Toyota is gearing up to introduce the redesigned Land Cruiser on August 1 and it will be a big departure from its predecessor, which left the United States at the end of the 2021 model year.
While the old off-roader was large and luxurious, the redesigned SUV will be significantly smaller and more affordable. Instead of the full-size Land Cruiser offered overseas, we’ll get the smaller Land Cruiser Prado that has a lot in common with the redesigned Lexus GX.
We’ll have a lot more to say about the Land Cruiser next week but, in the meantime, we’re strolling down memory lane and asking our readers which one is their favorite. There’s no shortage of options as the SUV dates back to the 1950’s and the Toyota Jeep BJ. That name thankfully didn’t stick and the Land Cruiser was born in 1954.
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The second-generation Land Cruiser arrived in 1955 and it “evolved from military machine to [a] civilian utility vehicle,” just like the Willys MB. As part of the makeover, the Land Cruiser traded its basic, no-frills design for something much more modern and stylish. The lineup continued to evolve and a four-door model, known as the FJ35V, was eventually introduced in 1957.
The 40 Series would follow in 1960 and it would eventually become Toyota’s best-selling vehicle in the United States. As the years continued to pass, the Land Cruiser changed with the times and a ‘proper’ station wagon variant arrived in 1967.
The Land Cruiser Prado was born in 1990 and eventually came to America as the Lexus GX. It followed the tried and true formula pioneered by the larger Lexus LX in 1995.
While that’s just a brief overview of the Land Cruiser and its history, which version is your favorite?
