Talking Cars w/ Consumer Reports: 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser

[msenske]

Hey there. I just saw this video come across my YouTube feed and thought I’d post it here. It’s Episode #454 of Talking Cars w/ Consumer Reports and it’s focused on the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser. I haven’t had the opportunity to watch the entire video so I can’t vouch for its quality, accuracy, etc., but I thought the community might find it interesting.



Enjoy!

 

[Dr. W]

Thanks for posting. I'm a fan of Consumer Reports, and I thought their take on the J250 was interesting. All were all fawning over the styling and interior controls. I was surprised to see 2/3 say they would ultimately choose a cheaper car (Bronco) over the LC because 'the LC is too stylish and too nice to get beat up, so I'd rather start with a less precious car.' The 3rd guy favorably chose the LC over the LR Defender, which was encouraging. Rather than the typical CR 'it drives like a truck and not a Honda Civic' opinions, I thought the hesitations about the hybrid power-train sounded reasonable. But I've had my J250 FE for 2 weeks now, and I haven't noticed any of the power-train offenses (hesitation from rolling starts, excess vibrations through the steering wheel). Maybe I'm just not expecting ultra-luxury v8 ride quality. Besides the fantastic styling, I think the value proposition of the 2024 J250 is that is satisfies many key criteria in a previously disappointing auto category: some on-road luxury, strong off-road prowess, hybrid efficiency (admittedly somewhat less than my prius), and Toyota reliability. Anyway, fun video.

 

[DoMoCruiser24]

“I would rather get a Bronco because the LC is too expensive to scratch up, but at the same time would rather get the previous generation with the luxurious 5.7L V8 that also happened to retail for $30k more 5 years ago.”

 

[LandcruiserNut]

These people get paid for this crap. Let them design the perfect vehicle. I won’t watch and let them make money over their cry baby attitudes. Come on people, the LC rocks. Nothing perfect, just enjoy!!

 

[pickax]

Thanks for posting this. I totally relate to the guy in the middle – he values what I value. The comment about relative pricing with the bronco is unfair. Sure you can get a stripped down bronco; but they bought a LC/LC premium. I’m 59, and done with stripped down vehicles (plus I’ve got my little Cherokee XJ daily driver). I’ve had a ford in my driveway since 1991 (explorers) and looked at the bronco hard before buying the LC/LC premium; try to equip a 4dr 2024 wildtrack to match and you’re at the same price level without the Toyota build quality (super evident when you drive both). Bronco’s are cool, my brother has one, I’m not knocking them – but they are also “expensive”.

 

[Altitude]

try to equip a 4dr 2024 wildtrack to match and you’re at the same price level without the Toyota build quality (super evident when you drive both).

Exactly. I so wanted to like the Bronco, but at the end of the day I could not get with the sloppiness I saw in the build at the real world price. For example, when you close the door on a LC it makes one noise. When you close the door on a Bronco it makes about six or seven noises. Visibly rough trim edges. Some questionable plastics. High $60s.

Further, this car is my daily driver and I need a degree of serenity and solitude in it, saying nothing of a decent environment for phone calls. The Bronco is just too loud.

As for the comments about the hybrid powertrain. I suppose. Surely a more complex engine will present more problems than a less complex one, all else constant. But the reviewer is shaking his fist at clouds a little, because there are few if any remaining naturally aspirated ICE engines in modern cars designed to generate high output. It’s just not where the industry is, and if I’m going to buy a hybrid car I feel pretty good about buying it from the company that has mass-marketed them the longest. Plus, as the Car Care Nut explains well in his review, there are simpler and more complex ways to execute a hybrid approach and the LC is simpler. Given the realistic options it seems like a good one. Compared to the “I Wish” options, maybe less so.

