2024 GX/Prado Release and Discussion (1 Viewer)

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I just think in general to be somewhat objective about these things. While toyota still produces one of most reliable vehicles on the market, Toyotas are not as bomb proof as the once were, with Problems per 100 cards jumping 30 percent for Lexus, and 70 percent for Toyota over the past 4 years. The Toyota Brand is now on par with GM and even Nissan in terms of reliability per 100 cars. This completely undercuts the main value proposition with Toyota.

While Lexus reliability has not fallen off quite as much as with the Toyota badge, the reality is that sequoia,tundra, LX and LC are all platform builds with 95 percent of the components pulled from the same parts bin and the customer is left having to compromise on things that really should not be an issue in 2023.

For example,
I really like the Sequoia in TRD trim, with 2nd row captains chairs and the Panoramic roof, BUT the design of the cargo area is terrible and a deal killer

I really like the LX, its cargo area is far better designed than the sequoia, but at a minimum of a 20k premium, why does it have 100 less lbs of torque, and not available with a panoramic roof? (I know these answers by the way) . the 22 inch rims are terrible and I would have to drop another 4k on new rims and tires.

When i look at the LX's web page I see, phrases like ultimate indulgence... With no panoramic roof. I see Designed for off road use with 22 inch highway tires. I am seeing no packages available on their 90k model. I can add normal wheels and upgrade the sound system on the 100k premium model but it doesn't have AHC.

I Could get the 107k Luxury and get AHC and regular wheels...BUT its comes with the same stupid bench seats in the second row that is in the base model Sequoia... Seriously...

For 110k, the vehicle really needs to be the complete package, it really has be pushing best in class and most areas and it just feels like the LX is too much of a compromise.

Because nothing makes sense, Stuff like the GMC Denali Ultimate or the Ford Raptor are far more interesting that what toyota is offering at this point.
Plenty to chew on here. I agree there is nothing available from Toyo/Lex here and now to get excited about. I really just wish they would allow more configurations and options within their line up. Let me remove the 3rd row from the Sequoia or let me add an off road package with high clearance body panels on a LX. I am interested in seeing what the new Tacoma has to offer next week. Also would love to see more about the rumored North American LC and GX redesigns but am admittedly not interested in waiting amidst all the speculation. I’ve come to the realization that the vehicle I want just doesn’t exist lol. (A well built, reliable, 2 row SUV that has some on road refinement but also can handle some light off road duties when needed, I wouldn’t mind some decent fuel efficiency either.)

My 4R lacks the refinement. It’s a bit sloppy and rough at times and the cabin is pretty noisy on the highway.

200 Series HE 2 Row’s are near unobtanium now unless you want to pay over sticker for a used truck.

GX has the same packaging problems as the LX and Sequoia.

Defender checks all the boxes except the most important one, reliability.

I feel like most manufacturers of many products (not just automobiles) have had dips in quality control in recent years due to the shut downs, supply chain woes, and then trying to catch up on back orders plus meet current demand and future scheduling.
 
I've also driven the wagoneer. Surprised at how well Jeep built a vehicle compared to the rest of their line up. That said, it is ginormous, a bit hard to park, and quite noisy inside (though I'm spoiled by the quiet inside my Lx600). I agree with @stonepa , urban hauler. Too long for off road...though it would get you to your off-the-beaten-path lake or mountain house without difficulty.
Yeah, the Grand Wagoneer really felt like it could handle the sandy road to the designer’s Michigan lake cabin with ease.
 
I've also driven the wagoneer. Surprised at how well Jeep built a vehicle compared to the rest of their line up. That said, it is ginormous, a bit hard to park, and quite noisy inside (though I'm spoiled by the quiet inside my Lx600). I agree with @stonepa , urban hauler. Too long for off road...though it would get you to your off-the-beaten-path lake or mountain house without difficulty.

