This is probably going to be very unliked, but this is just like my opinion man. This is my issue with the LC250 (1 Viewer)

[TheLCProject]

As I’ve said previously on several occasions, I believe most of the love for the 70 Series here in the US is just because it is forbidden fruit. They simply aren’t that great. The NVH is poor. The interior is not very roomy. The seats aren’t very comfortable. The interior looks like a 1/2 ton pickup from around 1990.

Toyota increased the track width of the front axle to accommodate the V8 turbo diesel but didn’t widen the rear axle at the same time, so the front track width is wider than the rear track width. As a result, anytime you are on soft ground, like sand or snow, the rear tires slide into the wider track created by the front tire, causing the rear end to continually fishtail. There are two solutions to this. The cheap but crappy solution is to put different wheels on the rear with wider offset (which of course means you won’t have a spare that fits both front and rear properly). The better but very expensive solution is to entirely replace the rear axle with a wider aftermarket axle.

I suspect many people in the US who claim to want the 70 series would change their mind if they actually drove one. But it doesn’t matter because Toyota won’t sell it in the US.

Just curious - Have you driven one? Either a legacy 70 (pre-07) and one post-07?

I haven't.

 

[Rednexus]

Just curious - Have you driven one? Either a legacy 70 (pre-07) and one post-07?

I haven't.

I've ridden in one (not driven in it) and was pretty disappointed. It's like the old saying of "never meet your heroes". You realize they are flawed just like everyone else .

 

[GTV]

There are two solutions to this. The cheap but crappy solution is to put different wheels on the rear with wider offset (which of course means you won’t have a spare that fits both front and rear properly). The better but very expensive solution is to entirely replace the rear axle with a wider aftermarket axle.

Or simply install a pair of spacers on the rear axle. But I'm guessing by your other posts that wheel spacers aren't your cuppa tea.

 

[prwillard2]

Just curious - Have you driven one? Either a legacy 70 (pre-07) and one post-07?

I haven't.

I've ridden in one (not driven in it) and was pretty disappointed. It's like the old saying of "never meet your heroes". You realize they are flawed just like everyone else .

If either of you (actually anyone on this forum I'll extend the invite to) come down to SoCal you're more than welcome to drive my 1995 Troopy.

If you played Oregon Trail as a kid, this is the closest I can get to you experiencing the "covered wagon" feeling that you get from that game.

 

[jayp2]

I've ridden in one (not driven in it) and was pretty disappointed. It's like the old saying of "never meet your heroes". You realize they are flawed just like everyone else .

Blasphemy.....

 

[Specialeyes]

If either of you (actually anyone on this forum I'll extend the invite to) come down to SoCal you're more than welcome to drive my 1995 Troopy.

If you played Oregon Trail as a kid, this is the closest I can get to you experiencing the "covered wagon" feeling that you get from that game.

Any risk of catching dysentery?

 

[Rednexus]

Blasphemy.....

It was certainly a good truck, but, as mentioned by others, it reminded me of the pre-1997 F150s and F250s I used to drive in the aughts. Simple, bulletproof, and timeless, but not much more. The F250 in particular had the advantage of having an EFI 460, while the F150 had the EFI 300 I-6 and a 5-speed manual. Almost as reliable and horrible on gas as a Toyota .

Ya'll had just talked them up so much on here that I was expecting some kind of a religious experience, rather than a Ford-like experience.

 

[Rednexus]

If either of you (actually anyone on this forum I'll extend the invite to) come down to SoCal you're more than welcome to drive my 1995 Troopy.

If you played Oregon Trail as a kid, this is the closest I can get to you experiencing the "covered wagon" feeling that you get from that game.

No trips to SoCal planned but I would otherwise take you up in that . A troopy would probably be a lot more fun and cool than the underground mining truck I got to ride in.

 

[prwillard2]

Any risk of catching dysentery?

