Review: In Hindsight, The 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser’s Execution Is Brilliant

Stomp the accelerator pedal in the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, and you’re met with a series of swooshes, whistles, and grunts. There’s really nothing enticing about the way the Land Cruiser’s hybrid powerplant sounds. If anything, it sounds rather lame. The truck is also not really all that fast off the line, and most attempts to increase your velocity will be met with the lamenting noise of a small engine trying to move around a big, heavy body.

But was the Land Cruiser ever supposed to sound good, or be in any way or form, fast? No. The problem here is that this is just such an old nameplate, one that’s been relatively the same for so long, that the simple act of changing something as significant as its engine has caused the internet to huff and puff angrily. Me included. But after revisiting the Land Cruiser a year after I first drove it during its launch event in San Diego, I’m actually beginning to appreciate this change of direction. The Land Cruiser’s hybrid powerplant may not be what fans originally wanted, but it’s precisely what the vehicle needed.

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser First Impressions

Instantly Recognizable

At this point, I think it’s fair to say we’ve already grown used to seeing the new Land Cruiser on the road. It looks great! And instantly recognizable as just that. Round or rectangular headlights? I choose the latter, as I feel they simply harmonize better with this Land Cruiser’s size, shape and design. The round headlights just seem out of place.

At least, the Land Cruiser comes with the expected bold, rugged, and squared-jawed look we expect from this nameplate. My favorite angle remains its face. The Land Cruiser looks all purposeful, a little badass, and properly retro. And the fact that you can change the color of the fog lights from white to yellow is just wicked.

My only tiny gripe with its design is how awkward the Land Cruiser looks from the side profile, as if Toyota worked really hard to cram a retro design into the confines of today’s automotive manufacturing realities. I’m also not a fan of my tester’s Heritage Blue two-tone paint color. I’m sure some folks love it, as it does help add to the nostalgic vibe. But I feel like the Land Cruiser’s imposing presence works better with darker colors, like the available Trail Dust/Grayscape two-tone combination.

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Exterior Dimensions

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser: Differences Between The U.S. And Canadian Market

On both sides of the border, the Land Cruiser can be had in two different trim levels. The Land Cruiser 1958 comes by default with round headlights, while the regular Land Cruiser gets a more contemporary rectangular headlight look. Both are rather expensive, with even the most naked 1958 model kicking off at just over $56,000 ($73,000 CAD). Each market then offers an optional Premium package for $4,500 extra ($6,002 CAD). But the U.S.-market cars get two additional paint colors: Heritage Blue (which is only available in two-tone in Canada) and Meteor Shower. American Land Cruisers also have access to a Java Softex interior that’s not available in Canada.

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U.S. Versus Canada Lineup Breakdown And Starting MSRP (model tested in bold below)

Driving Impressions And Performance

Not Particularly Fast, But Definitely Fun

I already drove the Land Cruiser in a controlled off-road environment during its launch event, and I can tell you it can handle some pretty gnarly stuff. This is a fun vehicle! Out of the box, the Land Cruiser is a serious machine, too; a proper, body-on-frame SUV equipped with a coil-spring solid axle rear setup for improved handling. It also comes standard with full-time four-wheel drive with a high (1.00:1) and low gear (2.57:1), as well as front and rear locking differentials. A sway bar disconnect feature is available on high trim levels, and while the Yokohama Geolander X-CV all-terrain tires don’t look like much on paper, they’re actually a great compromise for someone wanting to blend off-road capability with everyday usability.

That last part, everyday usability, is actually where the Land Cruiser will be living most of the time, which brings me to this thing’s engine. Gone is the old, rudimentary V-6 design. In its place is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine on which Toyota grafted its own hybrid technology. In this case, a tiny electric motor was sandwiched between the engine and the eight-speed automatic transmission. The benefit of this is the ability to preserve the Land Cruiser’s shift-on-the-fly capability, driveshaft, and mechanical differentials.

In other words, unlike a Toyota RAV4, which uses a rear-mounted electric motor to power the rear wheels, the Land Cruiser is entirely propelled by mechanical components that are physically connected to the internal combustion engine (ICE). Yes, it can still run in full electric mode, but only for a very short period of time and at very low speeds. The end result is a total combined output of 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, numbers that crush the outgoing V-6, all while allowing Toyota to considerably reduce the Land Cruiser’s CO2 emissions.