There was a video on YouTube saying the Wagoneer had an option for front and rear lockers but I don't see anywhere I can confirm this. Then Jeep unvailed the 'camp lux' at the Easter jeep safari recently:

maxresdefault.jpg
 
🧐
Looks: I like it.
Tech: don't want all the tech, very pleased with the lack of lights, buttons, features that bmw and others go crazy with
Driving dynamics: comfortable, handles like I expect a LC to handle, plenty fast
Efficiency: what's not to like about 22mpg?
Range: 396 miles
Comfort: most comfortable vehicle I've owned (on number 25 now and have ridden and driven pretty much everything, worked in the car business for over a decade)
Interior design: gripe gripe gripe. The interior works great, feels great, looks great. What's your problem?
Handling: see above.
Sound system: base model's baseline sound system is super pleasant. Unless you're an audiophile, it has great bass, clear treble, and warm and filling mid.
Tailgate: we agree on one thing. I miss the tailgate.
Sunroof: works great. Don't want a panoramic sun roof, too much noise and too much light.
Third row: don't have it, don't want it.
Good to hear you like the handling on the base LX, as I'd rather not have the more complex suspensions that are bundled with the higher spec LX's.
 
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Plenty to chew on here. I agree there is nothing available from Toyo/Lex here and now to get excited about. I really just wish they would allow more configurations and options within their line up. Let me remove the 3rd row from the Sequoia or let me add an off road package with high clearance body panels on a LX. I am interested in seeing what the new Tacoma has to offer next week. Also would love to see more about the rumored North American LC and GX redesigns but am admittedly not interested in waiting amidst all the speculation. I’ve come to the realization that the vehicle I want just doesn’t exist lol. (A well built, reliable, 2 row SUV that has some on road refinement but also can handle some light off road duties when needed, I wouldn’t mind some decent fuel efficiency either.)

My 4R lacks the refinement. It’s a bit sloppy and rough at times and the cabin is pretty noisy on the highway.

200 Series HE 2 Row’s are near unobtanium now unless you want to pay over sticker for a used truck.

GX has the same packaging problems as the LX and Sequoia.

Defender checks all the boxes except the most important one, reliability.

I feel like most manufacturers of many products (not just automobiles) have had dips in quality control in recent years due to the shut downs, supply chain woes, and then trying to catch up on back orders plus meet current demand and future scheduling.

A well built, reliable, 2 row SUV is the core of what I think a large amount of people are looking for in an SUV. 3rd row seating in SUV are universally terrible, and should at the very least fold flat if not able to delete.

I think i would be willing to step into a smaller 4runner/GX size vehicle if it offered a decent power plant, AND didn't have to be modded fresh off the lot. The 4runner is anemic, and the GX has bumper that screams tear me off. I really am interested to see what the template is going to look like with the tacoma reveal this week. i think the deal breaker for a smaller vehicle would be sub 400lbs of torque.

Show me a 4R/GX/LC Prado that competes with the Bronco Raptor or Wrangler 392 and take my money.
 
I just think in general to be somewhat objective about these things. While toyota still produces one of most reliable vehicles on the market, Toyotas are not as bomb proof as the once were, with Problems per 100 cards jumping 30 percent for Lexus, and 70 percent for Toyota over the past 4 years. The Toyota Brand is now on par with GM and even Nissan in terms of reliability per 100 cars. This completely undercuts the main value proposition with Toyota.

While Lexus reliability has not fallen off quite as much as with the Toyota badge, the reality is that sequoia,tundra, LX and LC are all platform builds with 95 percent of the components pulled from the same parts bin and the customer is left having to compromise on things that really should not be an issue in 2023.

For example,
I really like the Sequoia in TRD trim, with 2nd row captains chairs and the Panoramic roof, BUT the design of the cargo area is terrible and a deal killer

I really like the LX, its cargo area is far better designed than the sequoia, but at a minimum of a 20k premium, why does it have 100 less lbs of torque, and not available with a panoramic roof? (I know these answers by the way) . the 22 inch rims are terrible and I would have to drop another 4k on new rims and tires.

When i look at the LX's web page I see, phrases like ultimate indulgence... With no panoramic roof. I see Designed for off road use with 22 inch highway tires. I am seeing no packages available on their 90k model. I can add normal wheels and upgrade the sound system on the 100k premium model but it doesn't have AHC.

I Could get the 107k Luxury and get AHC and regular wheels...BUT its comes with the same stupid bench seats in the second row that is in the base model Sequoia... Seriously...

