200-series Pinnacle of "Land Cruiser" in the States?

[Zill]

I’m going to have to start checking registrations against the obit’s as @Artie mentioned. That’s strategic thinking! I too find myself agreeing with DD about the 250. I really wanted to like them, but can’t as fundamentally it’s a car lying about itself - if that makes sense. Like it’s posing. Which isn’t the car’s fault, but rather with Toyota marketing gENiuSeS who said “I’ve got a great idea!”

For me, I cannot fathom spending $100k+ to get a 300 series that’s trail ready from the factory in the US in the LX700ot. Instead of offering lower trims in the Toyota 300 series vs the VX versions we had in the 200 series, Toyota leveled up! They said “you know, I’ve got a great idea! We can make the Americans pay even MORE to get into a 300!”

I’ll be on the sidelines of anything 300 related until the pricing substantially drops or I hit paydirt with Mildred punching out.

It’s really sad the 250 is all we get now in the States if you don’t want the L badge. The 250 is a cat fish mobile when you actually start to drive it and figure out how underwhelming it is.

Toyota thought, we already have a 4Runner here, why not give them two options for a 4Runner?

 

[hoot504]

It’s really sad the 250 is all we get now in the States if you don’t want the L badge. The 250 is a cat fish mobile when you actually start to drive it and figure out how underwhelming it is.

Toyota thought, we already have a 4Runner here, why not give them two options for a 4Runner?

If anything happens to my 200 it'll be either another 200 or an Ineos. There's really no other good options.

 

[MCtree]

If anything happens to my 200 it'll be either another 200 or an Ineos. There's really no other good options.

I worry the Ineos would be a rough ride on long stretches of interstate. Great off road but maybe not so good at 80 on a freeway like our 200’s are.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Toyota thought, we already have a 4Runner here, why not give them two options for a 4Runner?

That’s sums up the 250 perfectly

Call it the 4Runner XL

 

[bloc]

No tailgate not a Land Cruiser

Beat me to it.

I'm aware the 80-series guys said the same thing about IFS but the split gate has a huge impact on day to day usability. I sit on mine at least every third day for certain hobbies.

 

[hoot504]

Beat me to it.

I'm aware the 80-series guys said the same thing about IFS but the split gate has a huge impact on day to day usability. I sit on mine at least every third day for certain hobbies.

1/2 the time I'm sitting on it, the other 1/2 it's an incredibly useful table. Literally every time I bring the LC out for LC-type things, I use it.

 

[Boston Mangler]

1/2 the time I'm sitting on it, the other 1/2 it's an incredibly useful table. Literally every time I bring the LC out for LC-type things, I use it.

Same

 

[MRego]

View attachment 4050877
Nope, you are all wrong. A Lexus is not a Land Cruiser. No Land Cruiser badge, not a Land Cruiser. And no, neither is the new Prado.

Toyota already tried to wrap a turd in a shiny candy wrapper a few years ago and called it a Supra. They are wrong too.

I am glad I have seen your posts enough before to know you are being ironic.

Yeah, I know there are folks out there that think like that. Well, I was one of those (gotta have a Land Cruiser badge). Maybe still am - just in case Toyota is reading this, I would trade in my OT for an LC GR yesterday. That said, I finally realized Toyota had no real (financial) incentive to bring the LC300 GR to the US and caved in when the OT came out as the closest thing to it. Having now 1000miles on the OT and after owning a Base 200 and an HE, I have real world actual experience on both platforms - 200HE and 300OT and I can confidently tell you the OT is as well built as the 200s. In some aspects even better built. I know, I know...the engine. At this point it is all speculation IMO, and I am betting my chips it will be fine with the 2025s onwards. I may regret it, or not. If I do, still have 6 years of warranty on that puppy, so I think it will be ok.

Isn’t the LX essentially the American version of the 300 that the rest of the world got?
But with an annoying front grill.

Yep, emotions aside this pretty much summarizes.

Back to the Prado. Yes, it is a disappointment, and I have the same experience as someone that said, it is now owned by the suburbanites taking kids to school and groceries. There is one two houses down from mine, driven by "the wife/mommy". GX 550s even more - mom-mobile.

I worry the Ineos would be a rough ride on long stretches of interstate. Great off road but maybe not so good at 80 on a freeway like our 200’s are.

Yes, you hit again. Tempting, but just too rough for the money. A bit better than a jeep.

My take is that if you have the money and want an updated version of your 200 (better tech, but just at the right amount) try the 300OT. No matter what the badge, it is still a triple locked 300 series. Wary about the engine? Wait a couple years and see how it goes. Maybe by then pick a lightly used one for less money - although I think it will hold up value well enough to negate buying used over new. If you are happy with your 200, just keep it forever. It is still an overbuilt tank that will run forever if properly taken care. I would still have my HE if I could justify having 2 brutes off-road machines and had the financial means. Unfortunately, I did not.

 

[TeCKis300]

View attachment 4050877
Nope, you are all wrong. A Lexus is not a Land Cruiser. No Land Cruiser badge, not a Land Cruiser. And no, neither is the new Prado.

Toyota already tried to wrap a turd in a shiny candy wrapper a few years ago and called it a Supra. They are wrong too.

I don't disagree with you.

As a business, Toyota has to follow where the sales are. Toyota tried the de-contented Land Cruiser which is what the 200-series LC was. The market decided with poor sales numbers and Toyota has to react to the realities of new car buyers. Which is not necessarily the same as us enthusiasts. The full fat LX 200-series is where the buyers were (but still in lukewarm numbers)

The 250-series LC never had a chance to be what the 200-series LC was. Price alone tells that story at $55k+ versus $80k+ respectively.