 

[uraniumrich]

Thanks for posting. I'm a fan of Consumer Reports, and I thought their take on the J250 was interesting. All were all fawning over the styling and interior controls. I was surprised to see 2/3 say they would ultimately choose a cheaper car (Bronco) over the LC because 'the LC is too stylish and too nice to get beat up, so I'd rather start with a less precious car.' The 3rd guy favorably chose the LC over the LR Defender, which was encouraging. Rather than the typical CR 'it drives like a truck and not a Honda Civic' opinions, I thought the hesitations about the hybrid power-train sounded reasonable. But I've had my J250 FE for 2 weeks now, and I haven't noticed any of the power-train offenses (hesitation from rolling starts, excess vibrations through the steering wheel). Maybe I'm just not expecting ultra-luxury v8 ride quality. Besides the fantastic styling, I think the value proposition of the 2024 J250 is that is satisfies many key criteria in a previously disappointing auto category: some on-road luxury, strong off-road prowess, hybrid efficiency (admittedly somewhat less than my prius), and Toyota reliability. Anyway, fun video.

I've had my LC for more than two weeks. I felt like CR pretty much hit the review dead on, with the exception that I much prefer the LC over the GX550, Bronco, and LR variants. I definitely have noticed that the powertrain is not smooth on start up and when applying throttle from low speeds. I think Toyota needs to spend some time sorting the programming on the powertrain to make it smoother, yet still responsive. My previous Toyota (a 21 Venza) was seamless in moving between ICE/electric. Of course, that's a much different version of a hybrid and transmission. But, I was expecting the LC to be smoother. I sometimes notice a shudder through the wheel as I accelerate from slow speeds. That all sounds like a programming issue to me. I've also driven the GX550 (the V6 is sooo much better!) If the LC came with the V6 I'd probably get that powertrain instead, based on my experience so far. But, I much prefer everything else about the LC, from interior Layout to the exterior looks to the suspension (no E-KDSS for me!) The LC looks and feels more like an off-roader to me and mine will be seeing a lot of dirt at times. The Bronco is a very capable, but uncivilized machine by comparison. But, what's right for me isn't right for everyone. As much as I love my new LC, Toyota still has some work to do to smooth out a few things.

 

[LCMud]

I've had my LC for more than two weeks. I felt like CR pretty much hit the review dead on, with the exception that I much prefer the LC over the GX550, Bronco, and LR variants. I definitely have noticed that the powertrain is not smooth on start up and when applying throttle from low speeds. I think Toyota needs to spend some time sorting the programming on the powertrain to make it smoother, yet still responsive. My previous Toyota (a 21 Venza) was seamless in moving between ICE/electric. Of course, that's a much different version of a hybrid and transmission. But, I was expecting the LC to be smoother. I sometimes notice a shudder through the wheel as I accelerate from slow speeds. That all sounds like a programming issue to me. I've also driven the GX550 (the V6 is sooo much better!) If the LC came with the V6 I'd probably get that powertrain instead, based on my experience so far. But, I much prefer everything else about the LC, from interior Layout to the exterior looks to the suspension (no E-KDSS for me!) The LC looks and feels more like an off-roader to me and mine will be seeing a lot of dirt at times. The Bronco is a very capable, but uncivilized machine by comparison. But, what's right for me isn't right for everyone. As much as I love my new LC, Toyota still has some work to do to smooth out a few things.

Not sure if you’ve tried it, but flip to sport mode and see how you like it. Others have commented and it seems to be the LC drives pretty sweet in sport. I’m not sure how much mpg you lose doesn’t seem like much but need to do a fair test.

 

[uraniumrich]

Not sure if you’ve tried it, but flip to sport mode and see how you like it. Others have commented and it seems to be the LC drives pretty sweet in sport. I’m not sure how much mpg you lose doesn’t seem like much but need to do a fair test.

I hadn't thought to try and switch between modes. Thank you for the idea! I kept the Venza in ECO 100% of the time because it definitely increased the MPG and the performance gain wasn't really important for that car.

 

[pickax]

Not sure if you’ve tried it, but flip to sport mode and see how you like it. Others have commented and it seems to be the LC drives pretty sweet in sport. I’m not sure how much mpg you lose doesn’t seem like much but need to do a fair test.

This graphic is from Lexus, so I’m not 100% sure it corresponds to the LC modes, but it ‘feels’ to me like what’s going on. Max throttle is the same in all modes, the rate of change is different.

