Land Cruiser ‘Land cruiser trim’ vs 6th gen 4R TRDpro. Which would you pick? (1 Viewer)

[ILuvMudAZ]

I guess I didn't explain what I meant clearly enough. I meant from Toyota's perspective of manufacturing and how they try to maximize platform efficiencies towards increasing profits, all while hitting emissions standards and providing good daily drivers.

I personally wasn't expecting the end all, be all of offroading. In fact, the LC hasn't been that in many years. To me the LC is the ultimate in balancing off-road, overlanding, and daily driving qualities. The wrangler and bronco can be the modded rock crawlers with loud interiors and s*** overall quality.

With all that considered, I think the LC and GX appear to be damn good representations of what a LC is and should be. As soon as you drive them off the lot, they're each going to reliably take you further into remote areas than 99% of cars on the road

I guess I didn't explain what I meant clearly enough. I meant from Toyota's perspective of manufacturing and how they try to maximize platform efficiencies towards increasing profits, all while hitting emissions standards and providing good daily drivers.

I personally wasn't expecting the end all, be all of offroading. In fact, the LC hasn't been that in many years. To me the LC is the ultimate in balancing off-road, overlanding, and daily driving qualities. The wrangler and bronco can be the modded rock crawlers with loud interiors and s*** overall quality.

With all that considered, I think the LC and GX appear to be damn good representations of what a LC is and should be. As soon as you drive them off the lot, they're each going to reliably take you further into remote areas than 99% of cars on the road.

Na I get you, you’re making solid points—if anything maybe I just got my hopes up too much. I always understood the LC to be Toyota’s halo 4x4, so that would explain me being bummed it’s not meaningfully (IMO, onviously) but also technically better in that capacity than a 5th gen 4runner, no less the 6th gen, and not especially competitive in the core segment overall. I know Toyota’s playbook and all re: focusing on build quality and reliability as a competitive differentiator, but that’s also what earned it the reputation of building appliances on wheels.

Inb4 “but full time 4wd and sway bar disconnect!”, yeah that’s great and all but unproven if any better than KDSS and relatively unhelpful when you’re dragging both front and rear bumpers up anything beyond moderate trails.

 

[Corbet]

LC-250
AWD - I deal with lots of snow
More head room
Hands down prefer the styling at all levels.

 

[ILuvMudAZ]

LC-250
AWD - I deal with lots of snow
More head room
Hands down prefer the styling at all levels.

Snow tires/part time 4wd is doing the same work if it’s bad enough
How tall are you/what’s your hat collection like where it makes a difference
Styling: fair, to each their own/no way to quantify that

 

[Hiluxforever]

Snow tires/part time 4wd is doing the same work if it’s bad enough
How tall are you/what’s your hat collection like where it makes a difference
Styling: fair, to each their own/no way to quantify that

I'm 6'5" and probably would only fit in the LC without the sunroof with my hardhat on.

 

[Corbet]

Snow tires/part time 4wd is doing the same work if it’s bad enough

Dedicated snow tires for everything we own. Having a full time system is far more convenient as it’s always engaged. I’m constantly transitioning between snowpack, mixed, wet pavement and back no need to shift in and out of part time.

 

[Fort9378]

Trying to argue against full time 4WD in a land cruiser forum is not something I predicted.

 

[Hiluxforever]

Most of the at fault SUV accidents in my family would have been prevented with full-time 4wd. Until you live with it you can't really appreciate how amazing it is.

 

[M1911]

Dedicated snow tires for everything we own. Having a full time system is far more convenient as it’s always engaged. I’m constantly transitioning between snowpack, mixed, wet pavement and back no need to shift in and out of part time.

Having driven Toyota SUVs with full-time 4WD (4th Gen 4Runner Limited and 200 Series Land Cruiser) in New England for the past 20 years, I agree completely. I greatly prefer full-time 4WD over part-time.

 

[TWILLY]

Snow country here and a strong proponent of full-time 4WD. It's safer, easier, and more predictable. All our cars are, and have been for decades.

 

[Fort9378]

If you're crawling through snow drifts then he's correct. Part time will be on and there won't be much difference. However at highways speeds with sketchy traction where part time really isn't appropriate, full time is a significantly better solution

 

[Jetboy]

I live in Alaska. I feel like I probably see more miles of snow and wet than most. AWD is nice. But I don't think it's a necessity. I don't like the dry highway feel of AWD and generally prefer the part time system for living somewhere like Utah or Colorado where snow is relatively infrequent. I would choose part time over AWD there even if it were a zero cost option. In Alaska I would opt for AWD if it were available. But I also get along fine with part time 4x4 and all season tires.

What's annoying is that it doesn't have to be an either/or choice. Toyota has the same transfer case in a multifunction version that does the full range of RWD/AWD/4x4. They just won't sell it to us for whatever reason. Toyota should offer AWD in more trims in the 4Runner and Tacoma. Probably in all trims. It's a highway people mover first and foremost. And it's a parts bin item. It's particularly surprising to me not to see the center differential used in the TRD Pro models. If any condition would warrant having a center diff it would be a desert race setup. It is pretty easy to modify the torque split for better desert race feel with a planetary design like the Aisin uses.

