The Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus LX have always been closely related. The Lexus badge rarely detracted from the SUV’s off-road capability, offering the same ruggedness as its Toyota counterpart over several generations. With a new Land Cruiser about to debut for America, a video of a 20-year-old Lexus LX 470 reminds us what the SUV was capable of off-road.
The video highlights an early example of the second-generation Lexus LX 470. The driver wasn’t gentle to the vehicle over the 17-minute clip, aggressively attacking the various off-road obstacles, which the SUV had no difficulty handling. It wasn’t the most graceful off-road driving, with loud bangs and scrapes, but the LX didn’t notice, chugging along.
11 Photos
The nice list of aftermarket upgrades likely helped the Lexus stay on the trail. It has a high-clearance rear bumper, a heavily modified welded front bumper, skid plates, Yokohama mud tires, and DOM tube kick-out sliders. A Smittybilt 12K winch and Factor 55 recovery gear assist when things go wrong.
The automaker introduced the model in 1995 and based it on the Land Cruiser J80, launching the second generation for 1998. The SUV debuted with the automaker’s 4.7-liter V8 engine, which made 230 horsepower until 2003, when Toyota upped it to 235 hp. A redesign for 2006 saw its output increase to 275 hp.
Toyota no longer offers the Land Cruiser in the US, which the automaker axed after the 2021 model year. However, a new version is on the way for 2024, but it won’t be related to the LX like its predecessor. Instead, all signs suggest it will share a lot with the smaller Lexus GX, riding on Toyota’s TNGA-F platform. The closest version of the full-fat Land Cruiser available to US buyers will be the new Lexus LX launched for 2022MY.
The GX is available with a twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V6, making 349 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, but it’s unclear if that’ll be the engine offered in the new Land Cruiser. Toyota’s teasers preview a boxy SUV with retro styling cues, which we hope means it has some retro off-road capability.
The new Land Cruiser should be cheaper than its predecessor and better compete with off-road models like the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler. Crossovers and SUVs remain popular, and buyers seem primed for Toyota’s new, rugged offering. You can watch the reveal here.
