Josh’s Cars of Japan - Land Cruiser Review

[msenske]

I’m somewhat hesitant to post this as it may not be popular among Land Cruiser owners on this site, but I thought it would be interesting for others to watch and react to. As a Land Cruiser First Edition owner for about 5-6 weeks, my experience has been fantastic, and I would consider myself to have extremely high standards. I consider the LC250 to be a very worthy successor to the Land Cruiser name, and in many ways a return to what made Land Cruisers so beloved in the first place. I hope you find the video interesting.

 

[Nuke]

Some very valid points to look for when we receive our 2025 LC/LC. However, did he get thrown out of the Toyota insider club? If not, it may be forthcoming.

 

[msenske]

Some very valid points to look for when we receive our 2025 LC/LC. However, did he get thrown out of the Toyota insider club? If not, it may be forthcoming.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that objective and honest feedback is incredibly important. There are definitely issues with the Land Cruiser (as with any vehicle) that could be improved upon and it certainly isn’t perfect.

His comments about the gas tank size and resulting range are definitely opportunities for improvement. I can understand that he was hoping for more soft touch surfaces and creature comforts in the 1958 trim given the price, but you have to weigh this against the other features and functionality that are offered at that price point.

I am a bit surprised by how poorly he felt the drivetrain performed. Frankly, I was very skeptical about it when I took delivery of the vehicle, but I haven’t experienced any of the issues he complained about (other than the fuel efficiency which is to be expected in a 5300lb vehicle). In fact, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality and performance of the drivetrain in the first 1500 miles of ownership.

One of my concerns is that the vehicle he evaluated was a Turo rental, and my experience has been that it might have been subjected to an improper break-in process and generally subjected to harsh and careless treatment (especially when it came to whatever was floating around in the passenger door or the loose piece of molding on the rear driver side door).

Ultimately, the feedback he provided was his and he is entitled to his expectations and opinions. What surprised me was how different our objective experiences have actually been.

 

[Nuke]

Glad to hear of your favorable experience re the drivetrain, msenske. That was my biggest concern from his review. Besides, am personally looking forward to a more truck-like vehicle, as coming from a 4Runner to our Highlander, the soft ride, and resulting imprecise handling at highway speeds, bothered me. Looking forward to returning to a body/frame design.