Only if you try and float the troopy down the Colorado river

 

[Jetboy]

I've driven and ridden in a few over the years. To me they feel about half way between a stock FJ40 and an early minitruck. But it also depends a lot on the vintage of the LC70. The early LC70's are damn near the same thing as a later model FJ45 LWB or really very similar to an FJ55. Later models have interiors that are pretty close to the 80's minitrucks. What I've never done is drive one on a highway with USA type highway speeds. I'm not sure that's something I'd want to do for long distances. It feels more at home on a dirt road at 30mph with the windows down.

The vehicle I was probably most impressed by in foreign markets was a Fortuner diesel. It's like buying a new 3rd gen 4Runner that gets 30+mpg, quiet, easy to drive. It's too small for what I want right now. But I think they'd do well to build a comparable model for the USA with a small hybrid powertrain.

One I'd like to drive but never have is a new Jimny. I've rented older ones, but not in the last decade. They were basic in the same was a the LC70, but obviously a lot smaller and lighter and feel very small and light comparably.

 

[peneumbra2]

I've driven them, and I still like them.
I LOVE fishtails - especially salmon...

 

[TWILLY]

I've ridden in them loaded and unloaded. They're built to carry loads, and, just like a touring bicycle, they are a bit rude unloaded (owing mostly to rear leafs) but soften up considerably when used as designed (carrying a load).

 

[MeWantLC]

This. Fortunner IS like that. Amazing and nimble vehicle. Always sad we don't have it here. I have compared it side to side vs 4Runner 5th Gen , Land Cruiser Prado, and Land Cruiser.

My cousin had a Jimmy back in 1994-7. He was drafted so I was the one using the car: it was amazing and I will never forget when I had to syphon gas in / out of the carburetor to make the little thing going !

I've driven and ridden in a few over the years. To me they feel about half way between a stock FJ40 and an early minitruck. But it also depends a lot on the vintage of the LC70. The early LC70's are damn near the same thing as a later model FJ45 LWB or really very similar to an FJ55. Later models have interiors that are pretty close to the 80's minitrucks. What I've never done is drive one on a highway with USA type highway speeds. I'm not sure that's something I'd want to do for long distances. It feels more at home on a dirt road at 30mph with the windows down.

The vehicle I was probably most impressed by in foreign markets was a Fortuner diesel. It's like buying a new 3rd gen 4Runner that gets 30+mpg, quiet, easy to drive. It's too small for what I want right now. But I think they'd do well to build a comparable model for the USA with a small hybrid powertrain.

One I'd like to drive but never have is a new Jimny. I've rented older ones, but not in the last decade. They were basic in the same was a the LC70, but obviously a lot smaller and lighter and feel very small and light comparably.

 

[onemanarmy]

Its so simple...Toyota has the legacy names, the reputation, the storied history......the marketing writes itself:

1. 'new' FJ40 to compete with the bronco/wrangler.....FJ44 or something.....4 door only, thats most of the sales....SFA or IFS, who cares. Cheap and simple. Removable top/doors.
2. A 4runner the size of the 3rd gen 4runner. What a perfect size SUV.....multiple drivetrain choices. Lay off the douche cannon with all the LEDs and lame fender flares and trying-too-hard grill design.
3. The 300 series Land Cruiser with all the trims offered
4. The LX600 for all the gadgets

4 unique, 100% true Toyota DNA and heritage.....and market it all as such.

#profit

let the highlander, grand highlander, TX, RX, RAV4, RAV4 L, sienna, sequoia due the family hauling duties.....can't believe they even make all those generic people haulers at thes same time. That can't be efficient.

 

[M1911]

Or simply install a pair of spacers on the rear axle. But I'm guessing by your other posts that wheel spacers aren't your cuppa tea.

I’m not a fan of spacers. Added failure point. But, yes, that is an alternative. I still think Toyota should have fixed this long ago.

 

[pawnthatdude]

Choices here in Australia in the 4x4 wagon (with separate chassis) from Toyota in 2023/4 (the 250 hasn't quite landed yet)

• VDJL76 Land Cruiser 70 wagon (5 door, 5 seats), 4.5 V8 thong slapper

Regarding this thong slapper, are we talkin' flip flops or underwear? Very different images in my head.

