The Toyota Land Cruiser, a name synonymous with ruggedness and reliability across the globe, has returned to the North American market after a brief hiatus. The all-new generation, particularly the base “1958” model, offers a compelling blend of retro design cues and contemporary technology, making it an appealing option for both off-road enthusiasts and everyday drivers. This review delves into the details of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, exploring its design, performance, interior, technology, and overall value proposition.
Alt text: Video thumbnail showcasing the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser in action, highlighting its modern design and rugged appeal.
The Land Cruiser’s return marks a significant shift for Toyota, presenting a vehicle that is not only smaller and lighter than its predecessor but also surprisingly more affordable. The “1958” trim, serving as the entry point to the Land Cruiser lineup, pays homage to the model’s heritage with distinct retro touches, most notably its round LED headlamps. While positioned as the base model, the 1958 Land Cruiser still commands a starting price in the high $50,000s, reflecting its robust build and feature set. However, this price point represents a more accessible entry into the Land Cruiser family compared to previous generations, broadening its appeal to a wider range of buyers.
Design and Aesthetics: A Retro-Modern Fusion
Toyota has successfully navigated away from overly stylized designs, embracing a more straightforward and functional aesthetic for the 2025 Land Cruiser. The vehicle’s boxy silhouette and substantial proportions evoke a sense of ruggedness and purpose, aligning with the Land Cruiser’s legendary off-road heritage. The designers have incorporated subtle diagonal lines and cut-off corners, contributing to a cohesive and visually appealing design language. The lower door undercut detail effectively reduces visual bulk, enhancing the vehicle’s stance and presence. Overall, the design strikes a balance, projecting an image of toughness without venturing into excessive aggression, a common pitfall in modern SUV design.
Compared to the previous generation Land Cruiser, the 2025 model exhibits a more refined and less cluttered design. The earlier model, with its abundance of chrome, vents, and strakes, presented a busier and arguably less cohesive appearance. The new Land Cruiser, in contrast, adopts a more restrained approach, emphasizing clean lines and functional elements. This design evolution aligns with the Land Cruiser’s core identity as a dependable and capable tool, rather than a flamboyant status symbol.
Minor design critiques include the somewhat bulky tow hitch cover, which seems unnecessary and could be streamlined for a cleaner look. However, this is a minor detail in an otherwise well-executed exterior design. The lighting design stands out, particularly the round headlights with horseshoe-shaped daytime running lights (DRLs) and the additional DRL/sidelights integrated into the indicator unit, adding a touch of visual interest. The fog/driving lamp, however, appears somewhat small and could benefit from a larger, more prominent design, perhaps even in a classic yellow hue.
One notable drawback in terms of aesthetics is the limited color palette offered for the 2025 Land Cruiser 1958. The available color options are largely confined to grayscale shades – gray, black, and white. While higher trims offer a blue and a gold-ish hue, the lack of vibrant color choices for the base model is disappointing. The absence of options like yellow, vivid blue, or forest green limits personalization and fails to fully embrace the adventurous spirit associated with the Land Cruiser.
Interior Comfort and Practicality
The interior of the 2025 Land Cruiser 1958 prioritizes functionality and comfort over opulent luxury. A standout feature is the use of cloth upholstery, a refreshing departure from the ubiquitous leather or synthetic leather found in many modern vehicles. The cloth seats offer a retro feel, reminiscent of classic SUVs, while providing a comfortable and welcoming environment. The interior ambiance is unpretentious and practical, perfectly aligning with the Land Cruiser’s utilitarian character.
While plastic materials are prevalent throughout the cabin, particularly on the door trims and dashboard, the overall impression is one of durability and robustness rather than cheapness. Some dashboard plastics exhibit a pleasingly soft texture, while others are firmer, akin to durable, everyday plastics. Importantly, nothing feels flimsy or poorly constructed. The emphasis is on creating a hard-wearing and functional interior that can withstand the rigors of daily use and off-road adventures.
Alt text: Dashboard and steering wheel view of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, showcasing the simple and functional layout, analog gauges, and user-friendly controls.
Despite being a body-on-frame SUV housing a hybrid battery, the 2025 Land Cruiser offers a surprisingly spacious interior. The battery pack is positioned under the cargo floor, resulting in a flat and voluminous cargo area. The cargo space is easily accessible and box-like, maximizing usability for hauling gear and equipment. The battery placement does slightly raise the cargo floor, leading to a slightly higher lift-over height, but this is a reasonable trade-off for the benefits of the hybrid powertrain.
Alt text: Rear cargo area of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, demonstrating its flat floor, spaciousness, and practical design for carrying cargo.
Alt text: Close-up of the cargo area’s side panel in the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, showing the storage compartment for the toolkit and other small items.
Thoughtful storage solutions are integrated into the cargo area, including a compartment for the toolkit and a smaller compartment suitable for storing items like sandwiches or small valuables. The rear seats feature a 60/40 split and fold-and-tumble mechanism, allowing for flexible cargo configurations and further expanding the available load space. Even with the rear seats in use, the Land Cruiser offers ample space for passengers and their belongings.
Alt text: Rear seats of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser in folded position, showcasing the increased cargo space and the seat folding mechanism.
Alt text: Image showing tires loaded into the cargo area of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, demonstrating its ability to easily accommodate bulky items.
Alt text: Front seats and dashboard of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, highlighting the driver-focused cockpit and the overall interior layout.