For 110k, the vehicle really needs to be the complete package, it really has be pushing best in class and most areas and it just feels like the LX is too much of a compromise.

Because nothing makes sense, Stuff like the GMC Denali Ultimate or the Ford Raptor are far more interesting that what toyota is offering at this point.

Thank you for the support buddy. LOL

Its hard to have an objective conversation when people have their feelings tied up in a truck or brand. People (person) devolved into children accusing me of peddling crap because they made a $90k forced decision and cant admit it.

I said earlier I get why you would be stuck buying a 600 for perceived or actual dependability. But im highly annoyed of the constant pass Toyota gets on these boards. LX price went up, and features were removed and omitted. And industry standard stuff is nowhere to be found. I know my facts here and appreciate you bringing yours.

Also the powertrain is WIDELY reported to deliver less in real world than claimed. And its a damn shame about a lot of things on the 600, but in regards to drivetrain, what a more perfect product to include the hybrid in, where it will spend so much time idling picking up kids, driving slow in mall parking lots, and sitting in drive thrus or stop and go traffic crawl.

If you are in the market for an LX since your LC was snatched from you, but you still need to reward Toyota with your money, do yourself a favor and wait for the unicorn 650/700h. At least that may keep it competitive with the sequoia, which IMO is probably a better product.
 
There was a video on YouTube saying the Wagoneer had an option for front and rear lockers but I don't see anywhere I can confirm this. Then Jeep unvailed the 'camp lux' at the Easter jeep safari recently:

maxresdefault.jpg


Neat... While I not a Jeep guy in the slightest. Thats pretty cool, While I would not assume its anywhere close to as reliable as the 200 H.E. It nails the form factor 100%. and would probably be suitable for 95 percent of your average offload/over landing/range trip. The sequioa comes close but s***s the bed with 32 inch tires and cargo area of a rav4
 
There was a video on YouTube saying the Wagoneer had an option for front and rear lockers but I don't see anywhere I can confirm this. Then Jeep unvailed the 'camp lux' at the Easter jeep safari recently:

maxresdefault.jpg

Where do yall think the LX stole its rear end from? @Docyota @toyofan

And the interior is more luxurious too. Im sure its not your taste, since yall are more low brow and anti pano roof crowd… lol
 
Thank you for the support buddy. LOL

Its hard to have an objective conversation when people have their feelings tied up in a truck or brand. People (person) devolved into children accusing me of peddling crap because they made a $90k forced decision and cant admit it.

I said earlier I get why you would be stuck buying a 600 for perceived or actual dependability. But im highly annoyed of the constant pass Toyota gets on these boards. LX price went up, and features were removed and omitted. And industry standard stuff is nowhere to be found. I know my facts here and appreciate you bringing yours.

Also the powertrain is WIDELY reported to deliver less in real world than claimed. And its a damn shame about a lot of things on the 600, but in regards to drivetrain, what a more perfect product to include the hybrid in, where it will spend so much time idling picking up kids, driving slow in mall parking lots, and sitting in drive thrus or stop and go traffic crawl.

If you are in the market for an LX since your LC was snatched from you, but you still need to reward Toyota with your money, do yourself a favor and wait for the unicorn 650/700h. At least that may keep it competitive with the sequoia, which IMO is probably a better product.
It is expected that a forum that exists for Toyota, almost exclusively Land Cruiser, would be biased toward the brand and model!

The 300 GR is the best we can hope for in the US and I don’t think it is going to happen and if to my surprise it did, the wait list and markup would be tremendous!

Buy a good 200 and enjoy until what ever happens, happens!!!!!’


Besides………………..

C7AC1523-41B6-4B81-8FFC-68E29F7EFFF3.jpeg
 
Ive driven both. I would not consider the Grand Wagoneer anything but an urban hauler.

Isn’t that exactly what the LX is sold as though? A big luxury urban 7-8 seater? Now with reclining rear captains and no third row? Actually, what even is the LX 600???

It would have been great if the brand lines weren’t so delineated and some kind of TRD pack was available.

But again, i will caution anyone in the market to wait for the new GX, i am 99% sure it will grow and have some kind of sportier real trd-ish variant than the LX is offering.

