Underground LC '24

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Aug 26, 2024
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Newport Beach, CA
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2024 Land Cruiser
Had a Rivian on order coming from a BMW X5. No kids at home anymore, so the third row in the R1S wasn't really a necessity for me. Process leasing the Riv was pretty clunky, so when I saw this one pop up, I decided to jump on it after a test ride. Much more size appropriate for what I do. The R1S is an incredible vehicle, but at an obviously high price point. Now have a little less than a thousand miles on this one, and have to say that I've been very impressed. Certainly different from the X5, as this is definitely more of a truck ride, but I'd call it a very solid ride with a lot more utility for what I like to do.

I frequently load the truck with dive and fishing gear. Never felt quite right in the X5. The BMW, while a great car (Diesel that I kept for 9 years), was never something that I'd consider taking off road, so again, not really an apples to apples comparison. Have to say though that these have a very solid road ride and seem a lot more appropriate for what I do.

Like the underground color quite a bit. It's one of those colors that looks different depending on the lighting. Thought about replacing the Michelin LTX's with K03's, but I'm really not doing serious rock climbing. Do like to head off road in the Anza Borrego area and outside Mammoth, but it'll typically be on reasonably easy trails where I think the Michelin's will be fine. I'll run these for a few months and if it seems like a change is needed, I'll decide at that point. Certainly do understand filling the wheel well a bit more, but for now, we'll roll with these. As mentioned by many others here, dealer didn't bother to deflate the tires from 55psi, so the ride initially was a bit bumpy. Took them down to 35psi and the ride improved quite a bit.

Interior is very functional. Everything is where it should be and the quality of materials just seems better than, say, a Bronco. The 14 speaker JBL system is actually surprisingly good if you bump the bass up and run Apple Car Play. I'd say it's actually better than the Harmon Kardon in the BMW, which I found to be pretty weak. MPG so far is averaging 22mpg, which is pretty good, considering how much stop and go traffic we deal with in SoCal. All in all, I've been pretty impressed. May end up making some adjustments once it's gone off road, but for now, I think Toyota has a winner on their hands!

Ton of great info here, so much thanks to the contributors who made the decision much easier.
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And yes, some of the "safety" tech can be pretty annoying. I'll eventually decide what to keep and what to turn off, but particularly love "Sit up. Your face is not detected." What can I say. I occasionally like to slouch down and hang my feet out of the window.
 
The R1S is overpriced and already shows a lot of depreciation.

I think the best thing about Underground is that it often comes with a brown interior. Plus as a non-metallic pinstipping and nicks may not be as concerning.
 
Nice rig! I got my Underground LC coming into the dealer next week... pretty excited. This forum has been great.

I also looked at Rivian last year. Having owned multiple EV's over the last 8 years, I can say the charging infrastructure is not there yet. They are great as DD's around town and you have a 240 garage charger. Trying to find a 110v outet, let alone a DC fast charger at some of the places I plan on taking the LC? Forget about it. The Rivian fan club head's will explode if you tell them this, but it's the truth. I know there are, god knows, how many YouTube/Tik-Tok/Etc. videos of Rivians having 'off-road' adventures, but these for the most part are carefully planned out trips. I just want to throw the fishing gear in and go. My guess is 90% of the Rivians around my hood will never see dirt.

I also owned an FJ60 for several years in my youth. Got some misty eyed nostalgia going on up in here!
 
I also owned an FJ60 for several years in my youth. Got some misty eyed nostalgia going on up in here!
If Toyota simply sold the Troopy in North America they would have a large cult following today. Added to the Jeep wave would be the middle finger to Troopy owners. Instead Land Cruiser is a minor footnote to North America off road travel. The FJ Cruiser shows how poorly Toyota has judged the market.
 
I considered the Rivian R1S as well. Honestly it looks great, has great tech and can utilize the Tesla charging network. The deal breaker for me was hearing multiple stories of how difficult and expensive it is to fix simple dents and fender benders. I often drive and park in NYC, I don’t need that anxiety that any ding will cost thousands to repair.
 
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