2026 Toyota Land Cruiser

The Toyota Land Cruiser nameplate has represented world-class off-road capability for more than half a century. The Land Cruiser made a triumphant return to the U.S. market in 2024 after a brief hiatus, and the newest version of this legend delivers everything its name promises. Slotted above the 4Runner in Toyota’s SUV lineup, it brings greater performance thanks to its standard i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain and an overall more upscale experience. If you have an appetite for adventure and can’t resist the retro styling, the Toyota Land Cruiser is a unique offering in a crowded SUV market.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of midsize SUVs, including the Toyota Land Cruiser.

The Toyota Land Cruiser is priced a little high for a midsize, off-road-oriented SUV. More budget-conscious adventurers might be better suited with a Toyota 4Runner or the 4-door versions of the Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco. The Land Cruiser’s price tag flirts with those of the Land Rover Defender 110 and Lexus GX.

Before buying a Land Cruiser, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. Toyota Land Cruiser resale value is exceptional; it has one of the strongest resale values of any new SUV. Recouping more money when selling a vehicle can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on the next one.

Driving anything designed for off-road capability used to come with serious compromises in on-road comfort. However, in our experience driving the Toyota Land Cruiser, we’ve found that those compromises are gradually being engineered away. Although it’s still not as comfy as something more car-like, such as the family-oriented Toyota Grand Highlander, we’re impressed with the Land Cruiser’s on-road refinement. It drives like a truck, but a comfortable truck. Even on long highway stints, we’ve found it well-behaved, staying in its lane without constant correction. Meanwhile, the steering is sharper than we’ve come to expect from off-roaders.

Powering every U.S.-spec Toyota Land Cruiser is an i-Force Max turbocharged hybrid powertrain. American Land Cruisers from 1998-2021 came exclusively with big V8 engines borrowed from full-size trucks. This hybrid setup produces more torque than the V8 in the previous-generation Land Cruiser while delivering better fuel economy. Although it’s made gains in efficiency, it requires premium gas. Acceleration is confident, and it’s a great mill for on-road and off-road driving. Naturally, a full-time 4-wheel-drive (4WD) system comes standard.

Powertrain

When we climb into the Toyota Land Cruiser, we find a delightful simplicity. The base 1958 trim has quaint cloth seats, and the eponymous upper trim upgrades to SofTex faux leather upholstery. Toyota off-roaders tend to be pretty bold and brash about their “TOYOTA” and “TRD” branding, but the “Land Cruiser” branding in this interior has a classy subtlety. As for backseat space, it’s adult-friendly with 36.7 inches of legroom, comparable to a 4-door Ford Bronco. This latest generation of Land Cruiser comes exclusively with 2-row/5-passenger seating.

One note about the cargo area: The rear seats don’t fold completely flat. They do tumble out of the way for easy access to the cargo area from the rear doors, but when those seats are folded down, it creates a little shelf rather than a completely flat cargo floor. The Land Cruiser has 46.2 cubic feet of space behind the back seats and 82.1 cubic feet behind the front seats. That’s a little less cargo space than the 4Runner, but more than the Wrangler, Bronco, and Defender 110.

Off-road goodies
In addition to 4-wheel drive and favorable approach and departure angles, just a few features that make the Land Cruiser such an awesome off-roader include rear and center locking differentials, Crawl Control, and optional add-ons like Multi-Terrain Select with off-road drive modes, a Multi-Terrain Monitor, and a swaybar disconnect mechanism for maximum wheel articulation. This thing can go just about anywhere.

Toyota Safety Sense 3.0
Driving an off-roader doesn’t mean sacrificing modern safety tech. The standard Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 system bundles automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, full-speed adaptive cruise control, lane tracing assist, road sign assist, and more, adding safety and confidence to every drive.

Toyota Audio Multimedia
An 8-inch infotainment display is standard in the Land Cruiser, but it’s upgradable to a bigger and more feature-rich 12.3-inch screen. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay come standard with either, which we always like to see, and a JBL 14-speaker sound system is optional.