For the Next Land Cruiser, Toyota Should Go Retro

For the next Land Cruiser, Toyota should take a page from Ford’s playbook, and look backward.

Right now, my current press vehicle is a 2021 Land Cruiser Heritage Edition. Since Michael S. Palmer did an excellent, exhaustive review late last year, I’m not going to step on his toes with another one. But wow. Just wow. Given my position as an automotive writer, I’ve driven lots of high-end kit over the years, and — in my opinion — the only machine which can compare with how solid the Land Cruiser feels is the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen.

To say that I’m impressed with this machine is a tremendous understatement, and while I have absolutely no need for a rig this capable, I want one. Desperately. At this point, the future of the Land Cruiser is unclear, and after — finally, finally — getting to drive one, that’s making me kind of sad. But it also gave me some ideas, most importantly, it made me think that the next generation of the Land Cruiser should go retro.

Seriously, people are going buck wild for the latest Bronco, and while some of that is coming from off-road fanatics, most of the excitement is coming from folks who won’t do anything more treacherous than make a ski trip to the mountains, or accidentally run over a curb at Whole Foods. They love it because of the way it looks — and Toyota should blow their minds with a retro-styled Land Cruiser.

For inspiration, I’m thinking the Toyota should look to the FJ55, and give the next-gen Land Cruiser a two-tone paint job, boxy fenders, and round headlights. If the designers got it right — and given recent efforts like the Supra and the LC 500, there’s every indication they would — this would be another stunner. Then, keep the rugged body-on-frame platform, but redesign the underpinnings from the ground up.

It’s no secret that the current model’s fuel economy leaves something to be desired, and this would be an opportunity to bring the Land Cruiser in line with the rest of Toyota’s fleet.

Of course, it’s also no secret that even though it hasn’t received any substantial updates for over a decade, the Land Cruiser remains a formidable competitor in the off-road segment.

In one independent test, it even outperformed the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. So if the Toyota turned its engineers loose on Land Cruiser, absolutely every competitor, including the G-Wagen, would be put on notice. Maybe there could even be a snarky ad campaign aimed at Land Rover, and the British firm’s abysmal reputation for reliability.

As it standards today, the Land Cruiser is essentially an analogy for a reliable, capable machine. And while the styling is relatively conservative? Its extremely loyal fanbase doesn’t care. Not to mention, the rig’s resale value remains approximate to uncut cocaine. So if Toyota highlights its heritage with the sheet metal, and brings the rest of the machine into the 21st century? There will be no stopping it. Here’s hoping the brass took notice of what the Blue Oval did with the Bronco and is planning something similar…

Photos: Toyota

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