Retro Box Styling, Modern Off-roading

The Mount Rushmore of off-road vehicles historically has consisted of the Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco, Land Rover Discovery and until three years ago the Toyota Land Cruiser. The now two-row SUV is back on sale after sabbatical with modern technology and retro looks, but its capability has never changed. For the 2024 Land Cruiser that means four-wheel drive, high and low range, locking differentials, loads of ground clearance and the (hybrid) power to cut through anything nature can throw at it.

The big surprise with the 2024 Land Rover was its differing looks between the trims. It will come in three models from launch including the special First Edition, but will go forward with the 1958 grade as the base model and with the Land Cruiser grade as the higher trim.

The 1958 grade takes design cues from the old Land Cruisers of old with retro-inspired round LED headlamps, fabric seats (now heated) and the Toyota heritage badge on the grille. That model starts at $55,950 before destination and handling. The Land Cruiser grade swaps out those round headlights for rectangular LEDs and more interior features for $61,950 while the First Edition ($74,950) includes almost every option including the Premium Package, but with the retro round lights.

That Premium Pack, optional on other trims, comes with leather-trimmed, heated and ventilated power front seats, a 14-speaker JBL premium audio system, digital rearview mirror, head-up display, illuminated entry, power moonroof, center console cool box and two additional USB-c ports. The First Edition also has special badges, off-road parts, a roof rack, rock rails and a front skid plate.

The 2024 Land Cruiser will be offered in seven color choices including five variations of white, black and gray, but also with a pair of two-tone options in Trail Dust (a bronze-yellow) and Heritage Blue (light-gray-blue) with a gray roof.

All three trims will work with Toyota’s new i-Force Max twin-turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid making 325 horsepower (hp) and 465 pound-feet (lb-ft) of torque, an eight-speed transmission and four-wheel drive. The combination returns a respectable 22 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 25 mph on the expressway. High and low are selectable via a rocker switch on the center console. Flanking that are the buttons for center and rear locking differential, which is the true mark of a heavy-duty off-road vehicle.

And off-road it went, at a 250-acre dirt haven called Vogt Ranch in Southern California. There were light, medium and hard trails covering the surrounding hills and the Toyota was in its element. The 8.7-inches of ground clearance crested the sharpest boulders while the available skid plates on the Land Cruiser crushed the rest. The light(er) course, they were both far too difficult for normal vehicles including some SUVs, featured steep inclines and declines along with undulating terrain that lifted one or more wheels along the way.

Here’s where technology is important. With the available disconnecting stabilizer bar, the Land Cruiser can keep those wheels on the ground for longer than an average on-road SUVs during the undulations. Crawl Control, via a button and dial on the center console, can automatically control the throttle and brakes going up or downhill at impossible angles.

It takes some of the skill (and maybe some of the fun) out of off-roading, but with the pedals unattended the 2024 Land Cruiser will plod forward with unrelenting force. The speed is adjustable from one to about 10 mph using a dial on the console that also controls the drive modes and the Multi-Terrain Select system. When the boulders stack up the hybrid engine gets louder as the revs and torque climb automatically, before one of the 33-inch BFGoodrich tires pulls the vehicle free. In all cases the available cameras are useful, but especially when cresting a hill and the windshield is only full of sky.

The base Land Cruiser 1958 comes with a smart key and push button start, blind spot monitoring, a 7-inch digital driver information cluster and five USB-c ports. An 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system is standard while a 12.3-inch screen is optional. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard.

The Land Cruiser grade adds rectangular LED headlamps, power heated and ventilated front seats, a 12.3-inch driver cluster to go along with the standard 12.3-inch touchscreen and a 10-speaker sound system. Mechanically it adds color-selectable LED fog lights, the disconnecting stabilizer bar and the Multi-Terrain Select system with different drive modes.

The cabin feels wide and comfortable with physical controls for climate and volume control. The steering expectedly has redundant buttons for media and voice control while the wireless charger and cupholders are next to the gear selector. The physicality of the cabin does feel like a throwback to older times. The Land Cruiser is strictly a two-row vehicle for now, though it gets three rows in some other countries, meaning a lot of storage space behind the second row, including some coverable spaces.

All 2024 Land Cruiser models come standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 with emergency braking, lane departure warning with steering assist, adaptive cruise control and lane tracing and road sign assist.

New to the suite is Proactive Driving Assist, which uses the vehicle’s camera and radar to gently brake or steer when the need arises around a turn or in traffic.

Toyota only offered off-road drives at the event, at which the Land Cruiser excelled, but we did not get the vehicles on the road so we don’t know how smooth or quiet they are during normal commuting. We do know power is plentiful from the turbocharged hybrid four-cylinder, but also that big, mud-focused tires are loud at high speeds on the road.

But that’s the same song buyers get with a Ford Bronco ($39,630) or a Jeep Wrangler ($31,995), albeit for a lot less. The Land Rover Discovery ($59,900) will do the same, if the same all-terrain tires are added. The Wrangler is the smallest and probably the most capable in its two-door form and the Bronco is next. The Discovery and Land Cruiser ($59,550) are both bigger, meaning the trails will feel tighter, but they also offer a higher level of comfort, materials and technology than those domestic options, along with the prices to match.

But what the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser has over all of those is the coolness factor. Its history nearly matches that of Wrangler, and its capability is just below the legends in the Jeep and Ford. The new retro throwback look is just icing on the mud-covered off-road cake.