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Technical Specifications

On the road, those tires definitely help give the Land Cruiser a bit more civility than other off-roaders currently on sale. The rear suspension also gives it a more mature, refined character, especially when driving it over a train track or other imperfections in the tarmac. The body-on-frame Land Cruiser doesn’t send jolts up your spine, but rather absorbs uneven surfaces in an almost unibody way.

Power from the turbocharged engine is abundant, but it’s best appreciated while already at speed, at which point pick-up acceleration is quick and swift. From a standstill, however, you’ll feel the vehicle’s weight as that little four-pot does its best to get things up to speed. The engine also sounds rather lame, thrashy, and definitely not as smooth as some of Toyota’s past six-cylinder units. But as a way to casually get the Land Cruiser moving around as it does its thing in the urban jungle, this powerplant delivers.

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Fuel Consumption

Unfortunately, the hybrid system in the Land Cruiser wasn’t really created to help it save fuel. I mean, yes, in the sense that you’re effectively getting the same sort of performance as in a turbocharged V-6 from a four-cylinder engine, then it’s efficient. But compared to, say, your average V-6-powered midsize SUV, the Land Cruiser’s fuel economy numbers aren’t really all that great. The EPA quotes it at 23 MPG, which is neither bad nor great, especially not from a hybrid four. I averaged just over 23.5 MPG after my week with it.

EPA And As-Tested Fuel Consumption

Interior Design And Comfort

Spacious And Very Comfortable, Kind Of Lame Cabin Design

The Land Cruiser may look all retro and muscular from the outside, but its interior is business as usual in the world of Toyotas. I get that these things will be beaten around through different off-the-road scenarios and driven until their bodies fall apart, but it would have been nice to see Toyota playing around with the interior design, too.

The Land Cruiser’s cabin is rather all about functionality. It’s spacious and incredibly practical. There are storage pockets scattered all around the cabin, and rear leg and headroom are more than ample. Sure, you sit upright back there, but the seat backs can be adjusted for more comfort. The front seats are a bit firm, but generally speaking, the Land Cruiser remains a comfortable truck for long-distance driving.

What I really like is how the Land Cruiser’s cabin looks and feels like it’ll last forever. Materials feel thick and robust, while large, hefty knobs and dials make manipulating the truck’s commands a breeze. There’s also essentially a button for everything, which is refreshing in this era of screens. And while this may not be the prettiest dashboard design, I do have a feeling it’ll age well.

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use

Straight-forward And With No BS

Toyota’s recent infotainment systems are now basically docking stations for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and I’m totally OK with that. This means the system will quickly get you set up for your favorite apps, even wirelessly. And in my case, it all worked well. But, for some reason, my Land Cruiser kept kicking me out of Android Auto, requiring me to reconfigure the Bluetooth pairing process each time. I tried forgetting the truck from my phone’s Bluetooth registry and connecting to it again, but it annoyingly kept doing it.

Apart from that, this is a no-BS, very straightforward setup, which I really like. Menus are simple, easy to find, and the large fonts make sure you never lose track of what’s being messaged to you. The digital instrumentation comes with the same basic approach, and with only a few customization options, and a generally simple design. That’s all totally fine.

Cargo And Storage Space

Very Spacious, But Compromised Because Of The Hybrid System

Toyota’s decision not to offer the Land Cruiser with a third row of seats in our market is due to the space the hybrid system’s battery takes up in the trunk. This is also why you can’t have a Toyota 4Runner with a hybrid engine and a third row. But that battery also impacts the Land Cruiser’s cargo capacity. While very spacious back there, it only slightly outguns the Land Rover Defender (10.5 cu-ft/44.6 cu-ft), but is beaten by the Honda Passport (44.0 cu-ft/83.8 cu-ft).

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Cargo Space

A Land Cruiser For Modern Realities

Back to my original claim that, with hindsight, the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser is actually brilliant. The thing is, while folks may say they want a Land Cruiser because of its all-terrain capability and rugged looks, the reality is that these same people will most likely never take their Land Cruiser away from the tarmac. Some will, perhaps, take part in occasional off-roading activities, but the true, hardcore adventure seekers will remain marginal.

In other words, by stuffing a hybrid powerplant under the hood of the Land Cruiser, Toyota not only understands what the target buyer will actually do with their rig, but has also managed to continue selling the Land Cruiser nameplate in a world of strict emissions regulations. And since Toyota has been doubling down on its hybrid tech in recent years, even claiming (wrongfully) that hybrids are a smarter solution environmentally than electric vehicles (EVs), can you blame the automaker for choosing that path for its flagship off-roader? I don’t. The Land Cruiser will always be cool and great. No matter what’s hiding under its hood.