Driving Experience and Performance
The 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser departs from tradition by replacing the V8 engine of previous generations with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine paired with Toyota’s i-FORCE MAX Hybrid system. This hybrid powertrain generates a combined output of 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. While some purists may lament the absence of a V8, the hybrid system delivers ample power and torque for both on-road and off-road driving. The 0-60 mph acceleration time of approximately 7.7 seconds is more than adequate for a vehicle of this size and type.
An 8-speed automatic transmission is the sole transmission option. While a manual transmission might appeal to some enthusiasts, the automatic transmission performs unobtrusively and efficiently, seamlessly managing power delivery. The hybrid system contributes to respectable fuel economy figures for a vehicle of its size and weight, achieving EPA estimates of 22 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 23 mpg combined. Real-world driving experiences tend to align with these figures, with drivers reporting fuel economy in the low to mid 20s mpg range. Electric-only driving is possible at low speeds, such as in parking lots or residential areas, but the electric-only range is limited.
Alt text: Close-up view of the 2.4-liter turbocharged engine of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, emphasizing its modern engineering and hybrid components.
Alt text: Detail of the orange high-voltage cables in the engine bay of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, indicating the presence of the hybrid system.
Alt text: Front suspension and wheel of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, highlighting its robust construction and off-road ready components.
The handling of the 2025 Land Cruiser is commendable for a tall, body-on-frame SUV. The reduced size compared to the previous generation contributes to improved maneuverability. The vehicle feels relatively easy and undemanding to drive, with responsive acceleration, strong braking, and good visibility. The full-time 4×4 system enhances stability and traction, particularly in challenging conditions. During snowy and icy conditions, the Land Cruiser 1958 demonstrated impressive stability and capability, even at highway speeds and on unplowed roads. The 4-Low setting further enhances off-road prowess, enabling confident traversal of steep, snowy inclines. All-season tires provide adequate grip in various conditions, although dedicated off-road tires would further enhance its capabilities in more demanding terrain.
Technology and User Interface
Alt text: Center infotainment screen of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser displaying the Toyota user interface and vehicle information.
Toyota’s infotainment system in the 2025 Land Cruiser prioritizes user-friendliness and essential functionality. The system supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, allowing seamless smartphone integration. Crucially, most essential vehicle controls remain physical buttons, minimizing reliance on the touchscreen interface. This design choice enhances ease of use and reduces driver distraction. While the Toyota system includes features like navigation, the emphasis on physical controls for core functions promotes a more intuitive and less cumbersome user experience.
Alt text: Close-up of the physical buttons and controls on the center console of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, highlighting the piano-key style buttons for climate control and other functions.
The physical buttons, particularly the piano-key style buttons for climate control, are generally well-designed and tactile. However, some inconsistencies in button functionality exist, with some buttons moving both up and down while others do not, which can be slightly confusing. Additionally, the labels above the piano-key buttons can be misinterpreted as buttons themselves, leading to minor usability quirks. Despite these minor issues, the abundance of physical controls is a significant positive aspect of the user interface. The inclusion of multiple USB-C ports and easily adjustable HVAC vents further enhances convenience. Rear-seat passengers also benefit from separate HVAC controls and a 2400W/120V power outlet, adding to the vehicle’s practicality.
Alt text: Rear passenger area of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser showing the rear HVAC controls and the 120V power outlet for passenger convenience.
Alt text: Driver’s instrument cluster of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser displaying vehicle speed, fuel level, and other essential driving information.
The LCD instrument cluster, while generally conventional in its layout, exhibits a narrower viewing angle than typical modern displays. This means that the information on the cluster is most clearly visible to the driver directly in front of it, with visibility decreasing for passengers viewing from an angle. While this might be perceived as a minor drawback in terms of passenger visibility, some drivers may appreciate the added sense of privacy it provides.
Alt text: Angled view of the instrument cluster from the passenger side of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, demonstrating the reduced visibility from off-center angles.
The 2025 Land Cruiser is equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, a suite of driver-assistance features including dynamic cruise control, lane keeping assist, and road sign recognition. While these systems function as expected, they are not overly intrusive and allow for a largely traditional driving experience. Features like automatic dimming headlights and lane departure alerts are present, but the system prioritizes driver control and avoids overly aggressive intervention.
Conclusion: A Return to Form
Alt text: Front view of the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser parked in an outdoor setting, emphasizing its rugged stance and retro-inspired design.
The 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, particularly in the 1958 trim, represents a successful return to the model’s core values of simplicity, capability, and reliability. It embodies a refreshing shift towards functional design and away from excessive ornamentation. The retro styling cues are tastefully integrated, enhancing the vehicle’s character without being overly nostalgic. The cloth interior, while basic, is comfortable and durable, perfectly suited for the Land Cruiser’s utilitarian purpose. The hybrid powertrain delivers a balanced combination of power and efficiency, while the 4×4 system ensures genuine off-road capability.
The 2025 Land Cruiser excels as a versatile and dependable tool, equally adept at navigating city streets and tackling challenging terrain. It prioritizes functionality and user-friendliness, offering a straightforward and rewarding driving experience. While the starting price is still significant, the 2025 Land Cruiser 1958 offers a more accessible entry point to the Land Cruiser legacy, making it a compelling option for buyers seeking a capable and characterful SUV. Its blend of retro charm and modern engineering positions the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser as a strong contender in the contemporary SUV market, appealing to both loyal Land Cruiser enthusiasts and new customers alike.
