Some cars leave a paper trail; the Toyota Land Cruiser left a name, a year — 1951 — and a place in Toyota's list. What follows is what can be said with a source behind it.
Where it came from
The Toyota Land Cruiser (Japanese: トヨタ・ランドクルーザー, Hepburn: Toyota Rando-Kurūzā), also sometimes spelt as LandCruiser, is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. As of 2019, the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than 10 million units worldwide. Production of the first generation of the Land Cruiser began in 1951. The Land Cruiser has been produced in convertible, hardtop, station wagon and cab chassis body styles. The Land Cruiser's reliability and longevity have led to huge popularity, especially in Australia, where it is the best-selling body-on-frame, four-wheel drive vehicle. Toyota also extensively tests the Land Cruiser in the Australian outback – considered to be one of the toughest operating environments in both temperature and terrain.
In Japan, the Land Cruiser was once exclusive to Toyota Japanese dealerships called Toyota Store. Since 1990, the smaller variation of the Land Cruiser has been marketed as the Land Cruiser Prado. Described as a "light-duty" version of the Land Cruiser by Toyota, it features a different design compared to the full-size model and, up until 2023, it remains the only comfort-oriented Land Cruiser available with a short-wheelbase 3-door version. In 2025, an even smaller variation called Land Cruiser FJ was introduced. It is built on the IMV platform shared with the Hilux. As of 2023, the full-size Land Cruiser was available in many markets. Exceptions include the United States (since 2021 where the smaller Land Cruiser Prado has be
Under the skin
The record carries the layout — and the layout: drive goes to all four wheels, which is what lets the power be used on a wet road. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
In context
The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Cadillac Eldorado, the Chevrolet Corvette, the Chevrolet Bel Air. Nearby in the Toyota catalogue sit the Toyota Agya and the Toyota Calya.
Owning one today
Buying one now means $15,200–$74,500 for a typical example, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $3,750–$7,395 a year. Insurance sits around $1,240–$2,780 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.