I much prefer sport mode – when I push the pedal I expect the throttle to “be there” – a little more rapid response and a bit higher RPM before shifts. In the other modes I find myself compensating for the reduced response by giving it more pedal. It’s not that I’m a lead foot (OK, maybe a little), but in the other modes I perceive that the engine is lagging a bit and so give it more gas – especially in eco mode. Because of this, I think my mpg in eco may be worse (I haven’t seen a real difference at least). Steering feels tighter in sport, also more like what I expect. What works for you really comes down to driving style IMO.

In my rare chances to drive the LC (now firmly my wife’s car), I push start and switch to sport in one motion. It’s fine that it switches back to Normal mode at shut-off because my wife doesn’t mind or care

 

[EOD Guy]

Can't say as I disagree with anything the CR talking heads had to say ............. some like mud-n-guts others like glits-n-glitter. It is a rather expensive vehicle to just bash up and it's not that expensive to have all the bells and whistles that it does have.

 

[BossEvelope]

I felt the review was okay but lacked depth and they misspoke on a couple things that made me feel like they didn’t commit to a proper review. Also, I don’t agree with the preference for a Bronco. I actually like the Bronco a lot, don’t get me wrong. But a decently spec’d bronco is in the $55-60k+ price range, at which point I’d 100% prefer the LC for a little more $. The LC for me is the whole package - rugged, capable, and quiet luxury.

 

[Altitude]

It’s safe to assume that in any vehicle with adjustable drive settings, the “normal” setting is the most conservative they could get away with to maximize their CAFE scores. Sport mode is probably where they intend us to spend our time from a drivability standpoint.

In the 911, Sport mode is the normal mode for me and Sport+ is the get after it mode. The normal mode is only for extended highway drives, which I never do in that car anyway.

 

[bluebullet]

CR has repeatedly shown their lack of understanding of off road vehicles. They consistently downgraded 4Runners for years despite their long product life and popularity. They base much of their analysis on a sample size of one. I always take their advice with a grain of salt.

 

[uraniumrich]

This graphic is from Lexus, so I’m not 100% sure it corresponds to the LC modes, but it ‘feels’ to me like what’s going on. Max throttle is the same in all modes, the rate of change is different.

I much prefer sport mode – when I push the pedal I expect the throttle to “be there” – a little more rapid response and a bit higher RPM before shifts. In the other modes I find myself compensating for the reduced response by giving it more pedal. It’s not that I’m a lead foot (OK, maybe a little), but in the other modes I perceive that the engine is lagging a bit and so give it more gas – especially in eco mode. Because of this, I think my mpg in eco may be worse (I haven’t seen a real difference at least). Steering feels tighter in sport, also more like what I expect. What works for you really comes down to driving style IMO.

In my rare chances to drive the LC (now firmly my wife’s car), I push start and switch to sport in one motion. It’s fine that it switches back to Normal mode at shut-off because my wife doesn’t mind or care

Drove around tonight in both NORMAL and SPORT...both were smoother than ECO.

 

[Dr. W]

Thanks for posting this. I totally relate to the guy in the middle – he values what I value. The comment about relative pricing with the bronco is unfair. Sure you can get a stripped down bronco; but they bought a LC/LC premium. I’m 59, and done with stripped down vehicles (plus I’ve got my little Cherokee XJ daily driver). I’ve had a ford in my driveway since 1991 (explorers) and looked at the bronco hard before buying the LC/LC premium; try to equip a 4dr 2024 wildtrack to match and you’re at the same price level without the Toyota build quality (super evident when you drive both). Bronco’s are cool, my brother has one, I’m not knocking them – but they are also “expensive”.

I've given the CR review a little more thought, and I think there are 2 types of customers: (1) people buying a daily driver truck, and (2) people buying a off-roading toy.

The guy in the middle represents my thinking-- I'm looking for a truck as my main car. So many of the important considerations for me were style, comfort, and reliability, and off-road capabilities. So the 2024 LC J250 is a perfect fit for me (plus I love that it's a hybrid). For the other 2 people in the review, they would rather drive a unibody car everyday and can only envision buying a off-road capable truck as a weekend toy. If I was shopping for a weekend-only toy, it might make more sense to buy used or buy a less-equipped vehicle. And to be fair, most people probably don't need an off-road capabile truck day-to-day. Hell, my J250 spends many more miles on the highway than it does on snow, dirt, mud, and sand combined.