Why anyone is lining up for the 600 is clearly beyond my IQ level. But still, I understand if you are obliged to purchase, I wouldn’t trust the other market offerings long term either. It is still undeniably an underwhelming upgrade.
 
Its hard to have an objective conversation when people have their feelings tied up in a truck or brand.
You have to understand any forum for any brand of any product is going to be an echo chamber full of confirmation bias. Otherwise it would kind of defeat the whole purpose of said forum. It’s a place for fans and enthusiasts to share information, experience, advice, etc. You will get some objectivity from time to time but you shouldn’t expect it from everyone and that’s fine. I do think someone can be just as happy in a LX600 as they can a 570 or some other car/truck entirely.

Go to Club Lexus, Tacoma World, Bimmer Post, Audi World, RennList, Bronco6G, F150gen14, etc and hear them all sing the praises of their respective cars and trucks.
 
It is expected that a forum that exists for Toyota, almost exclusively Land Cruiser, would be biased toward the brand and model!

The 300 GR is the best we can hope for in the US and I don’t think it is going to happen and if to my surprise it did, the wait list and markup would be tremendous!

Buy a good 200 and enjoy until what ever happens, happens!!!!!’


Besides………………..

View attachment 3287182

EXACTLY.

I too am biased and will call out where the worlds largest automaker falls short. So glad i got my V8 200 before all this at a good price. It still has major flaws too though. I keeps it real.

Where the 600 fails most though is in bringing an actual LC buyer an alternative. The base version is at the exact price point, yet brings all the faults the LC guys never liked to the table. But miraculously the same guys lining up calling the old updated 570 gaudy and blingy with a horrid grille are tripping over themselves to put down a deposit. What would be a begrudgingly difficult purchase for me to make were I in their shoes. And as an actual LX fan, being on my second, even I am disappointed outside of two things; factory carplay, and dual stage AHC damping in the rear. I would advise anyone not thinking of modifying the truck to go for the AHC, its been almost perfected, and is the best all around suspension on the planet.

But they hate AHC? The LXs best feature, which you need for the body clearance offroad. So ultimately they are getting the worst trim level for off road use while also sacrificing towing stability and getting all the lexus bling and low hanging bits. Maybe thats why they are looking at aftermarket inferior suspension to OEM on a brand new truck? Something else i would never do in a million years.

Where do i get that sticker?
 
You have to understand any forum for any brand of any product is going to be an echo chamber full of confirmation bias. Otherwise it would kind of defeat the whole purpose of said forum. It’s a place for fans and enthusiasts to share information, experience, advice, etc. You will get some objectivity from time to time but you shouldn’t expect it from everyone and that’s fine. I do think someone can be just as happy in a LX600 as they can a 570 or some other car/truck entirely.

Go to Club Lexus, Tacoma World, Bimmer Post, Audi World, RennList, Bronco6G, F150gen14, etc and hear them all sing the praises of their respective cars and trucks.

Im happy they are happy and truly understand their choice.

Im a fan and when you care about someone or something, thats when you are the most invested and the most critical. Ignoring the facts and grinning and bearing it is another story though. BMW guys (me included) know they are grenades after 60k, nobody pretends like they are bulletproof. We accept the faults.

I think a lot of the 200 owners can logically accept the hallmark tailgate was dropped for no good reason other than price gouging. My gripe is with the ones that are pretending its the best truck out. Its not, its just probably the only non money pit. Its been a long time since the LS was better than an S class… They had 14 years. 14 years, and what we got just doesnt cut it in todays landscape. Specially not when you have to fill both LX shoes and LC in USA.
 
EXACTLY.

I too am biased and will call out where the worlds largest automaker falls short. So glad i got my V8 200 before all this at a good price. It still has major flaws too though. I keeps it real.

Where the 600 fails most though is in bringing an actual LC buyer an alternative. The base version is at the exact price point, yet brings all the faults the LC guys never liked to the table. But miraculously the same guys lining up calling the old updated 570 gaudy and blingy with a horrid grille are tripping over themselves to put down a deposit. What would be a begrudgingly difficult purchase for me to make were I in their shoes. And as an actual LX fan, being on my second, even I am disappointed outside of two things; factory carplay, and dual stage AHC damping in the rear. I would advise anyone not thinking of modifying the truck to go for the AHC, its been almost perfected, and is the best all around suspension on the planet.

