How Lexus is Stealing the Land Cruiser
Toyota discontinued the world-renowned Land Cruiser after decades of production, but what do you think about it living on under the Lexus name?
In their latest video, Donut Media‘s Jeremiah Burton lays out exactly what makes the Land Cruiser such a great offroader and king of the SUVs. But with a bloated price point, the Land Cruiser finds itself catering only to the portion of the population ordering gold-dusted pheasant and wiping their rears with $100 bills. So disaster has been on the horizon for quite some time.
After 60 years, Toyota is planning to discontinue the Land Cruiser. That sucks… But fret not my friends, Burton shares that Akio Toyoda still has some tricks up his sleeve. The Land Cruiser will live on, just not in its most current form.
Land Cruiser Legacy
It is impossible to overstate how important this vehicle has been to the automotive market. For decades, Land Cruisers have been able to travel where no other vehicle can, offering reliability that no other vehicle can.
It is safe to assume that the 4Runner will step up to fill the shoes of the Land Cruiser on Toyota showroom floors, but man, losing the Land Cruiser nameplate feels like a gut punch. The Land Cruiser name is synonymous with the core identity of Toyota itself. Reliability.
Burton dives into exactly why the Land Cruiser sits atop its throne of mud bogs and overland expos. The name of the game is reliability. As with anything bearing the Toyota badge, it has to live long enough to see your grandchildren’s grandchildren give birth.
The Land Cruiser accomplished this over the decades in many ways. The 2UZ was built to last according to Burton. The 3UR kicked it up a notch beyond that while adding more power. The Body-on-frame design and center diff allow for extreme off-road prowess. The Land Cruiser simply works well and does it forever.
From the legendary 2UZ to the cutting-edge KDSS tech, it’s easy to see where the reputation came from. But why on earth would Toyota kill the vehicle literally responsible for preventing their bankruptcy?
Lexus Switcheroo
It’s no secret that the Land Cruiser is unattainably expensive for the average Toyota buyer. And at $85,000 it’s just$5k below the Lexus LX570. So Toyota’s plan? According to Burton, discontinue the Land Cruiser nameplate and allow Lexus to take it from here.
Truthfully, it makes sense. But man does it hurt to know we’ll no longer be seeing “Land Cruiser” rolling around on a new car. Hopefully, Toyota will consider taking the Land Cruiser back to its bare-bones off-roading roots and leave the caviar and camping experience to Lexus.
Along with stealing the Land Cruiser, Buton got to see just what Lexus has in store for the icon. Lexus delivered a sneak peek at a close-to-reality concept, the J201. Burton believes the J201 is something for Lexus buyers to rival the TRD packages offered by Toyota. It’s likely this will be a ready-to-purchase truck directly from the dealer in the future. Which would be totally rad.
