5th gen or 6th gen or Land Cruiser

I am in the market for a new SUV. In a perfect world, I am looking for an SUV with part time 4WD that I can drive for 300,000 miles over the next 20 years AND gets decent mpg (like 18-20 mpg). The new engines Toyota is using in the 6th gen and Land Cruiser do not have enough experience to determine if they will last eons and eons like 4th gen/5th gen 4Runners. So……is it worth waiting 3 years to let them work out the new engine issues (pretty sure there will be some) OR purchase a 5th gen with less than optimal mpg?

 

Never buy the first couple of years of a new model.

 

Up to you and your timeline, wallet, what’s available, etc.

Land Cruisers are full-time 4WD btw.

If you don’t mind or might prefer the 6th gen, you could wait.

Or don’t! I bought a used “first year of a redesign” Kia (2016MY) before the 4Runner and the only issues were inherent to its design, not manufacturing. Parents bought first-year of the original Sienna, second gen RAV4 and those worked out fine.

But of course, we could’ve just lucked out as early teething problems are hardly rare.

Plenty of opinions got put out there, see what other differences there are, trims vary too.

 

Consider a Nissan Armada as well.

Overseas, it’s the Nissan Patrol, and is the competitor for the real Land Cruiser - not the Prado that we get here.

 

The LandCruiser has been flogged by all YouTubers who have reviewed it. They laugh at it the quality, the engine and how bad it is overall. I'm not sure about the 6th Gen 4Runner because I haven't seen one in the wild, yet. Only time will tell. The 5th Gen is a proven power train. You'll see/hear countless stories about 4Runners with 280k miles - and minimal maintenance (regular).

If your budget can afford it, and you want something "new", look at the Lexus GX550. It looks identical to the new LC, but has a real V6 in it. Not a turbo 4 banger.

 

I just can’t imagine paying the price for the GX550 when you can get an Ineos Grenadier that has an inline 6.

 

The 5th gen is the answer. The 6th gen and LC will not be as reliable to high mileage. There’s too many more parts to potentially break or wear out.

 

A friend had a 2015(I think) 4Runner limited and it averaged 13 mpg. I know Toyota advertises 16-20 mpg for 5th gen, but is that realistic? She only kept the 4runner fo4 a year b/c the fuel efficiency was so atrocious

 

The new Armada Pro4X looks really nice. Not a fan of the price though.

 

I get over 20 on the highway keeping it under 75. Around town I can get about 14-15 if it's a lot of stop and go and I take it easy on the throttle from stops. The part time 4wd models will probably get a little better mpg than the limited with the full time 4wd. If you lift or add aggressive tread/weight/taller AT tires then all bets are off.

 

I was parked next to a Grenadier today. Looks nice and bigger than I expected.

 

That seems really low. I’ve averaged 17-19 mpg for 115K miles so far.

 

I have to admit I am somewhat tempted. The starting price is only a 5k more than a 6th gen 4R TRD pro base price. I have a soft spot for BMW I6s, the transmission is the bullet proof ZF 8speed, and even still has a hand pull parking brake.

If I didn't have 2 ORPs and a bunch of older sentimental value cars, I would probably be buying one right now.

 

Once they’re used, they’ll get a lot cheaper.

 

Saw one a few days ago at the super market. Owner seems to really like it.

In addition to being a solid offroad vehicle, it’s just classy and tasteful.

 

Add some money to 5th gen and 6th gen and LC250, and then get the GX550

 

I’ll keep my 2024 ORP forever, but looked hard at trading in our 23 Bronco on a new LC since deals are available on the 1958 (local dealer has 15 available) but I just can’t get excited about it. I think it’s over leveraging the Land Cruiser ethos and not delivering. Wife prefers a GX550, which are hard to find and more expensive. I agree at the GX550 price a Grenadier is very tempting, but possibly too niche. They are amazing.

For now I’m seriously thinking of waiting a few months and picking up a SR5 6G 4Runner with the seven seat option. In Heritage Blue. Styling is growing on me and the price isn’t ridiculous. Seems the most honest of the recent Toyota offerings for daily use. Beefed up RAV4 capability basically. Plus no hybrid complexity and weight. Styling is growing on me. The biggest drawback is no full time 4WD for winter requires a little more skill knowing when to engage.