But they hate AHC? The LXs best feature, which you need for the body clearance offroad. So ultimately they are getting the worst trim level for off road use while also sacrificing towing stability and getting all the lexus bling and low hanging bits. Maybe thats why they are looking at aftermarket inferior suspension to OEM on a brand new truck? Something else i would never do in a million years.

Where do i get that sticker?
I found it somewhere on the net messing around, I think one of those folks who make odd things market consolidation websites.

If you don’t find them or if easier, shot me a PM with an address and I will send one your way, I bought a few. It kinda summed up my feeling the 200 series may likely be my last newish Cruiser, at least for a pretty good while.

I have always thought the final iteration of a series is the best at retaining value and best represents that style, probably some Cruiser history to support that theory!
 
I found it somewhere on the net messing around, I think one of those folks who make odd things market consolidation websites.

If you don’t find them or if easier, shot me a PM with an address and I will send one your way, I bought a few. It kinda summed up my feeling the 200 series may likely be my last newish Cruiser, at least for a pretty good while.

I have always thought the final iteration of a series is the best at retaining value and best represents that style, probably some Cruiser history to support that theory!

Every generation lost something (front axle, lockers, rear third row venting windows, manual park brake, etc) but now they have delved too greedily and too deep! A demon of shadow and flame…

We lost the tailgate, NA, flat floor, and two cylinders and a few gallons of fuel capacity all in one fell swoop. Womp womp. And price went up lololol. This is the first gen I would rather get the Toyota than the Lexus. It even looks better.
 
The LC300 is a meaningful upgrade over the LC200 to me. The 3.4 is roughly double the power at the low-mid rpm range and results in a very quiet smooth power delivery. Time will tell about the reliability. On paper it's a very robust design. And it's powerful for its displacement with a lot of systems unique to the engine that should result in a long service life. The complexity tends to result in fragility though, so I can't make a judgment yet on this one. What I don't like is $7k turbos and a $30K+ engine. For performance alone - the TTv6 easily outperforms the 5.7. For longevity - time will tell on this one.

I think Toyota missed the opportunity for a better engine design by simply making an I6 out of the T24A. Toyota has been delaying the next gen Lexus side sedans to adopt the Mazda I6 as the bigger engine and now that might also be out the window like the Turbo v8. Not sure why they didn't consider doing the I6 inhouse, they've already done all the heavy lifting on engine design with the 8AR and T24A. Adding two cylinders makes a lot of sense because you can then run either a single turbo or twin turbos to have two distinct power ranges and have nice evenly spaced products - 275hp/320tq T4, 350/400 T6 single turbo, 420/500 T6 twin turbo. And you solve the packaging issues with the max hybrid by mating it only with the T4 and the result is the same length overall engine package. The other major benefit is that the I6 config allows easy access to all the stuff like turbos without having to pull the cab off so they become field repairable. It's just a better configuration of a turbo engine for serviceability. Especially in a vehicle you expect to go to places where there's limited access to a shop with a lift to pull the body off to fix a turbo. At an absolute minimum it should be engineered to run without turbos as a NA v6 in the event of turbo failures.

Transmission has more gear range which will be nice for off roaders down the road. Especially when you go to maybe 4.56 diffs - the crawl ratio goes to around 60:1. Not world beating, but pretty respectable. Would work really nicely with 35-37" tires on the trails. I tend to think 35's is the sweet sport for such a heavy vehicle for tackling the moderate trails. In North America there isn't anywhere you can go that's really "overlanding" in the sense of crossing Africa. It's car camping near the roads and then playing on various levels of trails along the way. So the need is different from what I'd want for crossing Africa or Australian outback where the bigger tires maybe aren't such a big deal, but durability is.

The lc300 made a major improvement in the kdss system design by making the front side symmetrical. And adding a triple locked version was a huge capability improvement. Traction control works well in most situations, but it's not really a true replacement for locking diffs. All nice upgrades.

And 400lbs lighter! Weight kills. Huge plus.

