Vehicles of about the same weight are never a top rate towing match.
How Toyota Got the 2024 Land Cruiser So Wrong — Full Review & History — Jason Cammisa on the ICONS
- Thread starter Dragoon
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I with you on your take. I love the exterior of the GX, but prefer the interior of the LC. Here in Kanadistan, the price between the GX and the LC are not close, so it's an easy decision. But the reason I opted for the LC in the first place was BECAUSE OF the hybrid engine.
Indeed, LC-GX price differential is a very different story here in Canada:
(2024 MSRP)
To be clear;
I am trying to share some safety sense on the towing subject, the rest irrelevant to my intent.
This is a very consumer grade forum with many younger participants.
Towing can be a very life changing event, sooner or later you're going to wish you had more stopping power and a better tow to towed vehicle weight bias.
Trying to help the younger people get older and the less experienced get some.
Best of luck to all.
I am trying to share some safety sense on the towing subject, the rest irrelevant to my intent.
This is a very consumer grade forum with many younger participants.
Towing can be a very life changing event, sooner or later you're going to wish you had more stopping power and a better tow to towed vehicle weight bias.
Trying to help the younger people get older and the less experienced get some.
Best of luck to all.
The prices aren’t close in the US either. For one, nobody can get an OT+ unless they are a long time Lexus customer and were at the top of the list a couple years ago, for two, they are marked up.
I get what you are saying as far as education, but (with all due respect) your take on this seems biased on assumptions of a 4 cylinder.
Same weight, same braking, same frame, similar power trains - what makes the GX such a better choice to tow with? Are you just going off rating?
Maybe better wisdom to share would be to NEVER exceed tow ratings if vehicles and ideally stay at less than 80% of capacity.
I know people get their feathers ruffled on these forums - mine are not in the slightest bit. Just participating in good talk.
Why do you think that they will get the same mileage off road?
- The GX doesn't have start stop, so it will be idling all the time. The LC will kill the engine any time that it is stopped and the battery charge is high enough.
- The V35 has high pumping losses than the T24 thanks to the 3.4L of displacement over the 2.4L displacment
- The V35 has higher friction losses thanks to two extra cylinders.
- The heavier GX will also take more energy to get moving and won't have the option of letting the highly efficient electric motor move the vehicle. Getting moving is the least efficient driving because the torque converter has to be unlocked. The hybrid LC can simply just let the electric motor do its thing with minimized losses through the transmission.
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From my experience, that engine will turn off very rarely when off roading
My conclusion without clicking on lame reviewer vids (99% of these influencers don't have a clue), is... the small gas tank sucks. The reverse squeal left town after I towed my travel trailer. It's been two months and no more squeal. Going in for 5K, first service today.
I also don’t understand why the LC’s mpg advantage would vanish off road. In addition to the above points, I would think that the slower forward progress in most scenarios would help one stay off boost and that there would be sufficient regeneration for the hybrid battery. In a manner of speaking, one has a better chance of mimicking the EPA City cycle (very gradual acceleration & deceleration) when off-road.
I don't have that math, could you provide?
Yep, exactly the math I did back in the beginning. We get totally shafted on the Lexus.
Personally I’ve read all the way through the chapter where the SUV needs to also be a sports car. I get it. I bought an E53 X5 new in 2001 and absolutely loved it. Somewhere along the way though I developed an affinity for trucks that act like trucks. Less fussy, easier to drive on the terrible road surface conditions in Colorado, and they look good dirty. Also, I was able to buy an actual sports car, so I am fortunate to be able to scratch that itch.
I do have a thing where I don’t see a Lexus as a truck. The thing I didn’t like about the previous generation GX was that it was a Lexus. Didn’t jive for me. That’s me though; I don’t get in front of anyone else on their preference. I did notice that the GX I would have bought was going to be almost $10K more than the LC I did buy.
As goes the LC, if somebody is going to knock the powertrain for being a hybrid, I need more info on why that’s bad. I guess it’s because it’s new engine technology? As new as it could be from the company that has built more hybrids than anybody. Millions of them over 20+ years, even. Isn’t the TTV6 actually a newer engine design for Toyota?
