After 14 years, the new Toyota Land Cruiser has officially arrived.
From the United Arab Emirates, the 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser made its official debut Tuesday. The long-awaited follow-up to the 200 Series adopts Toyota’s modern GA-F platform, while still maintaining its body-on-frame construction. Beyond the expected exterior update, Toyota also says it focused on reducing the Land Cruiser’s weight, lowering its center of gravity, and — again, as we’ve been expecting — twin-turbocharged V6 powerplants.
Sadly, at least for the time being, we are not going to see this generation of Toyota Land Cruiser in America. Toyota ended sales of the 200 Series in the U.S., and has yet to confirm the new model for the North American market. For those who will have access to it, though, the new Land Cruiser sports a more traditional, more luxurious model as well as a more TRD-ish GR Sport version.
The beating heart: 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser adopts new engines
In the years and months leading up to its reveal, we knew the 5.7-liter V8 that’s served the Land Cruiser for well over a decade would not carry over to this model. The real question centered on what would replace it, and rumors suggesting a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 were indeed accurate. At launch, two V6 powerplants are available: A 3.5-liter gasoline mill and a 3.3-liter turbodiesel.
The 3.5-liter twin-turbo gasoline V6 puts out 409 horsepower (415 PS) and 479 lb-ft of torque (650 Nm). In some markets, Toyota will offer the new Land Cruiser with naturally-aspirated V6 engines mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, though it did not specify in which markets that option was available. The 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged diesel engine, for its part, puts out 305 horsepower (309 PS) and 516 lb-ft of torque (700 Nm). Both twin-turbo engines send power to all four wheels through a 10-speed automatic transmission. Toyota aims to cut global CO2 emissions from the 300 Series Land Cruiser by 10% from the previous generation, thanks in part to its “DirectShift-10AT” as well as through substantial weight reduction.
As it sits, the 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser is 440 pounds (200 kg) lighter than the outgoing SUV, including the frame and body. Toyota says it also upgraded basic suspension performance and wheel articulation, and introduced its “E-KDSS” or Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System to improve on-road handling. The 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser also gets Multi-Terrain Select, a feature we’ve seen integrated into the Tacoma, and a Multi-Terrain Monitor to better show off-road obstacles from the driver’s seat.
While we aren’t getting the Land Cruiser here in the U.S., this does inform what we will most likely see in the next-generation Lexus LX, which is also due out soon.
Thoroughly updated, yet familiar interior
We’re talking about a staple of Toyota’s lineup that’s existed for 70 years on reliability and an “it just works” attitude. The 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser is not as tomorrow’s world on its interior design, then — but there’s plenty of changes worth talking about. For example, the center console still hosts a wide range of climate control switches, drive mode buttons and a conventional gear selector for that 10-speed automatic transmission. The automaker says it “pursued operational comfort” by placing the important buttons closer to the driver, while using different shape and color designs to make them easier to get used to and operate. The drive mode, Multi-Terrain Select and Crawl Control switches are all grouped together.
The 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser still uses some analog gauges, eschewing the full-digital instrument cluster, but it does still pack a larger central information screen. Bundled into all the tech in the new 300 Series is Toyota’s Safety Sense suite. Its pre-collision detection adds in pedestrian and cyclist detection, while the system also includes emergency steering and crash avoidance assist to help out the driver in avoidance maneuvers. Parking Support Brake is also included, which adds front and rear braking support in low-speed parking situations.
While pricing will depend on the market, the 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser will be launched globally — excluding North America — this summer.