Anyway - I think the LC300 is a significant upgrade from the LC200. At the same time I also don't think the LX600 is the trim that takes advantage of the platform's strengths because it tries to force it to be something it's not well suited for. Procrustes would be proud.

As far as rumors go - rumor has it that the LC USA is being pushed back already to at least Q1 2024 production. I'm not sure if that means delay in reveal until later in 2023 or if its still planned to reveal sometime mid summer of 2023. Appears as Taco is still on track for reveal next week at NYIAS, so we'll learn pretty much everything we need to know about how Toyota is planning to setup the smaller size vehicles on the GA-F platform. EPS or electric over hydraulic steering, how the front suspension is setup, rear axle configurations, does the new TRD Pro have a front locker? etc.
 
The LC300 is a meaningful upgrade over the LC200 to me. The 3.4 is roughly double the power at the low-mid rpm range and results in a very quiet smooth power delivery. Time will tell about the reliability. On paper it's a very robust design. And it's powerful for its displacement with a lot of systems unique to the engine that should result in a long service life. The complexity tends to result in fragility though, so I can't make a judgment yet on this one. What I don't like is $7k turbos and a $30K+ engine. For performance alone - the TTv6 easily outperforms the 5.7. For longevity - time will tell on this one.

I think Toyota missed the opportunity for a better engine design by simply making an I6 out of the T24A. Toyota has been delaying the next gen Lexus side sedans to adopt the Mazda I6 as the bigger engine and now that might also be out the window like the Turbo v8. Not sure why they didn't consider doing the I6 inhouse, they've already done all the heavy lifting on engine design with the 8AR and T24A. Adding two cylinders makes a lot of sense because you can then run either a single turbo or twin turbos to have two distinct power ranges and have nice evenly spaced products - 275hp/320tq T4, 350/400 T6 single turbo, 420/500 T6 twin turbo. And you solve the packaging issues with the max hybrid by mating it only with the T4 and the result is the same length overall engine package. The other major benefit is that the I6 config allows easy access to all the stuff like turbos without having to pull the cab off so they become field repairable. It's just a better configuration of a turbo engine for serviceability. Especially in a vehicle you expect to go to places where there's limited access to a shop with a lift to pull the body off to fix a turbo. At an absolute minimum it should be engineered to run without turbos as a NA v6 in the event of turbo failures.

Transmission has more gear range which will be nice for off roaders down the road. Especially when you go to maybe 4.56 diffs - the crawl ratio goes to around 60:1. Not world beating, but pretty respectable. Would work really nicely with 35-37" tires on the trails. I tend to think 35's is the sweet sport for such a heavy vehicle for tackling the moderate trails. In North America there isn't anywhere you can go that's really "overlanding" in the sense of crossing Africa. It's car camping near the roads and then playing on various levels of trails along the way. So the need is different from what I'd want for crossing Africa or Australian outback where the bigger tires maybe aren't such a big deal, but durability is.

The lc300 made a major improvement in the kdss system design by making the front side symmetrical. And adding a triple locked version was a huge capability improvement. Traction control works well in most situations, but it's not really a true replacement for locking diffs. All nice upgrades.

And 400lbs lighter! Weight kills. Huge plus.

Anyway - I think the LC300 is a significant upgrade from the LC200. At the same time I also don't think the LX600 is the trim that takes advantage of the platform's strengths because it tries to force it to be something it's not well suited for. Procrustes would be proud.

As far as rumors go - rumor has it that the LC USA is being pushed back already to at least Q1 2024 production. I'm not sure if that means delay in reveal until later in 2023 or if its still planned to reveal sometime mid summer of 2023. Appears as Taco is still on track for reveal next week at NYIAS, so we'll learn pretty much everything we need to know about how Toyota is planning to setup the smaller size vehicles on the GA-F platform. EPS or electric over hydraulic steering, how the front suspension is setup, rear axle configurations, does the new TRD Pro have a front locker? etc.

