5 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Features That Could Have Been Better
Though the Land Cruiser is one of Toyota’s oldest and most established nameplates, the latest iteration of the American market Land Cruiser is, in a lot of ways, an all-new vehicle. Despite its heritage-influenced styling, the 250-series Land Cruiser, as it’s known, represented a significant shift from the previous version. For one, this iteration of the Toyotal Land Cruiser got smaller compared to the old 200-series. It also underwent a substantial decrease in price.
Though lots of enthusiasts have welcomed the Land Cruiser’s retro styling and lower price, the Land Cruiser 250 is actually under significant scrutiny. That’s in part because it now shares the same TNGA-F platform and — more importantly — overlaps in price with both the Lexus GX 550 and Toyota’s own 4Runner. Now that the 250-series Land Cruiser has been on the market for a couple of years, both owners and professional reviewers have had the opportunity to experience the modern version of this legendary Toyota SUV.
With that in mind, we’ve gathered five common complaints with this model and come up with different ways that the Land Cruiser 250 could be both improved and diversified for a wider group of buyers. To this point, a lot of the complaints around the new Land Cruiser center around its standard hybrid powertrain. As such, we’ve come up with some suggestions on how to address those shortcomings as well as other ways to broaden the Land Cruiser’s appeal on both ends of the market.
The base model could use some additional features
When the new Land Cruiser was launched for the 2024 model year, it was available in three different trim levels, with the one-year-only First Edition model being the most expensive. That trim level was dropped for 2025, and the SUV currently comes in just two trims. There is the base “1958” trim and the previous mid-grade, unnamed Land Cruiser trim now becoming the top of the lineup.
There’s nothing wrong with saving some money and opting for the base model, but the Land Cruiser 1958 trim is base in a way a lot of buyers might not expect — especially given its MSRP of $58,695 after destination. Among the relatively basic trimmings of the 1958 trim are non-powered cloth seats, a manually opening rear lift gate, and a modest six-speaker audio system. Its 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system is also very much on the small end by 2025 standards.
In some ways, this back-to-the-basics approach is refreshing, but casual buyers cross-shopping other SUVs in the same price range will probably be disappointed by the 1958’s sparse personality. The good news is that, mechanically, the two trims are the same, so you’re not losing anything performance-wise. When it comes time to sign the papers, however, most buyers would probably prefer that their nearly $60,000 SUV at least have creature comforts like power seats and a power lift gate.
More power and more towing
In the American market, the Land Cruiser 250 comes with just one powertrain: Toyota’s hybrid, turbocharged four-cylinder i-Force Max setup. On paper, it’s got very stout numbers with 326 horsepower and an impressive 465 pound-feet of torque. In the real world, though, the performance of the hybrid system is a bit of a mixed bag. The instant torque from the electric motors is nice in casual driving, but full-throttle acceleration runs produce relatively middling 0-60 times in the high seven-second range.
In contrast, the Land Cruiser’s Lexus-badged counterpart, the GX 550, uses a 3.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that makes 349 horsepower and 479-pound feet of torque. These numbers aren’t dramatically higher than what you get in the Land Cruiser, but testing has shown the GX 550 to be a significantly quicker vehicle overall. That extra power also pays dividends when it comes to towing performance. The hybrid Land Cruiser is rated to tow 6,000 pounds, putting it among the least capable of Toyota’s body-on-frame vehicles when it comes to towing. On the other hand, the twin-turbo GX 550 can tow over 9,000 pounds when properly equipped.
The price of the base trim GX 550 already overlaps with the higher-end Land Cruiser. Given the pricing similarities, it’s not surprising that some buyers would be drawn to the extra power of the Lexus. If Toyota were to make a top-of-the-line Land Cruiser trim that eschews the hybrid for the twin-turbo V6, there’d likely be a good market for it.
Add a cheaper non-hybrid model
Conversely, Toyota could also expand the Land Cruiser’s appeal by offering a true bare-bones version. While the Land Cruiser 250 is a lot more affordable than the old 200 series, it’s still a pretty expensive vehicle, especially given the spartan features of the base 1958 trim. So what if, rather than just trying to appeal to higher-end buyers, Toyota more fully embraced that bare-bones personality in the Land Cruiser’s base trims?
There’s nothing wrong with the Land Cruiser’s hybrid powertrain, but it certainly adds cost. For a lot of old-school 4×4 enthusiasts, the hybrid setup isn’t necessarily a must-have feature, and there are already cheaper non-hybrid Land Cruisers available overseas. In Japan, for example, you can get a Land Cruiser 250 with Toyota’s workhorse, naturally aspirated 2.7-liter 2TR-FE engine. That combination would likely be too underpowered for American buyers, but the non-hybrid, turbocharged 2.4-liter engine from the Tacoma and 4Runner should be able to drop right in.
Some buyers have indeed highlighted that they like the back-to-the-basics approach of details like the manual back hatch on the base trim. Though it would decrease power and fuel economy compared to the hybrid version, the standard 2.4 turbo engine would in a lot of ways be more fitting of the Land Cruiser 1958’s bare-bones approach. If Toyota could get the price of an entry-level Land Cruiser down to around $50,000 with this less expensive powertrain, it could have a winner on its hands.
Reconfigure the battery to get back cargo space
The effects of giving the Land Cruiser a standard hybrid powertrain aren’t just evident in how it drives. One of the bigger complaints about the Land Cruiser has been its somewhat compromised rear cargo area. This is apparent as soon as you open the lift gate and see the raised cargo floor, which was necessary for Toyota to package the battery for the hybrid system. Not only does the raised floor detract from total cargo capacity, but the higher lift-in height also makes it a bit harder to load.
Because Toyota put the battery right in the Land Cruiser’s cargo area, it also means that it’s not available with three rows of seating. Sure, these seats likely wouldn’t be great for adults, but a third row was standard on the old Land Cruiser. A third row is also available on the GX 550, which, along with its extra cargo capacity, gives it another selling point over the Land Cruiser. That’s a big deal when the two SUVs look so similar that people mistake the Lexus GX for the Land Cruiser.
To fix this issue, Toyota would need to reengineer the entire platform to house the hybrid battery without intruding on interior space. Or, it could add one of the aforementioned, non-hybrid engine options from either the 4Runner of the Lexus GX 550. This could solve two problems in one, making the battery and all the space it takes up unnecessary.
Offer an off-road enthusiast version
Last but not least, we get to what might be the Land Cruiser lineup’s biggest miss, at least when compared to other Toyota and Lexus offerings: the Land Cruiser’s lack of a flagship enthusiast model targeted at serious off-roaders. For some, the Land Cruiser’s boxy, heritage styling and its no-frills demeanor is already ideal, but the lineup doesn’t have quite the panache or off-road branding you find in Toyota’s other current trucks and SUVs. Even the Lexus GX has the off-road-oriented Overtrail model with its adaptive dampers and Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (E-KDSS), which is more advanced than the swaybar disconnect system available on the Land Cruiser.
Even if it’s true that most buyers don’t end up actually using the hardcore off-road goodies in these TRD Pro or Overtrail models, there’s no denying their popularity and strong brand image. Now, Toyota has also added the overland-focused Trailhunter trims to further appeal to enthusiast customers. As of this writing, though, none of these more serious versions had made it to the Land Cruiser lineup.
If Toyota wanted to get really wild, they could make a version of the Land Cruiser TRD Pro with the Tundra TRD Pro’s i-Force Max powertrain to go after the Ford Bronco Raptor. But we may be getting ahead of ourselves here. At the very least, Toyota could add on a Trailhunter trim to the Land Cruiser to expand its offerings.
