Japan Gets a New Toyota Land Cruiser, Ours May Come Soon

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Toyota announced its updated Land Cruiser in Japan today, with a starting price of $38,000 (!?) for the off-roading legend.

The seven-seater over there serves as the base for our Lexus LX over here, which was unveiled over the weekend in California alongside the turbo’d Lexus GS, and our version has all the grille.

Based on initial reception of the LX, when will we get the new Land Cruiser?

According to a Toyota spokesman, the automaker has “something” to tell us about the Land Cruiser tomorrow.

According to Toyota in Japan, the Land Cruiser 200 received a mild upgrade over the last generation. Although their prices are much lower than our $80,000 truck, the Land Cruiser in Japan is fitted with a smaller 4.6-liter V-8, instead of the 5.7-liter V8 found here in the States, which partially accounts for the price difference.

Both SUVs are extremely small volume cars for Toyota so changes are usually made globally.

So those of you (all 200 a month) who want to spend actual money for an actual Land Cruiser instead of a LX, your saving grace could be just around the corner.

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Kmars2009 Kmars2009 on Aug 17, 2015

    Do I see cornering lamps on the Land Cruiser? Finally, a comeback of one useful feature.

  • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on Aug 18, 2015

    "Although their prices are much lower than our $80,000 truck, the Land Cruiser in Japan is fitted with a smaller 4.6-liter V-8, instead of the 5.7-liter V8 found here in the States, which partially accounts for the price difference." Yep, that's $4,000. $38,000 more to account for!

  • Wjtinfwb 157k is not insignificant, even for a Honda. A lot would depend on the maintenance records and the environment the car was operated in. Up to date maintenance and updated wear items like brakes, shocks, belts, etc. done recently? Where did those 157k miles accumulate? West Texas on open, smooth roads that are relatively easy on the chassis or Michigan, with bomb crater potholes, snow and salt that take their toll on the underpinnings. That Honda 4 will run forever with decent maintenance but the underneath bits deteriorate on a Honda just like they do on a Chevy.
  • Namesakeone Yes, for two reasons: The idea of a robot making decisions based on algorithms does not seem to be in anyone's best interest, and the thought of trucking companies salivating over using a computer to replace the salary of a human driver means a lot more people in the unemployment lines.
  • Bd2 Powertrain reliability of Boxer engines is always questionable. I'll never understand why Subaru held onto them for so long. Smartstream is a solid engine platform as is the Veracruz 3.8L V6.
  • SPPPP I suppose I am afraid of autonomous cars in a certain sense. I prefer to drive myself when I go places. If I ride as a passenger in another driver's car, I can see if that person looks alert and fit for purpose. If that person seems likely to crash, I can intervene, and attempt to bring them back to attention. If there is no human driver, there will probably be no warning signs of an impending crash.But this is less significant than the over-arching fear of humans using autonomous driving as a tool to disempower and devalue other humans. As each generation "can't be trusted" with more and more things, we seem to be turning more passive and infantile. I fear that it will weaken our society and make it more prone to exploitation from within, and/or conquest from the outside.
  • JMII Based on the human drivers I encounter everyday I'll happily take my chances with a computer at the wheel.The highway driver assist system on my Santa Cruz is great, it can self drive perfectly in about 90% of situations. However that other 10% requires you to be in control and make decisions. I feel this is the problem with an AI driving a car, there are times when due to road construction, weather conditions or other drivers when only a human will know what to do.
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