I agree with all that, (and admitting to my lack of knowledge Toyota/Mazda powerplant choices), except for the idea time might prove the new TTV6 engine to be just as reliable. The 3UR is just so archaic and inefficient there is just no way the new one can compete while producing that much more power and heat with that much more complexity and moving parts. Not saying it'll be a dud at all, but the 3UR's only issues were seals. There is really nothing of concern mechanically, so just due to its shear simplicity and low output, I cant see the new V35 or whatever outdoing it in that regard. We will see if 300K is still a guarantee i guess. Im sure it will deliver that. I hope...

On paper the power and efficiency is a welcome change even to me, but I cannot stand turbo power delivery. Also not into having 10 speeds. 8 is more than enough, and my 8 speed already tries to upshift way too much and has ample gearing after the 2016 update.
I dont blame them for doing that though, It is not in their hands.
I do blame them for not doing the i-Max system. And i dont wanna hear anyone saying the LC is special when its shared powertrains with other Toyota models for 60 years. I dont have the patience to listen to excuses. The Lexus lineup is all hybridized until you get to the 600 for some reason. I understand not trying to meddle with LC sales globally, but what was there to lose in the Lexus USA lineup? Nothing. Its just padding their margins because the cost has to go to a bunch of useless interior upgrades.

The i-max is on worlds best.
Screenshot 2023-03-31 at 2.20.21 PM.png



As far the weight savings that is just due to all the panels being made out of aluminum. (as well as the use of plastic).
Which is fine and dandy, aluminum corrodes less (not sure on metalurgy used but im sure they did it right), is light, highly recyclable and cheap, but also less strong and harder to repair. They did not save 400lbs without making some serious compromises, tailgate being the most egregious.
 
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Be careful what you wish for. Do you really want the hybrid? I assumed that "max" was used a bit ironically in this case. In current form I think the hybrid is undesirable enough that even if it were free I would rather not have it in either the Tundra or the Sequoia and especially not in the LC300 size. The idea is great. The problem is that the system just isn't very useful due to the battery choice and efficiency. The only benefit is an improvement in 0-60 times and 1mpg at the cost of roughly 400lbs and about 30 cubic feet of cargo volume and $3500. The battery is small enough that it can only sustain the extra 40hp for around 60 seconds. So it'll get you through a quarter mile. Unfortunately it doesn't do much of anything in terms of improving towing up mountain passes or other longer duration power needs. And the extra 400lbs probably makes it worse overall for those types of tasks and for offroad duty. Plus the it also takes up the location of the 12v battery in the engine bay and requires that to be relocated somewhere less useful for connecting to things like winches and lights.

If it were a lithium battery pack with more like 8-10kwh and re-engineered to fit somewhere else that doesn't take up a net of 40 cubic feet of cargo capacity, it would be great. I'm not sure why Toyota doesn't offer a Ford style inverter with power output. How they missed that on the Tundra but included it in a Sienna I will probably never understand. And it needs to have an EV only drive mode for water crossings. Plug the intake. Turn on EV only mode. Water crossings become a non-issue and no snorkel needed. And why not design a 12v step down transformer to use for things like running the winch and the fridge? No reason to ever consider a dual battery setup again. It's the little stuff that could be done without a lot of cost that would make the hybrid system incredibly useful for all sorts of stuff. But unless the battery pack both increases in energy size and decreases in physical size, It's an option I'd rather not have.

Ford:
1610802449218-jpeg.6215

Toyota:
message-editor%2F1643747920889-_brj2298.jpg
 
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Plug the intake. Turn on EV only mode. Water crossings become a non-issue and no snorkel needed. And why not design a 12v step down transformer to use for things like running the winch and the fridge?

Very neat idea!
But be careful there. We wouldn't want Toyota to actually produce a compelling product now would we?
We are in the business of REMOVING functionality, not adding.
 
Very neat idea!
But be careful there. We wouldn't want Toyota to actually produce a compelling product now would we?
We are in the business of REMOVING functionality, not adding.

Toyota is actually in the business of making money for their corporation and their stockholders by making a product that can be sold in a large enough volume to achieve their corporate goals. This will often mean they remove certain features while they add some new features. But the product has to sell at the end of the day. Your posts make it seem as if they have a personal vendetta against you. At the end of the day, we all have to decide if the product we are buying provides meaningful value. If a specific one does not, then you don't buy it.
 
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