If the LC had been available with the TTV6, would I have chosen it? Maybe. Probably? But if it were available with an earthy red paint color I might have picked that too. But it wasn’t, and I don’t hate the truck because of that - Heritage Blue is cool too and so is the hybrid engine.
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Everyone is focused on the power plant. But there is a lot more going in comparing both. The LC is a better off-road vehicle. It articulates better (base trim), seems to have suspension tuned to perform better off-road, and doesn’t need to wait for turbos to spool up before kicking in the torque. The GX is probably nicer on pavement though. We do a lot of off roading. So it was an easy decision once I realized I also like the styling of LC better. Both inside and out.
I went back and looked at the pricing for the six GX 550 Overtrail+ units I was offered. The average was $86,325.33. That is without haggling but given the high demand it was pretty much take it or leave it numbers. My experience with the LC Premium Package trims was about $71K and with room for negotiation.
Some of the GX's had premium options like messaging seats etc. so I charactarize the overall price difference as about $12K and the LC's all had leather seats, tri-zone HVAC with roof vents, and the 2400 watt inverter. Also, let's not forget the LC has significantly better approach angles and better wheel articulation.
Don't get me wrong, the GX is a beautiful vehicle. It is ideal for highway cruising in style and comfort. But to me, the LC is clearly a better value, and offers more utility for a wider range of situations.
Some of the GX's had premium options like messaging seats etc. so I charactarize the overall price difference as about $12K and the LC's all had leather seats, tri-zone HVAC with roof vents, and the 2400 watt inverter. Also, let's not forget the LC has significantly better approach angles and better wheel articulation.
Don't get me wrong, the GX is a beautiful vehicle. It is ideal for highway cruising in style and comfort. But to me, the LC is clearly a better value, and offers more utility for a wider range of situations.
I’ve seen more LC250s in my neighborhood south of Denver in the last week than I’ve seen previous generation Land Cruisers of any age in the last five years total. Maybe ten.
Tell me again how Toyota got it wrong?
Tell me again how Toyota got it wrong?
According to Google search, Toyota sold 3,711 Land Cruisers in the US during the 2021 model year, the last year it was available in the country. After re-introducing the brand in 2024, the Toyota Land Cruiser has sold 23,714 units in the U.S. That is over a 6X improvement for only about half a year.
Over the past 20+ years, I’ve towed a lot of toys and stuff with various truck and SUV combinations across thousands of miles. Based on my experience, the Land Cruiser ranks about mid-pack for towing.
It’s about more than the tow vehicle but the facts are the LC is absolutely capable per the specs and equipment I’m using. In my current setup, the LC is towing around 66% of its max capacity and within the recommended tongue weight. My trailer is equipped with electric brakes, a weight distribution hitch, and electronic stability control with asymmetric braking, making it a very capable system. It’s a new model so there’s a great deal of hearsay, speculation or just bad info out there. I’d recommend anyone planning to tow with the LC have reasonable expectations and understand the limitations as well.
As for size, the LC’s dimensions are comparable to the GX and its curb weight is similar to a 2024 F-150 SuperCrew, so I’d argue it’s not a “small” vehicle.
Good luck with your LC or whatever you determine works for you.
Ya' know, if the LC was a diesel with the exact same torque and power curves, no one would be whining about its noise, and they would be amazed at the low end immediate torque, and pretty darn happy with their fuel economy. In van land, MB has moved their 6 to a 4. I have the diesel 6 cylinder and I gotta say, that iforcemax sure is a quiet little beastie.
While it doesn't sound as nice as my old Bi Turbo 4.5L V8 cayenne, I also don't get to watch the gas needle fall as I accelerate. Instead I get little Blue and White dancing dials showing me a modern partnership between e-assist and turbo, albeit a busy one with the eight speed transmission .
I really do think of the hybrid power train as a diesel and tend to drive it like one. As such it is one very under stressed engine.
While it doesn't sound as nice as my old Bi Turbo 4.5L V8 cayenne, I also don't get to watch the gas needle fall as I accelerate. Instead I get little Blue and White dancing dials showing me a modern partnership between e-assist and turbo, albeit a busy one with the eight speed transmission .
I really do think of the hybrid power train as a diesel and tend to drive it like one. As such it is one very under stressed engine.