But I disagree with their logic that a Bronco or used GX would be a smarter purchase, even for a weekend-only toy. I'm a fan of both the new generation Bronco and 2024 GX, and considered both cars before purchasing the LC. As other in this thread have stated, a similarly-equipped for off-road use Bronco is going to be very similar in cost to the J250, but likely suffer worse build quality and reliability. Similarly a used GX may not offer a significant discount over a new LC either (plus I'm not a fan of the old GX's styling). To get any significant cost savings over the 2024 LC, you'd likely have to give up serious comforts and capabilityies in the Bronco or buy a heavily used GX.

 

[Michaelnaut]

Interesting that they landed on the Bronco so much. I test drove both the LC/LC and the Bronco (OBX) a few times before I landed on the LC. The ride in the Bronco was just...all sorts of jostling, none of which I experienced in the LC. Test drove a couple times to be sure. I also felt that they were nitpicking a bit more...but hey, I think all those reviews are relatively subjective.

 

[Altitude]

I've given the CR review a little more thought, and I think there are 2 types of customers: (1) people buying a daily driver truck, and (2) people buying a off-roading toy.

The guy in the middle represents my thinking-- I'm looking for a truck as my main car. So many of the important considerations for me were style, comfort, and reliability, and off-road capabilities. So the 2024 LC J250 is a perfect fit for me (plus I love that it's a hybrid). For the other 2 people in the review, they would rather drive a unibody car everyday and can only envision buying a off-road capable truck as a weekend toy. If I was shopping for a weekend-only toy, it might make more sense to buy used or buy a less-equipped vehicle. And to be fair, most people probably don't need an off-road capabile truck day-to-day. Hell, my J250 spends many more miles on the highway than it does on snow, dirt, mud, and sand combined.

But I disagree with their logic that a Bronco or used GX would be a smarter purchase, even for a weekend-only toy. I'm a fan of both the new generation Bronco and 2024 GX, and considered both cars before purchasing the LC. As other in this thread have stated, a similarly-equipped for off-road use Bronco is going to be very similar in cost to the J250, but likely suffer worse build quality and reliability. Similarly a used GX may not offer a significant discount over a new LC either (plus I'm not a fan of the old GX's styling). To get any significant cost savings over the 2024 LC, you'd likely have to give up serious comforts and capabilityies in the Bronco or buy a heavily used GX.

Agreed. If I liked the previous generation GX I’d have bought one by now.

As I posted above, Broncos are awesome on paper but when you get in one and drive it around it just feels like it will age quickly. Then you look at the sticker and it’s quite a bit more $ than you thought it was.

 

[Overtrail Mike]

Hey there. I just saw this video come across my YouTube feed and thought I’d post it here. It’s Episode #454 of Talking Cars w/ Consumer Reports and it’s focused on the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser. I haven’t had the opportunity to watch the entire video so I can’t vouch for its quality, accuracy, etc., but I thought the community might find it interesting.



Enjoy!

Thanks for the video as it’s always interesting to get a different review on the LC.
I have three pet peeves after having driven a mid-level Land Cruiser for two weeks:
1. The sunvisor can’t be rotated to the side window as the handle is in the way. This is just flat-out poor design.
2. Lack of storage space around the driver. The “cool box” is nice but there is only room for sunglasses in the door compartment.
3. The annoying beeping when sensors go off. Toyota— Can you please fix this in the software… especially for off-roading?

That being said, I love the vehicle aesthetics and ride!

Overall, I am very happy

 

[francorossobianco]

Thanks for the video as it’s always interesting to get a different review on the LC.
I have three pet peeves after having driven a mid-level Land Cruiser for two weeks:
1. The sunvisor can’t be rotated to the side window as the handle is in the way. This is just flat-out poor design.
2. Lack of storage space around the driver. The “cool box” is nice but there is only room for sunglasses in the door compartment.
3. The annoying beeping when sensors go off. Toyota— Can you please fix this in the software… especially for off-roading?

That being said, I love the vehicle aesthetics and ride!

Overall, I am very happy

My LC PM sun visor rotates to my side window and extends. Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying....