New member needs advice on which Land Cruiser to buy. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Dec 22, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
2
Location
Turlock , CA
I currently have a 1996 4runner and a 2005 4runner. Both are great vehicles, but both a tad small for what I need to carry weekly for work. The 3rd Gen also needs the front seat to go back about 2" further. I sat in a Gen5 4runner and loved the seating position, but too much money and not many around for sale under $20,000. I also really want a Land Cruiser, although would settle for a Lx 470. I drive approximately 35,000 miles per year, 95% highway and do my own maintenance and am not afraid of working on anything except auto transmisions. My main question is whether a 100 is best, or would a 80 series work for what I need. I've watched lots of videos and read a lot of forum posts, but none with answers to someone putting as many highway miles a year as I do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
35k highway miles per year??? Def don’t get an 80, and prob wouldn’t get a 100 either unless paying $10k in gas per year is your idea of money well-spent. Hell I’d delete every Land Cruiser model in existence off my list if I was driving that much.
 
Since you're mostly driving highway miles, the 100 is the way to go. I went through the same decision many years ago and don't regret the 100. With either the LX or LC you'll enjoy those miles a lot more than in an 80. I believe the transmission on the 2003+ 100's will also be smoother on the highway since they have the 5-speed transmission. I think the 80 is a 4-speed. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
For mostly highway use, the V8 of the Lc/Lx is far enjoyable than the toyota V6. But the drawback is fuel consumption. Gotta pay to play I guess. The 4-speed and 5-speed Lc/Lx transmissions are both durable, just make sure you drain/fill regularly based on manual and that last a lifetime. And if you want to get the best fuel consumption, keep it stock, especially the tire size.
 
I've done that mileage for many years with both the 80 and the hundy. Hands down hundy.
 
35k highway miles per year??? Def don’t get an 80, and prob wouldn’t get a 100 either unless paying $10k in gas per year is your idea of money well-spent. Hell I’d delete every Land Cruiser model in existence off my list if I was driving that much.
This is the voice of reason,!
Land Cruisers are neither cheap to maintain nor cheap to fuel.
I highly recommend looking for a hybrid Highlander, great fuel economy, excellent all weather performance, much cheaper to own/maintain and $20k would buy you a much newer example too.
 
This is the voice of reason,!
Land Cruisers are neither cheap to maintain nor cheap to fuel.
I highly recommend looking for a hybrid Highlander, great fuel economy, excellent all weather performance, much cheaper to own/maintain and $20k would buy you a much newer example too.
Second this. For that much highway usage, the Highlander would be great.

If not enough of a truck, stick with a 4Runner. At 35K highway miles and $2.50/gal gas, the 4Runner would save you about $1750/yr in fuel cost. That extra $150/month would go a long way toward buying a more expensive car.

If you really want a Land Cruiser, I'd agree with the previous posts - 100 is way nicer on highways than an 80.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom