America's Getting A New Toyota Land Cruiser, but Might Not Want It

The Toyota Land Cruiser has long been a staple of the off-roading community in North America, and especially in the Middle East. Its last generation debuted in 2007, and went away in 2021 in the U.S. and Canada. During that multi-year lull, there's been an influx of off-roaders eager to take its place.

The Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Grand Cherokee L have all come out of the gate swinging. Lexus's redesigned LX, a sister to the Land Cruiser, hasn't made any major waves, and a host of midsize SUVs are upping their off-road prowess, including the Kia Telluride, which continues to sell like gangbusters.

Has the American market moved on without the Land Cruiser or is the audience still there? That's a question Toyota hopes it knows the answer to, having revealed the next-gen American version of the SUV for U.S. audiences this week.

"While there has been an influx of rugged and off-road capable SUVs hitting the market, the market seems to remain hungry for such vehicles as evidenced by their strong sales numbers," Ed Kim, president and chief analyst of AutoPacific told Newsweek.

"While one may wonder if there's room for another one, namely the new 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, it must be pointed out that nothing else in the segment wears the Land Cruiser badge. This is one of the most aspirational nameplates among off-roaders, and there is pent-up demand for it because the nameplate has been gone from the North American market for a few years."

The new U.S. Land Cruiser features blocky Toyota 4Runner-like looks and impressive capability. It has a host of modern technology features like a head-up display, wireless phone chargers, 4G Wi-Fi connectivity and Phone as Key accessibility.

This off-road-centric SUV plugs yet another hole in Toyota's lineup. But, there's increasing pressure on the SUV realm above and below it. Grand Highlander enters the market this autumn to do face-to-face battle with the Telluride and Grand Cherokee L.

Sequoia sits alongside the Grand Highlander, capable of delivering slightly more off-road capability and designed to go to the horses with the GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe.

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And then there's the 4Runner, long in the tooth but more popular than ever before, with over 100,000 units sold annually since 2016.

"The new Land Cruiser is positioned to be more accessible and, comparatively, affordable, than the prior generation had been. Over the years, Land Cruiser had grown expensive, though always maintained strong capability. The cost was lower sales and in some ways lesser reputation precisely because it was not especially attainable," Stephanie Brinley, associate director of research and analysis at S&P Global told Newsweek.

"The 2024 model promises to address pricing — though it still will sit above 4Runner and is not a cheap vehicle — while working to remind everyone of the capability it has always delivered. Whether Toyota has brought this back in time to ride the wave of the current fascination with highly adventure-capable vehicles or if is arriving as that trend begins to settle back a bit remains to be seen."

Toyota is limiting production of the new model to just 5,000 units for the first two months of production. Those versions will wear First Edition badging and have unique features like two-tone paint and additional off-road equipment.

"The latest Land Cruiser's starting price around $55,000 is roughly $30,000 cheaper than the prior generation, which sold in very small volumes due to its price. Now, this off-road icon can be had for a much more attainable price, bringing it within reach of a much bigger audience than in the past. It can not only be aspirational, but attainable as well. The combination of its name, off-road performance credentials, and its more attainable price ensures it has a heralded place among its off-roader competition," Kim said.