As I’ve said previously on several occasions, I believe most of the love for the 70 Series here in the US is just because it is forbidden fruit. They simply aren’t that great. The NVH is poor. The interior is not very roomy. The seats aren’t very comfortable. The interior looks like a 1/2 ton pickup from around 1990.

Yup. People have no idea how basic a 70 is. I've gotten a ton of attention on my 75 series pickup so far, but very few people have correctly identified it as a Land Cruiser (even though it says it on the side and mud flaps), let alone a 70. They all think it's a late-70s, early-80s US Toyota pickup, when in fact it's 20 years newer than that and was sold alongside the 80 series! The cab is microscopic (on the 75 series pickup especially), the seat bottoms are like 2 inches thick. The doors are 2 inches thick. It's loud: the upper cab panels can all be removed but they squeak as a result. The suspension is as supple as a shopping cart. Missing basic features everyone is used to in the US (manual everything, no dash brightness adjustment, no intermittent wiper mode, when you hit the windshield spray, that doesn't turn on the wipers, headlights don't turn off automatically with the car, no airbags, no ABS, climate controls are cable driven, no center console, no door storage, no cup holders, basic models only have 3 gauges, one tiny interior light). Actually compared to my friend's 1978 Toyota Pickup, they are extremely similar except mine has a much more powerful engine (22R vs 1FZ) and bigger load capacity (1/2T vs 1T).

People are pining over a mythical vehicle they have heard tales about in distant lands, thinking if only they could have a basic truck like that they would live out their life in some sort of agrarian bliss free of responsibility. But most people have not seen one in real life for any significant time or driven one or even sat in one. The reality is, for almost all uses in the US, it really is objectively appalling. And if you take the USD equivalent of the AUD price, they are not even cheap! They would get absolutely destroyed in US reviews about the price vs. features. No one would buy them.

But damn they are fricken cool and I love mine

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Scott Brady weighs in today at Expo. I will post a couple pull quotes:

Does the New Land Cruiser 250 Have What it Takes to Overland? - Expedition Portal

Does the New Land Cruiser 250 have what it takes to Overland? With a 1,600 pound payload, lockers, and Toyota reliability, we say...

expeditionportal.com

"..Overall, the Land Cruiser’s capability looks better than average for the segment and certainly better than the Prado and GX that came before it. However, a proper off-highway test will be required to score the vehicle.."

".. While it is important to note that the 250 does not have the same underpinning and duty cycle as the 300 series Land Cruiser, this variant is among the best in the lineage, striking a balance between price, durability, and capacity..."

 

[Paddler Ed]

Regarding this thong slapper, are we talkin' flip flops or underwear? Very different images in my head.

Well, given the noise is akin to very fast flip flops it is technically the flip flop. However, I'm sure some of the owners love their VD and are therefore hoping it snaps some of the other thongs to go like the clappers...

 

[prwillard2]

Well, given the noise is akin to very fast flip flops it is technically the flip flop. However, I'm sure some of the owners love their VD and are therefore hoping it snaps some of the other thongs to go like the clappers...

We're both speaking English but I feel like you're talking in a different language.

 

[Specialeyes]

Scott Brady weighs in today at Expo. I will post a couple pull quotes:

Does the New Land Cruiser 250 Have What it Takes to Overland? - Expedition Portal

Does the New Land Cruiser 250 have what it takes to Overland? With a 1,600 pound payload, lockers, and Toyota reliability, we say...

expeditionportal.com

"..Overall, the Land Cruiser’s capability looks better than average for the segment and certainly better than the Prado and GX that came before it. However, a proper off-highway test will be required to score the vehicle.."

".. While it is important to note that the 250 does not have the same underpinning and duty cycle as the 300 series Land Cruiser, this variant is among the best in the lineage, striking a balance between price, durability, and capacity..."

Comments like this are what I have been hoping to see. Knowing what the 250 is (and is not) while still acknowledging it to be a stout and capable vehicle. Reliability still TBD of course.