Confirmed: The Toyota Land Cruiser Is Returning
Rumors don’t often end up coming true, but the recent whispers about a new Toyota Land Cruiser coming back to America have become a reality. The automaker recently announced that the SUV would return, ending a short period of intense speculation over the iconic off-road vehicle.
Toyota’s Facebook post stated, “Did you really think we’d be gone for long? The legend returns.” The short video shared with the post showed a range of Land Cruiser logos but gave no other clues about the SUV’s rebirth. After several years of slow sales, Toyota discontinued the Land Cruiser after the 2021 model year.
The only question left to answer now is which Land Cruiser we’ll get. The Land Cruiser we got is just one of a few configurations Toyota offers globally, and other rumors have pointed to the Land Cruiser Prado making its way here. The slightly smaller SUV shares underpinnings with the Lexus GX.
Lexus just revealed the new GX, so we could see the new Land Cruiser arrive on the same TNGA-F platform with similar features and capabilities. Of course, Toyota could always drop a new full-size Land Cruiser that shares underpinnings with the new Lexus LX, but high prices and limited availability associated with the platform were significant hurdles with the SUV before.
[Image: Toyota via Facebook]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Were some dealers complaining about not having one to sit on the showroom floor? It seemed like every Toyota dealer I visited had one on the floor, usually black, priced at $85,000 (USD).
The new Lexus GX is a perfect launch pad for a new LC, respecting the capabilities and form factor of the modern (last 30 plus years) of the LC, while allowing them to reset a bit with a (likely modestly) lower starting price. From there, there is still likely room for a smaller Wrangler/Bronco fighter to perhaps help bring the LC 'brand' even closer to its roots and pocket books. If Ford can have two entirely different 'Broncos', why can't LC serve as its own sub brand when both match with different customer's ideals and expectations?
In a society clamoring for EVs, bringing out a gas guzzling SUV is the real answer?
I think Toyota wants to more directly compete with Wrangler and Bronco. Perhaps for recalls to.
Rich sexually insecure american males have a lot of money to compensate for their lack of nature's finest blessings and toyota wants some of that ethereum.