Automotive Engineering - September 2023 - 21

ROAD READY
2024 Toyota Land Cruiser returning to its roots
After three years away from the U.S.
market with its range-topping SUV, the
Land Cruiser, Toyota unveiled the redesigned
2024 Land Cruiser in Salt Lake
City on Aug. 1. The model, long known
around the world for its durability and
offroad credentials, arrives with the
SUV competition hotter than ever. The
company said the new model will start
at around $55,000.
The new Land Cruiser has just one
engine option, the i-Force Max turbo
2.4-L four-cylinder hybrid that generates
326 hp and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) that is
routed through an 8-speed automatic
transmission. All models are equipped
with what Toyota classifies as a " full-time
four-wheel-drive system " with a lockable
center differential and an electronically
controlled 2-speed transfer case to impart
high- and low-range capability. Also
standard is a lockable rear differential to
apportion power in a 50/50 ratio across
the rear axle.
The hybrid system's 48-hp electric
motor is powered by a 1.9-kWh NiMH
battery. All three grades of the Land
Cruiser are rated to tow up to 6,000 lb.
(2722 kg).
As was suspected prior to its uncloaking,
the 2024 Land Cruiser uses
Toyota's TNGA-F global truck platform
that only two months ago brought the
The 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser's base " 1958 " trim offers the heritage
appearance of round LED headlights as well as other differentiating details.
2024 Lexus LX and GX. Those are certifiable
luxury vehicles, though, and while
fitted with all manner of safety tech, the
Land Cruiser hews more closely to its
rough-and-tumble heritage, before the
SUV wars of the 1990s saw it turn into a
near-luxury vehicle.
This Land Cruiser is what already has
been sold around the globe as the Land
Cruiser Prado. At 193.7 inches (4920
mm) long, 84.2 inches (2139 mm) wide
and 73.2 inches (1859 mm) tall, it is 4.4
inches (112 mm) narrower and 1.2 inches
(30 mm) shorter than the 200-Series
Land Cruiser from 2021 the model replaces
and is more compact than its
Lexus GX counterpart.
Toyota said higher-strength steel with
blanking and laser welds make the new
ladder frame more rigid than the outgoing
model. The new model features
double-wishbone front suspension with
twin-tube shocks and a multi-link layout
with coil springs at the rear.
The base 1958 Grade trim, limited to
5,000 vehicles, features round LED
headlights, crawl control, LED fog lights,
18-inch alloy wheels with 245/70 allseason
tires, an 8-inch multimedia monitor,
heated steering wheel, heated fabric
seats and a 2400-watt AC inverter.
The story of the Land Cruiser was the
Depending on trim level, the
2024 Toyota Land Cruiser's
cabin has two different sizes
of central screen.
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
story of a model whose compact, tough
and reliable beginnings were eventually
sanded away as it morphed into the
luxury family hauler that left the U.S.
market three years ago. Toyota hopes
the return of this new model, differentiated
from Lexus' offerings, will erase
the lackluster sales of the model's most
recent years, when it only sold a few
thousand in America. It will be built at
Toyota's plants in Tahara and Hino,
Japan, and should be on sale in spring
of 2024.
Chris Clonts
September 2023 21
BOTH IMAGES: TOYOTA
Automotive Engineering - September 2023

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