 

[Hiluxforever]

The other thing not mentioned is the unlocked center diff is a torsen diff with a rear bias. Absolutely beautiful diff that gives you nice balanced slides. Lots of refreeze where I live and I am completely converted to full-time 4wd.

 

[Corbet]

generally prefer the part time system for living somewhere like Utah or Colorado where snow is relatively infrequent.

What's annoying is that it doesn't have to be an either/or choice. Toyota has the same transfer case in a multifunction version that does the full range of RWD/AWD/4x4.

Infrequent snow? I'm on snowpack 4-5 months out the year plus storms.

Totally agree on give us all the options in the Cruiser as a way to set it appart from the 4R.

 

[OSS]

The higher roof on the LC250 is reason enough to choose it over the 4R.

 

[Jetboy]

Infrequent snow? I'm on snowpack 4-5 months out the year plus storms.

Totally agree on give us all the options in the Cruiser as a way to set it appart from the 4R.

To put it in perspective - it's going to be 74 degrees this week in Durango. The hottest temperature recorded the entire year of 2023 here was 72. There wasn't a single day in December of 2023 that Durango didn't get above freezing. Outside of maybe somewhere like Leadville, it's just a bit of a different experience having maybe 20-30 snowy road days vs having roads that don't un-freeze for half the year.

It's all relative to what your comfort level is driving on snowy and icy roads vs how you want the vehicle to feel and drive on dry roads. For me - in most of the lower 48, I'd probably be indifferent to awd. Maybe with the electronic power steering the awd won't have any difference in feel and it'll just be the same either way. Hard to know until I get a chance to drive one of the GA-F models with awd and electronic power steering. Between the awd and part time 4Runners back to back the part time feels nicer to drive most of the time. Both ways have their benefits.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

To put it in perspective - it's going to be 74 degrees this week in Durango. The hottest temperature recorded the entire year of 2023 here was 72. There wasn't a single day in December of 2023 that Durango didn't get above freezing. Outside of maybe somewhere like Leadville, it's just a bit of a different experience having maybe 20-30 snowy road days vs having roads that don't un-freeze for half the year.

Ok, as they say you’ve piqued my curiosity.
Where you at? I’m thinking it’s got to be high, coastal AK or perhaps near Denali highway. (Or was Anchorage really that cold last summer).

 

[Jetboy]

Ok, as they say you’ve piqued my curiosity.
Where you at? I’m thinking it’s got to be high, coastal AK or perhaps near Denali highway.

I'm in Anchorage. We basically didn't have a summer last year. Very coastal - I can watch the Belugas out my office window some days. We are going to move south at the end of this summer for a lot of reasons that would probably warrant a whole new thread. Short version is mostly that Anchorage is too cold, dark, and wet for me - especially with small kids. I'm sure you can relate to the weather in Juneau being relatively similar.

It has it's great days. This is a pic from my phone the weekend before last. It's still full-on winter outside of the valleys that are starting in the spring break up now.

 

[ILuvMudAZ]

To put it in perspective - it's going to be 74 degrees this week in Durango. The hottest temperature recorded the entire year of 2023 here was 72. There wasn't a single day in December of 2023 that Durango didn't get above freezing. Outside of maybe somewhere like Leadville, it's just a bit of a different experience having maybe 20-30 snowy road days vs having roads that don't un-freeze for half the year.

It's all relative to what your comfort level is driving on snowy and icy roads vs how you want the vehicle to feel and drive on dry roads. For me - in most of the lower 48, I'd probably be indifferent to awd. Maybe with the electronic power steering the awd won't have any difference in feel and it'll just be the same either way. Hard to know until I get a chance to drive one of the GA-F models with awd and electronic power steering. Between the awd and part time 4Runners back to back the part time feels nicer to drive most of the time. Both ways have their benefits.

Unrelated but this is Durango CO? I distinctly remember it being in the 90s last July?

 

[Jetboy]

Unrelated but this is Durango CO? I distinctly remember it being in the 90s last July?

Yes. The response was comparing Durango where I consider it infrequent snowy roads relative to Anchorage where the roads are more consistently frozen/snowpacked. Compared to Honolulu, Durango is pretty snowy.

 

[TWILLY]

I'm in Anchorage. We basically didn't have a summer last year. Very coastal - I can watch the Belugas out my office window some days. We are going to move south at the end of this summer for a lot of reasons that would probably warrant a whole new thread. Short version is mostly that Anchorage is too cold, dark, and wet for me - especially with small kids. I'm sure you can relate to the weather in Juneau being relatively similar.

This is a pic from my phone the weekend before last. It's still full-on winter outside of the valleys that are starting in the spring break up now.
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Nice. Let’s have a Chugach touring photo thread. Just kidding.