This is just like my opinion. I really love Land cruisers and what not. Feel free to disagree or hate it.
Ok with the release of the new 4runner yesterday i finally figured out why i dislike the LC250 so much.
The LC250 and new 4runner are on the same chassis, running the same motor and drivetrain. There is nothing besides aesthetics that separate them from each other. On the GX550 you at least get the larger turbo v6.
say what you will about the motor choices on all of these new vehicles. It is what it is in this day and age. We are not going to ever get a diesel here, the days of v8s are over, and NA vehicles are all pretty much going the way of the do do. Nothing you can do about it. This isnt about the powerplant.
Honestly i even really like how the round headlight 250 looks. Kinda looks like a 60 series if you are drunk. I dig it.
What i dont understand is why toyota would release two suvs of the same dimensions, chassis, and motor... both made in japan... to compete against each other in the US. Of course the vast majority of people buying these things arent enthusiasts, they arent super into wheeling, or anything like that. Theyre just NPC car owners. Most women aged 20-30 i know drive a 4runner of some sort. They are good reliable vehicles and are a good choice for a suv for normal folks.
So, knowing that normal folks are the people buying the 4runner, why not release the new 4runner EXACTLY how they released it, same models trims and all. Have the offroady trims like the trd pro and trail hunter or whatever for people newer to 4wheeling, looking for a more comfortable daily driver style car to do car camping and what not, or even just to look like they offroad but just drive it to work and never go offroad. Even for folks to fully build up and wheel. Whatever, that is available for people. Then have the normal folks versions like the SR5 and limited. Great. That is perfect. This has worked for decades. The 4unner is top of its class in sales and all of that. Keep it going toyota.
The LC250 at this point is just kind of there. Its the same thing as the 4runner, but targeted to enthusiasts while offering nothing enthusiasts want. Sure the cloth seat model might be a little cheaper but theres no definitive land cruiser stuff about it besides stick on badging and headlights. The point always brought up is that enthusiasts are such a small segment of the market that they make no impact on overall sales. So why make the LC250 the exact same thing as the 4runner, then confuse the npc car buyers with 2 choices that are essentially the same?
This is all "woulda coulda shoulda" at this point but the real solution would have been this:
Keep the 250's styling based on the 60 series. Keep the body and interior EXACTLY the same. We were never getting a 70 series here. We are never getting diesels here. We were never getting LC with truck beds here. Thats just how it is. Americans seem to want wagons.
So, what they should have done is with the LC250, base the chassis off of the newly released medium wheelbase 70 series and keep the solid front axle. Put the same motor and drivetrain from the new 4runner in it. Keep the same body they designed. Only offer one trim. Cloth seats. Smaller screen. more spartan interior. You still get to have Toyota drive sense with lane departure, pre collision, ABS, all the airbags, VSC, Downhill assist, active traction control, buttons on the steering wheel, etc. But most importantly
Remove crawl control, MTS, Atrac, and any of the Independent front suspension bandaid stuff they add to try and replicate driving a locked live front axle. Fit front and rear lockers as standard, and most importantly put a lower low range transfer case gear in the LC250 compared to the GX550 and the new 4runner. Part time 4wd only. Something low enough to compete with the rubicon wrangler. like a 4:1. You can even make up a name for it for marketing like crawl box if marlin crawler doesnt sue you. Dont even offer it in a manual since theres no manual in the 4runner. If you are someone who really enjoys MTS/Atrac/Crawl control, or think a coil sprung solid front axle is not comfortable enough, boy do i have the car for you.... its called a 4runner. We just released a new one. Get it while its hot. Its bad ass.
Thats it. Solid axle, boxed frame, front and rear lockers, same body... Totally differentiates itself from everything toyota offers. Competes with the rubicon wrangler as a true offroad vehicle except this one doesnt suck. I dont understand why this isnt something that could have been done. Sure we arent going to ever get a 70 series here. But they could have made something completely new with stuff they already had and disrupted the entire market. If you have made it this far, thanks for listening to the ramblings of a millennial LC lover
Ok with the release of the new 4runner yesterday i finally figured out why i dislike the LC250 so much.
