It’ll share a lot with the likewise-new Lexus GX, giving Toyota a rival for the base-model Land Rover Defender.
Following an exciting – but utterly uninformative – announcement on social media last month about the return of the Land Cruiser to the US, Toyota is following up with official teaser images of an unnamed mid-size, off-road SUV. Although the automaker didn’t explicitly say these images are of the forthcoming Land Cruiser, it did mention 65 years of off-road history. Given the 1960 debut of the legendary FJ40, we believe our new LC will be a 2025 model.
And somewhat surprisingly, the US-market 2025 Land Cruiser won’t look much like the model that debuted globally in 2022, codenamed the 300-Series. That’s because our version of the legendary off-roader will likely take its bones from the 2024 Lexus GX 550, the luxury brand’s freshly redesigned mid-size SUV. Of note, the Land Cruiser Prado was also recently teased for the European market, and given the overseas SUV’s shared heritage with the GX, we believe the US-market Land Cruiser will be all but identical.
The shadowy teasers betray the new Land Cruiser’s upkicked beltline, shared with the GX, as well as a tall stance and relatively short wheelbase that portend great off-road visibility and maneuverability. However, there are some Toyota-specific design elements. The purposeful front end gets a separate bumper, rather than the GX’s smoothly integrated grille-bumper combo. The 2025 Land Cruiser also lacks its Lexus cousin’s roof spoiler, giving it a bit more retro flair. By brightening the image, you can also see large, square taillights and a chunky grille, and the Land Cruiser might do without rocker steps to increase clearance over rocks.
In the images, Toyota posed its newest Land Cruiser variant next to one of the most legendary. The 40-Series Land Cruiser helped cement the nameplate in consumers’ minds as a rugged, capable machine for everything from camping and beachcombing to farming and military operations. That posturing likely means the 2025 model will be rugged and tough, with fewer luxury features than either its GX cousin or 200-Series Land Cruiser predecessor.
But don’t expect it to be any less capable than its forebears. The Lexus GX 550 Overtrail, for example, will receive an Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Damper System (E-KDSS) to improve off-road articulation without sacrificing on-road stability, and it’s fair to expect the feature to make the jump to Toyota. We’d wager that a locking rear differential and turn assist will also appear on the features and amenities list.
