I review the 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser 250 series which is into it’s 2nd year in the US. In 2026 the Land Cruiser does have some challenges from within the Toyota family namely the Toyota 4Runner.
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0:00 Intro
0:43 Under The Hood Review
9:38 Under The Car Review
17:42 Exterior Review
24:05 Interior Review
28:20 Should You Buy One?
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There’s a cover where the hitch is exposed looks much better.
Trash! Shame on you Toyota! Not the Toyota we loved you have made the wrong moves!
I think its a blunder to have the spare underneath.
This is the prado in other markets, where the spare could be optioned to be underneath or on the rear door. I wish that extended to this new model. For the americas, having the battery packaging improved, and for other markets, the return of the subtank.
The stock exhaust sounds horrible IMO very tinny.
Toyota is doing well, even though things are getting expensive, but that across all brands. Toyota sales numbers? Toyota division posted year-end 2025 sales of 2,147,811 vehicles, up 8.1 percent on a volume basis over 2024. 2026 is on pace to beat those numbers. But people online say they won't be buying with little to no effect on sales figures. Hmmm
When this first came out, Toyota bragged about how they made it more affordable.
With all due respect I think you are underestimating the mark ups on the 4runner at dealerships. I was able to buy a 2026 250 this year with an auto finder service that found it very close to msrp. It comes down to which vehicle you want for the next couple decades. And the Styling and build quality were very different between the two vehicle. Price difference between the two as premium was marginal. So it comes down to interior and exterior design. This is subjective and I respect the 4runner team but I am completely enjoying the 250, It is surreal and stress relieving to sit in that seat with the lumbar support, 14 speaker audio and cruise along. Im not experienced with owning such a high quality vehicle. I hope others can get a vehicle they like that much and then caring for it is just a natural part of the process. I wish it was cheaper but guess what. My touring model 2015 subaru cross trek hybrid had so many maintenance issues that I easily record that they are a similiar price. This is me gambling on Japanese factory craftsmanship, which is something Ive experienced first hand in my life and believe in. Drive safe out there!
There is one country in the world that complained and complained about the 200 series price, just a few people bought it, and now they crying they don’t have it. In the meantime, the rest of the world understands the Land Cruiser is not an expensive truck, is a long term relationship. And yes, in the rest of the world that is a Prado, and it comes with a 2.8 Turbo Diesel engine.
65K has 20k for 2 letters " Land Cruiser"
it Toyota don't put in a V8, we got no deal
You mention about lumsy dust or mud out the front end. It must be lumsy for a given absorb so they don't break. Don't you think.
I can’t agree with you more about choosing a new 4Runner over the 1958 Land Cruiser. My wife picked out a 2022 4Runner and immediately fell in love with it. I ended up getting the 4th Gen Tacoma TRD Sport with a ton of options. Ever since then, my wife drives the Tacoma more than I do. I’m trying to convince her that we should trade in the old Runner and get the new one in the Limited trim.
We came from being very loyal to GM until all of our vehicles started going out after the warranties. We owned a Cadillac CTS that I always had maintained at the dealer. After spending almost $8k on full services that should’ve made the last at least 200k miles. The torque converter went bad which made the car virtually useless unless I paid to have it replaced. A new transmission was recommended by the dealer ($5k+). After going back and forth between the dealer and GM, the corporate office decided that they would only credit me $100 towards the service and repairs. The last straw was in November of 2022 when I got sick with leukemia and had been in the hospital for a few weeks, plus going back and forth to appointments for months while I wasn’t able to drive, left the hunk of junk sitting in the driveway until we finally got rid of it.
I don’t regret making the full switch to Toyota and will continue to be a loyal customer as long as they make great products. I hate GM.
Rant over
Toyota has a turbo for street cars for decades and work very well and reliable as non turbo. Like Supra and MR2 back to day
At that price, I'll get an X5
I threw up in my mouth a little bit when I saw that engine bay.
Performance for some people means a louder exhaust sound. For some people that's what performance is but in actuality it isn't. Yes the front looks good. Glad Toyota didn't try to design a giant front grill for the Land Cruiser.
Very low, not Super low.
I find it interesting that this system is very similar to what's in the Kia Sportage hybrid.
I have a memory of The car Care Nut Not appreciating the Kia's hybrid system but the two have more in common than being different.
They both have inline electric motors with a clutch system that feeds directly into the transmission and can be used to start the motor.
The Toyota transmission is a 8-speed and the Kia is a six-speed.
They both have turbochargers, the Toyota is vacuum adjusted and the Kia has electronic adjustment.
The Toyota is a better multiport or MPI system as opposed to The direct injection or GDI in the Kia.
Very interesting.
This is what the 2025 4 Runner was supposed to be. Instead we get a money grab from Toyota, giving the 4Runner clients a Tacoma with a Box in the back (dont tel me the original 4 Runner was a pickup with a bed, I know. But in 2003 we were upgraded to Prado) instead of the Prado Based vehicle that had been the standard since 2003. Heck and you can feel it. The weight ofd the doors and refinement of the "Land Cruiser" is way better than the new Tacoma based Runner. It's really sad and with just slapping the LC name they added $15K to what was the 4 Runner base price. I guess I will keep my 5th Gen 4 Runner for more years.
The hybrid ruining the trunk plus the terrible infotainment are the only two reasons stopping me from buying one all cash right now.
@ 9:00 you say that you have to maintain the car and not do 10,000 mile oil changes. Have you seen what the Toyota oil change interval is on the 2026 Land Cruiser? It's 10,000 miles or 12 months. LOL.
LC250 is only 1 inch shorter in length than LC300 (4925 vs 4950mm).
Get a frontier and put a cap on it. Way better.
a wheezing 4 banger in a vehicle weighing over 5000 pounds….LOL. This thing will constantly be in boost
I test-drove the Land Cruiser back-to-back with a GX 550, then decided not to buy the LC. The V6TT felt like the right engine for this platform.
I bought at Land Cruiser (not 1958) with almost every feature that I wanted and Softex seats for $65k and it's great. I chose it over the 4Runner because it has more room overall, and more comfortable than the 4Runner. The comparably equipped TRD Off Road Premium 4Runner is only about $3-$4k less, so you don't save much money and get less room everywhere in the interior. If you're comparing the 1958 with the SR5, the LC gives your more off-road capability and options. You really have to go TRD Off-road to compare with the the 1958 and then, again, the prices are not as different as you think. So coming from someone who was debating between both, I determined that the LC was the better option for only about $3k more. $65k for a 1958 is just all of the bs options installed. BTW, that rear cover thing works great to protect your trim when the dog is jumping in.
Turbo – No thanks
Hybrid – No thanks
Direct Injection – No thanks
Put a tried & tested V8 in and a better interior materials and I can go with the $70k pricing.. Until then, hard pass for me!
That exhaust tube that goes nowhere is a Helmholtz resonator chamber, for eliminating a specific frequency