2020 Toyota Land Cruiser Base

Every 2020 Toyota Land Cruiser comes standard with full-time 4-wheel drive (4WD), an 8-speed automatic transmission and a 5.7-liter V8 putting out 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-rated fuel economy stands at an abysmal 13 miles per gallon in the city, 18 mpg on the highway and 15 mpg in combined driving. That makes the Land Cruiser one of the least efficient vehicles on the market. There is some benefit to the big V8, though, as the Land Cruiser scampers from 0-to-60 mph in about 6.7 seconds and offers a towing capacity of up to 8,100 pounds. Standard Features & Options For 2020, the Land Cruiser is offered in two different versions. There's the regular old Land Cruiser that goes unchanged from its 2019 version, and then there's a new Heritage Edition which adds some aesthetic tweaks as a nod to both the off-road community and to vintage Land Cruisers that are now seeing a resurgence in popularity. The basic Land Cruiser ($86,640) offers 18-in silver alloy wheels, skid plates, a surround-view parking camera, a sunroof, automatic LED headlights, power-folding and autodimming mirrors, automatic wipers, proximity entry and push-button start, adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, automatic high beams, 4-zone automatic climate control, heated and ventilated 8-way power front seats, driver memory functions, heated second-row seats, a 50/50-split third-row seat, a power-adjustable steering wheel, a 9-in touchscreen interface, a navigation system, Bluetooth, wireless smartphone charging and a 14-speaker JBL sound system with a CD player, HD Radio, a USB port and an auxiliary audio jack. The Land Cruiser's only available option is a $2,200 rear-seat entertainment system with two 11.6-in displays, an HDMI input, wireless headphones and RCA jacks. Considering that this costs more than a pair of iPad Pros, we can't see any reason to check this option box. New for 2020 is the Heritage Edition ($88,970). While it isn't a nod to any specific anniversary (Toyota's press release just says that it ""celebrates 60+ years as an SUV icon"") the Land Cruiser Heritage Edition comes with a unique grille, bronze-colored versions of the same forged-aluminum BBS wheels found on the TundraOpens in New Window and Sequoia TRD Pro, bronze interior stitching, and ultra-cool vintage-inspired ""Toyota Land Cruiser"" badges on its D-pillars. The Heritage Edition also ditches the running boards that come standard on the regular Land Cruiser, which gives it a more athletic stance and better off-road clearance. Toyota also opted to do away with the Land Cruiser's third-row seat when putting together this new trim, meaning that the Heritage Edition is strictly a five seater. Zero options and just two exterior color choices are offered: black or white. Safety The Land Cruiser comes with standard stability control and 10 airbags, including seat-mounted side airbags for the first two rows and full-length side-curtain airbags. Also standard are forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, automatic high beams and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic detection. There's also a surround-view camera system. The standard Safety Connect telematics system offers automatic collision notification to ensure help is on the way in the event of an accident. The Land Cruiser has not been crash tested by the third-party Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) here in the United States, but it's worth noting that in testing conducted by Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) -- the Australian equivalent of IIHS -- the Land Cruiser receives five out of five stars. Behind the Wheel On the pavement, the Land Cruiser is an endearing brute. The throaty 5.7-liter V8 certainly helps, as you'll likely find yourself amazed at how quickly this hulking vehicle gets going from a dead stop (0-to-60 comes in about 6.7 seconds). The Cruiser's enormous dimensions and hefty weight are readily apparent from behind the wheel though, and you'll constantly be reminded that you're driving a barge when taking a corner or trying to park, not to mention all the stops you'll need to make at the gas station thanks to its abysmal fuel economy. But at least you'll feel completely invincible behind the wheel. Off-road, the Land Cruiser is nothing short of engineering excellence. No, there isn't a TRD Pro version and it doesn't offer any tacky Fox or Multimatic cobranding on its shock absorbers, but the Land Cruiser is arguably in a league of its own when it comes to capability and dependability. We've taken the Land Cruiser off-road in the desert of Southern Utah. On long, flat dirt roads, the vehicle eats up washboard as well as any other vehicle on the market. Once the going becomes more technical, the 200's true low-range 4WD transfer case, solid rear axle and Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), which can automatically disconnect the vehicle's front and rear sway bars for added articulation, allow it to tackle uneven obstacles with a sure-footedness found in few other vehicles on the market. Making matters easier is the inclusion of Toyota's Crawl Control system which is akin to off-road cruise control, different terrain modes, a locking center differential, active traction control that can mimic the effects of locking front and rear differentials, and a clever off-road turn assist feature that can pulse the inside brake on the kind of tight maneuvers necessary when traversing a set of steep mountain switchbacks. There's a reason these vehicles are trusted for everything from transporting foreign diplomats through war-torn nations to traversing the remote and unforgiving Australian outback: There's really nothing else like the Land Cruiser.