Although Toyota has a luxury division in Lexus, they’ve always sold the Land Cruiser under the Toyota name. That’s because of tradition: the first Land Cruiser came out in 1951 as an all-terrain SUV, and eventually it turned into the luxury full-size sport-utility vehicle it is today. There’s an unbroken line of vehicles that stretches from 1951 all the way to today, and during the years in between the Land Cruiser picked up a lot of luxury features that explain its high price.
Four-Zone Automatic Climate Control
Most high-end vehicles stop at three zones: one for the driver, one for the front passenger, and one for the rest of the vehicle. But with the 2018 Land Cruiser you get one more zone, and so both second-row passengers can customize their temperature zone using the 28 separate vents throughout the cabin. Naturally, the air system also has a cabin air filter, and it uses a Positive Temperature Coefficient heater when it needs to get the cabin warm in a hurry. You also get two rows of heated seats and one row of ventilation.
Off-Road Features
There are few luxury vehicles, including luxury SUVs, that are equally at home on and off the pavement. The 2018 Land Cruiser is one of those vehicles, and so its luxury features include high-end off-road features like the Multi-Terrain Monitor that lets you keep track of side and rear cameras along with your pitch, yaw, and other angles. The Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System is an automatic adaptable suspension, and the Multi-Terrain Select gives you better traction based on five bad driving conditions.
Sound System
With only one trim, every 2018 Land Cruiser comes with premium features like integrated navigation, the most recent version of Toyota’s Entune software, and 14 JBL speakers that let you really experience your music. That’s especially true thanks to the Land Cruiser’s 8-inch subwoofer and 605-watt amplifier. Toyota Entune also comes with the App Suite — a set of preloaded apps that connect the infotainment system to useful services like Yelp, Facebook, and Pandora Radio.
Power
As a full-size SUV, the 2018 Land Cruiser focuses more on off-road skill than on speed and racing performance. So while it has a powerful 5.7-liter V-8 engine, it has no turbocharger and produces more torque than power: 381 horsepower compared to 401 pound-feet. While the Land Cruiser won’t win a drag race, it can deliver consistent power on rough roads and tow up to 8,100 pounds, which is a very high number even for the full-size luxury SUV class.
The 2018 Land Cruiser also comes with plenty of safety features, including 10 standard air bags and the driver assistance features of Toyota Safety Sense P. But while these are excellent features to have with every trim, they aren’t “luxurious” since they all come standard on a growing number of Toyota vehicles. After all, while comfortable air systems, off-road information, audio systems, and powerful engines can all be optional, a good set of safety features should always come standard.
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