise. And a tail wind helped mileage for most of the interstate trip home (18-19mpg), even though still fully loaded down. The tail wind helped the return trip to be much quieter as well. My son helped drive and commented that with the adaptive cruise and lane/steering assist, "it practically drives itself!". These assistive features do help reduce driver fatigue, but frequent fuel stops never really allowed us to push past 250 mile stretches at a time.
Overall experience:
Lack of internal storage/stowage space. - Give me a few more nooks and crannies to put stuff and bigger cup holders! But in the end I can make do since it's only a rare trip that I've got this many people/dog and so much cargo!
Poor mileage and lack of fuel range- I would be just fine with a standard non-hybrid 6 cylinder and a bigger fuel tank that would probably get the same mileage with less complicated setup.
Lights and visibility - the tall stance and big windshield along with great LED headlights and fog lights were wonderful for seeing everything - day and night!
Comfortable ride and assistive highway features make a long trip much more enjoyable!
Wifi - I temporarily activated the At&t hotspot feature and it was great! Three phones and at times a laptop or two connected with movies streaming and great bandwidth, even when cell signal was poor. I plugged my iPhone into the main media port and this allowed me CarPlay for navigation/music and didn't interfere with the Hotspot providing internet connection for everyone else.
The Land Cruiser took us the 2000 miles there and back safely which is all that really matters!
Vehicle - LC/LC Trim with premium package. FE roof rack, rock rails, First Edition style mudflaps (the non-FE branded Toyota ones from Japan), OEM 18" wheels and factory Michelin AT tires. I put the little front lower-bumper rubber air dam things back on for this trip to try to help gas milage as much as possible. Odometer now at 11,500 miles after the trip. Had a dealer 10K service done just before leaving.
Trip-
Loaded up with 4 adult family members and a medium sized dog (sitting in the back between wife and daughter), along with luggage for all 4, food/beverages in a cooler, and a few gifts. Had to use a Thule cargo bag on the FE roof rack to overflow three large duffels of ski gear and luggage. The rear cargo space was jammed to the ceiling (thank goodness for the rear view camera). Drove around 80-82mph on I-40 with slight headwind to Tucumcari the first day (9 hours) and consistently got 15 mpg. Stopping about every 3 hours to fill up wasn't a huge problem with the need for bathroom breaks and snacks for the crew. But I found myself pushing the tank until right at empty, knowing that "zero" really means I still had about 40 miles in reserve (a tank with 3-4 more gallons would be much appreciated!). Wife and daughter commented on lack of cup holders for their big Stanley "girl cups", especially since the dog was sitting where they usually fold out the center arm rest/cup holder. My wife commented on the low rumble noise, probably coming from the roof rack and wind noise from cargo bag. Closing the sunroof helped a bit.
Day#2 - Shorter travel day of 3-4 hours. We left the interstate and headed into the mountains up to Taos. Slower speeds helped the mileage a bit, but still driving up in elevation, so got around 17mpg. LC handled the smaller, hilly climb without any effort. Cut a Christmas tree down on the way, in the National Forest (purchased a $5 permit) and strapped it to the little remaining space on the roof rack.
Day #3-5 - mainly parked as we skied, but some fresh snow late in the trip gave me a chance to drive on some snow covered dirt roads around the ski village and no problems or slips at All! Didn't even have to engage any other drive mode, than just standard and all I have are the factory Michelin AT tires.
Return trip- launched early for the 14 hours home in one long haul. Left the area at sunrise through a pass toward Eagle's Nest Lake and the roads were snow/ice covered, but had no traction issues. My added LED light bar, behind the lower grill and yellow factory fog lights helped visibility in a few remote spots when the weather was dicey. Coming down out of elevation with a lot of "electric only coasting" afforded 21mpg until back on the interstate. This was a nice surprise. And a tail wind helped mileage for most of the interstate trip home (18-19mpg), even though still fully loaded down. The tail wind helped the return trip to be much quieter as well. My son helped drive and commented that with the adaptive cruise and lane/steering assist, "it practically drives itself!". These assistive features do help reduce driver fatigue, but frequent fuel stops never really allowed us to push past 250 mile stretches at a time.
Overall experience:
Lack of internal storage/stowage space. - Give me a few more nooks and crannies to put stuff and bigger cup holders! But in the end I can make do since it's only a rare trip that I've got this many people/dog and so much cargo! Poor mileage and lack of fuel range- I would be just fine with a standard non-hybrid 6 cylinder and a bigger fuel tank that would probably get the same mileage with less complicated setup. Lights and visibility - the tall stance and big windshield along with great LED headlights and fog lights were wonderful for seeing everything - day and night!Comfortable ride and assistive highway features make a long trip much more enjoyable!Wifi - I temporarily activated the At&t hotspot feature and it was great! Three phones and at times a laptop or two connected with movies streaming and great bandwidth, even when cell signal was poor. I plugged my iPhone into the main media port and this allowed me CarPlay for navigation/music and didn't interfere with the Hotspot providing internet connection for everyone else.The Land Cruiser took us the 2000 miles there and back safely which is all that really matters!