The Lexus lineup in the states is more full up Prado and Land Cruiser than the Toyota line at this point. If you want the good stuff, it's behind the Lexus brand wall.

I get that many people identify with nameplates, that's human nature. A car to me is ultimately less about brand and name, and more about functionality and what it does for me. Because not every generation of the same brand or nameplate resonates with me. I'll probably be a dinosaur in the future stuck to the 200-series legacy (and MKIV Supra!) because these new fangled versions don't speak to me anymore. Future buyers won't know what their missing (tailgate!!).

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Starting to believe even some the folks in this section of MUD would find a reason to hate a LC300 in the states.

LC300:
- ugly as sin
- just about all components are smaller/thinner/lighter/weaker
- no tailgate
- still ugly as sin

Am I doing this right?

More important question. What IS a replacement for the 200 in the future?

Only a lower mileage, cleaner 200 series. And I'm only half-joking because I've actually thought about this. For an ultra reliable, ultra comfortable, do everything family vehicle... I simply don't know of a better option in existence. You can buy faster vehicles. You can buy better off-road vehicles. You can buy larger vehicles. You can buy more luxurious vehicles. You can buy more economical and fuel efficient vehicles. But you can't buy a single vehicle that does everything the 200 series does, the way the 200 series does it. For me and my needs, it literally is "peak" vehicle.

Give me $30M tomorrow and I won't be buying G-wagons or Lambos, I'll be searching for a clean, low mileage, late-year LX570. In fact, I'd be buying several, wrapping them in bubble wrap, and calling them "my presciousssss" as drool leaks out of my open mouth.

 

[Artie]

Give me $30M tomorrow and I won't be buying G-wagons or Lambos, I'll be searching for a clean, low mileage, late-year LX570. In fact, I'd be buying several, wrapping them in bubble wrap, and calling them "my presciousssss" as drool leaks out of my open mouth.

This guy had the same idea, just wrong vehicle. At least he has some spares…

Man who bought 240 Land Rover Defenders reveals how much he made

In 2015, Charles Fawcett, founder of Yorkshire-based modifying company Twisted, made the decision to bulk-order a hoard of 'final run' of Defenders believing they would sky-rocket in value.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[hoser]

Toyota just calls it whatever sells nowadays. It's not too farfetched to think "Land Cruiser" will just become a brand name in itself.

From Toyota Japan website...

 

[gasman4u]

Toyota just calls it whatever sells nowadays. It's not too farfetched to think "Land Cruiser" will just become a brand name in itself.

From Toyota Japan website...

View attachment 4053629

 

[Boston Mangler]

Toyota just calls it whatever sells nowadays. It's not too farfetched to think "Land Cruiser" will just become a brand name in itself.

From Toyota Japan website...

View attachment 4053629

Call it whatever, but a Toyota shorter wheel base 4wd with removable doors and top to compete with the Bronco and the Heep would be a game changer

They completely missed the mark with the FJC

Maybe now is the time

 

[MRego]

Call it whatever, but a Toyota shorter wheel base 4wd with removable doors and top to compete with the Bronco and the Heep would be a game changer

They completely missed the mark with the FJC

Maybe now is the time

I will never be ok with Toyota whoring out the LC name, but they have every right to do it. Just don’t tell me it is the “new Land Cruiser” when replacing the 200 in the US market. That was just an insult.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I will never be ok with Toyota whoring out the LC name, but they have every right to do it. Just don’t tell me it is the “new Land Cruiser” when replacing the 200 in the US market. That was just an insult.

Yes…. Agreed

 

[DesertRider]

Toyota just calls it whatever sells nowadays. It's not too farfetched to think "Land Cruiser" will just become a brand name in itself.

From Toyota Japan website...

View attachment 4053629

Looks like the bastard lovechild of a Bronco and an FJ cruiser.

 

[ElJayBird]

I hate the 250 also - I realize ‘hate’ is a strong word and yes, I hate it. It’s a poser mobile. I tried to like it but test driving one only made me hate it more - it feels cheap and flimsy and looks like a cross between a 4R and an FJ.

BUT - if the number of 250’s I’m seeing on the road are any indication, Toyota made the right call because they’re selling like hotcakes.

Toyota gave the US market exactly what the sales showed - a cheap faux “Land Cruiser” and an expensive Land Cruiser with the luxury badge. They’re clearly selling a lot more than 2k units per year with the 250.

Those of us on this forum aren’t the typical LC consumer - the dork down the street with his gold and white Prado is though.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I hate the 250 also - I realize ‘hate’ is a strong word and yes, I hate it. It’s a poser mobile. I tried to like it but test driving one only made me hate it more - it feels cheap and flimsy and looks like a cross between a 4R and an FJ.

BUT - if the number of 250’s I’m seeing on the road are any indication, Toyota made the right call because they’re selling like hotcakes.

Toyota gave the US market exactly what the sales showed - a cheap faux “Land Cruiser” and an expensive Land Cruiser with the luxury badge. They’re clearly selling a lot more than 2k units per year with the 250.

Those of us on this forum aren’t the typical LC consumer - the dork down the street with his gold and white Prado is though.

Yes, here in San Diego, the 250s are EVERYWHERE

 

[jefo13]

Apparently they are selling like 4k per month!