A Week With: 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser

Now three model years into the return of the Toyota Land Cruiser, one thing is clear: Toyota’s remembering to keep a good thing when it has it. For 2026, there isn’t much change from the 2025 model, which was little changed from the 2024 version that brought the name back.  In our week with the 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser, we were also reminded of just how good it is.

To be clear, I spent a week in the 2025 model last year so I was initially disappointed when one in the exact same exterior/interior combo — Trail Dust/Grayscape — showed up for this year’s review. And then, like Toyota, I remembered how much I love that version.

Boxy is beautiful

The Land Cruiser now hews closer to its roots with its boxy exterior that’s been adopted by many automakers lately. And while to some a box is boring, remember that’s not true for everyone. Give a kid or a cat an empty box and they see something creative and enticing — the same is true of the Land Cruiser.

It’s important to know the Land Cruiser remains a go-anywhere SUV. Despite knowing that most buyers won’t use it that way, Toyota made certain to keep that part of its DNA intact. If you want a big box for soccer tournaments, go buy a Grand Highlander (a pretty good vehicle, but not the same beast). The Land Cruiser not just looks the part, it lives up to it.

The exterior styling may best be described as aggressively boxy. If they put this thing in a wind tunnel, it was only to see if it fit because no one cares how slippery it is. It is rough and tumble, and it looks like it.

Going back to the color it still seems to inspire division. I loved it. The love of my life? Hates it. Calls it baby food. My second time with this color combo netted me even more comments from people just walking by and the division is the same — anecdotally — men love it and women don’t. This is good news if you don’t want your spouse/sister/girlfriend/mother driving your vehicle. She may not want to drive it either.

Plenty of go

While off-roaders used to be powered by 6-cylinder and V8 engines, more demanding fuel economy and emissions standards have forced automakers to usher in a new generation of smaller 4-cylinder engines putting out the same — or better in some instances — power numbers.

The 2026 Land Cruiser is powered by Toyota’s i-Force Max hybrid powertrain that is exactly that: a 2.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder hybrid that produces 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. It does that while get an EPA-estimated 22 mpg city, 25 highway and 23 combined — unchanged from the 2025 model.

It uses an 8-speed transmission and full time 4-wheel drive is standard. It features center and rear locking differentials as standard equipment across the lineup. The electronic locking rear diff splits power 50-50 front to rear, which means better traction and less wheel spin when traversing rugged terrain.

The Land Cruiser also offers several drive modes, including Multi-Terrain Select, which is functional in both 4WD High and 4WD Low, and offers adjustable settings to help control wheel spin on a variety of terrain, such as Mud, Dirt and Sand.

I’m not an active off-roader so I didn’t work it too hard, but I can say it’s a responsive machine. Step on the accelerator and it brings a smile to your face. That kind of immediacy is necessary off-road and enjoyable on pavement.

Pretty on the inside

Staring at the retro-inspired exterior may cause a potential buyer to wonder if they’d be getting a retro-inspired interior. Uh, no. The Land Cruiser boasts a tech forward, well-styled spacious interior.

The Grayscape color is a bit of a misnomer. Although the many of surfaces, like the dashboard, consoles, carpeting, etc. looked charcoal gray, they’re complemented by saddle brown SofTex seats. In our tester they were heated and ventilated and supremely comfortable. Climbing rocks or cruising highways wouldn’t be any kind of a chore in these seats.

Since the Land Cruiser is designed to be rough-and-tumble, it needs to be able tackle any number of objects: logs, rocks, tree roots, rivers and streams, so the ride height is a factor in even getting to those comfortable seats. Fortunately, Toyota’s programmed it so it will drop a few inches when the doors are unlocked, making it easier to get in.

Tech savvy

Like so many modern vehicles, the “star” of the show is the dashboard, and the 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen. The base model comes with an 8-inch screen, which I think would be fine, but bigger is better in this case.

Our tester was loaded with Land Cruiser Premium Package, which includes a 14-speaker JBL Premium Audio system, Digital Key capability, power moonroof with a power sunshade, center console cool box, digital rearview mirror, Qi-compatible wireless charging, leather-trimmed power driver’s seat and a Head Up Display. Really there’s more, but you get the point. Comfort is important in this vehicle.

Helping the driver pilot it is also top of mind, and the Land Cruiser enjoys a slew of advanced driver assistance technology, such as Lane Keep Assist, Front Cross-Traffic Alert, and Traffic Jam Assist. Those are supplemented by Toyota’s Safety Sense 3.0, which comes standard. That includes Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, Lane Tracing Assist, Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Proactive Driving Assist, and more.

Would I?

The 2026 Land Cruiser is basically the same as the two versions before it — you can’t have too much of a good thing, I guess. A slight in some corners, but not here. It’s great looking, fun to drive (even on pavement), comfortable to be in, loaded with technology, and even the fuel economy isn’t too bad.

However, this kind of all-around competence is rarely cheap … and when it comes to new vehicles, you can push that to rarely affordable. Our tester came in at just over $63,000, but it’s completely loaded. There’s a less expensive version, the Land Cruiser 1958, but even it starts at more than $58,000 after fees. If the average price paid for a new vehicle is about $50,000, then the Land Cruiser is expensive. Hmm … maybe a used one?