The most legendary name in Japanese off-road automobiles is back again after a multi-year pause in the North American market. And with the debut of the all-new 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, enthusiasts have access to a vehicle that’s rugged, tremendously capable and now also strangely fuel-efficient.

As mentioned in my recent review of its upscale Lexus version, the new GX 550, the revamped U.S.-edition Land Cruiser is also part of a closely-related chain of new Toyotas that means a lot of mechanical similarities, though it is probably the most iconic model of the new bunch.

I drove Land Cruiser’s new base-model 1958 Edition, which stickers at about $56,000 and is outfitted with manual cloth seating and some curiously road-oriented Geolandar tires, as well as a smaller 8-inch central infotainment screen. Optional rock rails, skid plates and a skeletonized roof rack and roof rails brought my tester to $60,790. Or, about $30,000 less than the previous Land Cruiser. 

Two higher-level Land Cruiser models get leather and other cabin upgrades, but the commonality here is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder I-Force Max turbo hybrid system, also found in certain models of the equally-new Tacoma pickup. 

A turbo hybrid is indeed a somewhat controversial choice, given the larger engines long associated with the final Land Cruiser models, before they left the U.S. in 2021. But the new engine’s 326 horsepower and a pleasant 465 pound-feet of torque largely do the trick on the not-at-all-small 2024 vehicle, and can also get the Land Cruiser 25 mpg on Front Range highway drives.

I’d say the hybrid setup here is probably closer to what’s found on the oddball Toyota Crown sedan, in that there’s no rooty exhaust noises like you’ll hear on the TRD hybrid versions of Tundra or Sequoia (no real-life test of Tacoma, yet). 

It’s not a wheel-smoker but it’s actually pretty engaging given Land Cruiser’s just-over-5,000-pound mass. It will propel the big SUV as quickly as you need, and move vigorously uphill on the passes with the extra battery assist giving it a torquey kick. I did repeatedly find a bit of a flat spot in the turbo and acceleration at middling speeds; full pedal pressure will loosen up all that torque.  

Like the GX, Land Cruiser offers full-time four-wheel drive and a simple high/low range switch, with electronically locking center and rear differential controls, as well as switches for hill descent and crawl modes.

A drive on the partially gravel Ute Pass from the Hot Sulphur Springs area was literally about all I felt comfortable doing on those rather terribly plain-Jane tires, though I’m sure a rugged bounce up loose rocks on one of the high-alpine trails above Tiger Road would have been entertaining. My days of exceeding seasonal vehicle capability on under-capable tires, as you may have noticed, are long behind me.

Oh well. Suffice to say that Land Cruiser, up-rubbered, will provide its buyers with a two-row vehicle that is best described as “chunktacular,” if there is a Japanese phrase that mimics that sentiment. 

This is one Lego-styled blocky beast, with ghost-ring LED daytime headlamps, an incredibly cubist open-grate grille, rectangular side mirrors and a profile that makes even the new Sequoia seem round and fuzzy. Even the GX550 seems a little softer, by comparison.

Inside, it’s also closer to the new Tacoma in its extremely busy dash and console, with a squishy dash cap as the only soft surface in the cabin. No standard phone charging tray, either, and I’ve had issues with connecting both of these new Toyota/Lexus products with the three USB-C charging ports on the dash. There’s a large, but uncooled, center console box, too 

Otherwise, a lot of hard, animal grain-styled plastics and that comfortable but strangely old-school cloth interior in first and second-row seating.

Yes, two rows. Open the hatch (manually, here) and you’ll find armrests and cupholders for a third row, plus second-row seating that slides and dips for access, but there is no actual third row, just an overly tall and not especially large 37 cubic foot storage space. In a way, it’s like a previous-generation Chevy Suburban, with a very high-off-the-ground cargo area (the result of battery placement for the hybrid system), but not exactly the best use of space.

Other international versions of this very same Japanese-built Land Cruiser will indeed get a third row, not unlike the Lexus GX 550, but buyers here are instead encouraged to look at Sequoia, or maybe wait to see what the hell the new 4Runner looks like inside.

Andy Stonehouse’s column “Mountain Wheels” publishes Saturdays in the Summit Daily News. Stonehouse has worked as an editor and writer in Colorado since 1998, focusing on automotive coverage since 2004. He lives in Golden. Contact him at summitmountainwheels@gmail.com.