Join us as we dive into the details of the all-new 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser, a departure from its luxurious predecessor. With rugged features and improved on-road comfort, the latest Land Cruiser tackles the off-roading SUV segment with innovative updates. Equipped with a hybrid powertrain, advanced infotainment, and a fresh look, this vehicle promises a refined driving experience at competitive pricing. How does it stack up against heavyweights like the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler? Tune in as we break down all you need to know about this remarkable model.
00:00:01 New Car Review Segment: 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
And we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. The time of the week where we do a new car review. And we’ve got one that we’ll play. Of course, we’ll go through today. We’ll replay this again on Saturday during Drive Radio. But Richard, you have driven or you are driving at the moment. Is it a 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser?
SPEAKER 01 :
It is a 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser. And we’ve reviewed the Land Cruiser in the past. I believe it was last model year, maybe even 25, Dad. But it is not… I just want to make sure I distinct this. It is not the Land Cruiser from yesteryears, right? It is not the… You know, the luxury SUV that it was, right? You know, had a third row potentially, depending on how you outfitted it. It was kind of like a one trim. They got rid of that, I think it was about three or four years ago, if I’m not mistaken. This is kind of their new one that was introduced in 2024, Dad. No major changes for 2025. They’ve put the I-Force Max. hybrid engine in it and it is now a five passenger only vehicle with you know kind of some rugged features on it with some really nice on-road comfortability that they’ve added to it versus some of the competitors so yes there’s this is a really popular segment right dad this kind of off-roading suv segment that you can get in and go anywhere right as soon as you get in this car you can go anywhere you can kind of put the kids in it do whatever you want to do with it and the land cruiser just does just that It’s refined. The hybrid engine, especially at our altitude, does fantastic. Fuel economy, Dad, you’re rated for 22 and 25 for an average of 23. And as we know, that old V8 that was in the old model, that thing worked well, but it got terrible fuel economy. That was awful. It just was kind of… Now, this one gets better fuel economy. Has better performance in my case because of the turbo charge. We talked about this at our altitude. It’s really great. This vehicle, I mean, has got heated and ventilated seats, dual zone climate control. It’s got a nice infotainment system. It’s got, you know, digital display for the driver. It’s got all different drive modes. You’ve got some electronic locking differentials and some things like that. So, really, this car is meant if you wanted to take this thing and go off-road, Dad… you have the capability of doing that they have got the price wise real quick this one as it sits here dad is that this is the four wheel drive wagon hybrid and i don’t think they have a ton of different differentiating um models on here it’s 70 164 i think the base price of these vehicles dad as it sits is about 63 000 outside of that this is something where i think i think if folks are interested in that segment of vehicles and I’ll just say it, right, Dad, the Ford Broncos, the Jeep Wranglers of the world, I think this is a very comparable option for those, price point, because I’ll be honest, you may not get the 100% off-road performance that those vehicles offer, Dad, right out of the gate, although you get pretty close, in my opinion, but the on-road comfortability, this car, you can see out of it well it drives smoothly it’s quiet on the inside and some of the other competitors you just can’t say that about and so this is a really been a really nice change of pace they’ve changed the look of this vehicle again folks if you’re thinking of the land cruiser from yesteryear it’s a it’s different so i’d encourage you to go get out and look at them and dad you i think you and i were kind of talking earlier you saw one of these i think whether you saw one of your outings this weekend and it’s really kind of an attractive looking car it’s different but attractive
SPEAKER 03 :
it is and again to your point it’s not the land cruiser you’re used to it’s a it’s a different look and feel from what you’ve seen it’s got more of the gx look to it i guess you could say i personally like it now i like the old land cruiser and there’s a lot of old land cruisers that by the way are still running around and will be running around for quite some time because of how robust They actually were. Now, that’s the one thing about this vehicle I am not sure of because I haven’t worked on one or been underneath one. It’ll be interesting to see longevity-wise, does it match what they used to do?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, and that’s – I don’t know, Dad, especially with the hybrid powertrain that is in this car or in this SUV. I’m not sure, and I’m not sure if you’ve got – I’ll just say I don’t know if you’ve got any indication, right, because this is a relatively new engine for them. Correct, correct. You know, especially to this level. And so I’ll be curious what they say, but one thing we know with Toyota, right, is they do test these things, and they’re not saying they don’t have problems like – Everyone else does. But I would feel pretty confident getting in this vehicle. And, again, taking this off-road, doing the things that you want to do. The rear seat is a little bit cramped. I’ll say that, again, which is sort of common in this class of SUV, Dad. It’s not the biggest one. I can fit booster seats in it. I can’t fit a full-size booster. And for those parents out there, you know what I’m talking about. It does have good cargo room in the back. I like the color options available. I love the looks of it. What’s that?
SPEAKER 02 :
I love the looks of it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, well, and that’s the thing, is it gets a lot of looks at it, and it really is, I’ll just say it, it’s an attractive-looking vehicle. It’s aggressive enough, but not so aggressive that you think that it’s over the top, right? Yeah. And that’s one thing that, kudos from me to Toyota, because I really like that. I’ve gotten several compliments on it. Honestly, Dad, this car reminds me of the old, and I don’t think it, maybe I’m speaking, you know, I’m not supposed to be saying this, reminds me of the old FJ. It’s definitely a closer… Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I’ll say this because they compete with one another. It’s more like, and I believe they’re competing on the level of a Land Rover Defender right now. That’s really very, very similar. And I’ll say this straight up, and I know everybody listens, Toyota included. If you had a choice between this and a Land Rover, buy a Land Cruiser because at the end of the day, your money is going to be better spent.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, yeah, exactly. And you’re going to save some money. That’s right. Because when you compare this to a Toyota Land Rover. Now, granted, you’re going to get some other creature comforts and stuff. But, again, folks, you get a lot of on-road comfort in this vehicle that I don’t know if you get in some of the competitors. And I’ll just be flat out with it. They’ve done a good job at sort of melding the off-road capability with the on-road comfort. And there’s something to be said about that. So, if you want to learn more about this vehicle, Dad, head to your local Toyota dealer. Test drive it. Get your family in it. Get your friends in it. And when you do that, let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is John Rush from Rush to Reason and Drive Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Check out more of our podcasts at RushToReason.com or Drive-Radio.com.
