Agreed with you.
And also, many have said it before , the 300 is here, the issue is all the complainers don't want to pay the $100k or so Lexus asks for them, payload or not.
The LC200 "final payload" as calculated by TWILLY is only 128lbs different between LC200 and LC250, so not sure how much of the complaints are for around 100 lbs...
It is also very unfortunate we don't have the Fortuner here in the USA, fine vehicles...

Not all of us complainers... I bought a '21 200 brand new and if I could buy one of these in the US, it would be in my garage right now:
But I realize there aren't that many people in my situation. My wife and I drove an LX600 last year and were considering buying one but several things stopped us:
1. The front grille and overall soccer mom chrome is such a buzzkill. (F-Sport does improve it a lot though.) Much prefer the look of the 300. We want a family SUV that can go offroad with slight modifications AKA I don't want to chop the front for a new bumper just to gain some decent clearance. I would love the options and lockers etc. that the rest of the world gets on the 300.
2. Overall the LX600 is a great SUV and if I didn't have a 200 I would probably be more inclined to get one. It drove well and was comfortable, and a nice interior upgrade over the 200 in some ways. BUT it just wasn't enough of an upgrade for me to dump a 3 year old 200 Series.
3. I would either have a massive payment thanks to interest rates/inflation or I would have to sell my paid off 200 - and still have a small loan or dump some cash into it, I think the MSRP on the 2 I drove was around $120K - and I would just rather have a 200 than an LX600. If it was 200 vs 300... that would be a more difficult decision for me.
Funny enough the lack of a 300 is forcing me to be frugal and chill out on car purchasing for a while. We're going to see how the first couple years of the GX550 goes and maybe get my wife one. If not, there's just nothing in the market that interests us right now as a replacement for a 200. Haha we've driven everything from LX600s and new Tundras/Seqouias to Taycans (0-60 in 2.something sheesh) and every time we leave a dealership my wife is like meh, I like the 200 more.
It hurts because in the US we jumped from a lineage of "wagon" to "light duty" capacities and utility; these are objective, numerical, and consequential decreases in capacity and utility, regardless of one's feelings about badges.
I expect 250 sales will start somewhat strong but fade under pressure of a poor new car market and cannibalism by the new 4runner, whose value proposition will make the largely similar 250 a tough sell.
It's absolutely true that nobody beyond this forum really cares.
Yes that's a great point, let's make one thing clear, we're such a minority. Nobody cares. My family and friends are sick of hearing my rants about cars so you guys gotta hear it here. haha
I think this is a logical continuation of every argument that happens when a new cruiser comes out right?
40 -- 60 = what is this huge wagon? (IDK I wasn't really alive back then TBH)
60 -- 80 = what is this bubbly monstrosity?
80 -- 100 = you're calling this soccer mom suv with torsion bars a "land cruiser??"
100 -- 200 = this thing is massive and looks like a highlander
200 -- 250 = hey this is actually a Prado guys, they're tricking us
I know it's stupid and pedantic but it would have just felt a little more honest if they would have announced that the Land Cruiser Prado was coming to the USA. Imagine it's 1994 or something and Toyota announces that the USA is getting the 70 Series Land Cruiser - but everyone notices they're not getting the HZJ77 or whatever, instead the US is getting the KZJ77, the "light duty" version. Isn't that what's happening here?
End of the day, I'm torn:
On the one hand I'm glad that Toyota is listening to the market, I'm glad we still have body on frame vehicles, I'm glad it's still a pretty cool boxy SUV that I'm sure will look great and perform well with bigger tires and a lift etc. Gotta count your blessings
On the other hand I'm annoyed that Toyota doesn't look at what Ford and Jeep are doing, or even INEOS, and realize that they could bring some pretty serious offroad capability to the US and people would buy it. I just saw that "In 2022, Jeep sold 181,409 Wranglers while Ford sold 117,057 Broncos." There's a pretty sizeable following of Toyota enthusiasts when you combine Tacomas, Tundras, 4Runners, FJ Cruisers, Land Cruisers - and we all know that a big chunk of that population is doing some ridiculous stuff just to get 35s to fit on IFS trucks.
I will give Toyota credit, I think they're doing some really cool stuff with the GR Yaris, Supra, and 86. And I think they're doing some pretty cool stuff on the SUV/truck side. I think for a lot of us we're still stuck in Toyota's offroad golden years and like an old man screaming at the clouds we're just wondering why? Why can't we have solid axles like a Wrangler or RAM? Why can't we fit 35s stock like a Bronco, Raptor or an 80 Series? Why can't we have long travel options from the factory like Ford? Why can't we have massive payloads? Why can't we get the $85K 300 Series with the 3.5 here in the US? (After dealer markups, the 250 is going to cost close to that) Can we have huge gas tanks? Simple, rugged cars like 70 Series? (yeah yeah I know gov't regulations and crash tests and all that) Cheaper cars that don't have everything computerized and connected to the cloud? Is it really all the government's fault?