The LC250 and new 4runner are on the same chassis, running the same motor and drivetrain. There is nothing besides aesthetics that separate them from each other. On the GX550 you at least get the larger turbo v6.
say what you will about the motor choices on all of these new vehicles. It is what it is in this day and age. We are not going to ever get a diesel here, the days of v8s are over, and NA vehicles are all pretty much going the way of the do do. Nothing you can do about it. This isnt about the powerplant.
Honestly i even really like how the round headlight 250 looks. Kinda looks like a 60 series if you are drunk. I dig it.
What i dont understand is why toyota would release two suvs of the same dimensions, chassis, and motor... both made in japan... to compete against each other in the US. Of course the vast majority of people buying these things arent enthusiasts, they arent super into wheeling, or anything like that. Theyre just NPC car owners. Most women aged 20-30 i know drive a 4runner of some sort. They are good reliable vehicles and are a good choice for a suv for normal folks.
So, knowing that normal folks are the people buying the 4runner, why not release the new 4runner EXACTLY how they released it, same models trims and all. Have the offroady trims like the trd pro and trail hunter or whatever for people newer to 4wheeling, looking for a more comfortable daily driver style car to do car camping and what not, or even just to look like they offroad but just drive it to work and never go offroad. Even for folks to fully build up and wheel. Whatever, that is available for people. Then have the normal folks versions like the SR5 and limited. Great. That is perfect. This has worked for decades. The 4unner is top of its class in sales and all of that. Keep it going toyota.
The LC250 at this point is just kind of there. Its the same thing as the 4runner, but targeted to enthusiasts while offering nothing enthusiasts want. Sure the cloth seat model might be a little cheaper but theres no definitive land cruiser stuff about it besides stick on badging and headlights. The point always brought up is that enthusiasts are such a small segment of the market that they make no impact on overall sales. So why make the LC250 the exact same thing as the 4runner, then confuse the npc car buyers with 2 choices that are essentially the same?
This is all "woulda coulda shoulda" at this point but the real solution would have been this:
Keep the 250's styling based on the 60 series. Keep the body and interior EXACTLY the same. We were never getting a 70 series here. We are never getting diesels here. We were never getting LC with truck beds here. Thats just how it is. Americans seem to want wagons.
So, what they should have done is with the LC250, base the chassis off of the newly released medium wheelbase 70 series and keep the solid front axle. Put the same motor and drivetrain from the new 4runner in it. Keep the same body they designed. Only offer one trim. Cloth seats. Smaller screen. more spartan interior. You still get to have Toyota drive sense with lane departure, pre collision, ABS, all the airbags, VSC, Downhill assist, active traction control, buttons on the steering wheel, etc. But most importantly
Remove crawl control, MTS, Atrac, and any of the Independent front suspension bandaid stuff they add to try and replicate driving a locked live front axle. Fit front and rear lockers as standard, and most importantly put a lower low range transfer case gear in the LC250 compared to the GX550 and the new 4runner. Part time 4wd only. Something low enough to compete with the rubicon wrangler. like a 4:1. You can even make up a name for it for marketing like crawl box if marlin crawler doesnt sue you. Dont even offer it in a manual since theres no manual in the 4runner. If you are someone who really enjoys MTS/Atrac/Crawl control, or think a coil sprung solid front axle is not comfortable enough, boy do i have the car for you.... its called a 4runner. We just released a new one. Get it while its hot. Its bad ass.
Thats it. Solid axle, boxed frame, front and rear lockers, same body... Totally differentiates itself from everything toyota offers. Competes with the rubicon wrangler as a true offroad vehicle except this one doesnt suck. I dont understand why this isnt something that could have been done. Sure we arent going to ever get a 70 series here. But they could have made something completely new with stuff they already had and disrupted the entire market. If you have made it this far, thanks for listening to the ramblings of a millennial LC lover
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