Having said that, our Land Cruiser was not only drop-dead reliable, it was also inexpensive to maintain, with routine maintenance costing less than $600 over 30,000 miles. And despite our quibbles with fuel economy and utility, the Land Cruiser was extremely popular with the staff and was in very high demand for road trips and vacations.
With Toyota's FJ Cruiser rumored to be on its way out, senior editor Joe Lorio contends that the Land Cruiser should drop in size and heft while maintaining its price and rebuilding credibility as a high-end off-roader. That's certainly an interesting proposition, because the Land Cruiser currently lacks a secure identity. As a family hauler and a suburban carryall, it's short on interior functionality. The price and equipment put it in the luxury category, but it's let down by its on-road manners and its pedestrian nameplate. (Perhaps that's why the Lexus version now outsells the Toyota.) Our experience towing and traversing, however, provided a glimpse of the tough truck that remains underneath. After all, there's a reason the Land Cruiser is prized wherever roads are hardly roadlike. Unfortunately, legendary off-road capability isn't an attribute that's at the forefront of what most Americans want today from a $70,000, eight-seat SUV. ...next page >>