2024 Toyota Land Cruiser's Combined MPG May Be Equal to That of Many Subcompact CUVs!

In reverse chronological order, August has been a tremendous month for the automotive industry, with the ongoing Monterey Car Week (August 11-20), the world premiere of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe, the first-ever all-electric Cadillac Escalade IQ, and the arrival of the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser across all major regions.

Speaking of the latter, it's not a reworked version of the J300 Land Cruiser that was presented two summers ago and is on sale in places like the Middle East or Japan. Instead, twinned with the all-new 2024 Lexus GX 550, this is the latest version of the 'light duty' series that appeared in 1990 with the J70.

As such, it's dubbed Land Cruiser 250 at home in Japan and Land Cruiser Prado in places like Australia or parts of Europe. Meanwhile, returning after a three-year hiatus after the departure of the 200-series Land Cruiser, the nameplate is simply dubbed 2024 Land Cruiser in North America. There, it receives one of the best possible powertrains among its peers. For example, Japan has a meager 161-hp 2.7-liter gasoline mill seconded by a mighty 2.8-liter turbo diesel with 201 horsepower. The latter is also offered in Australia and Europe – including in mild hybrid form starting in 2025.

However, overseas – in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and other markets – the top choice is a T24A-FTS 2.4-liter turbo gasoline option with 276 horsepower hooked to an eight-speed 'Direct Shift' automatic transmission. Well, the same engine is available in China and North America, but there is helped by an electric motor to form the 326-hp i-Force Max assembly, just like in the 2024 N400 Tacoma mid-size pickup truck.

And, as it turns out, it's not just the most powerful of the bunch but could also be the most efficient – bar the potentially better mpg figures of the 2.8-liter diesel MHEV assembly. More precisely, the official Toyota portal in the United States reveals the "new powertrain combines hybrid tech with the power of a turbo 4-cylinder engine. This hybrid engine generates an electrifying 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) of torque and a manufacturer-estimated 27 combined mpg rating."

That's absolutely impressive for a vehicle almost five meters (193.9 inches/4,925 mm) long and about the same overall size as the reinvented sixth-gen 4-Door Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler (JL)! Not only that, but it beats them soundly – according to the EPA's comparison portal. For example, the latter has a rating of 22 mpg for the 2.0L, and the 2023 Ford Bronco 4WD with the 2.3-liter 4-cylinder turbo has a combined rating of 20 mpg.

Not only that, but it's downhill for other potential friends and foes: a 2023 Toyota 4Runner with the 4.0-liter six-cylinder gets 17 mpg, and the 2.0-liter Land Rover Defender 110 only manages 18 mpg, too. More precisely, if Toyota nails the 27 combined mpg rating, it will be on par with much smaller models, like the Nissan Rogue Sport AWD 2.0L, Mazda CX-50 4WD 2.5L, BMW X2 xDrive 28i, Jeep Compass 4WD 2.0L, Honda HR-V 4WD 2.0L, and subcompacts like the Kia Seltos AWD 1.6L, Buick Encore GX AWD 1.3L, Hyundai Kona AWD 2.0L, or the 2024 Chevrolet Trailblazer AWD 1.3L.

And remember, these are all crossovers, not fully-fledged body-on-frame TNGA-F-based off-road SUVs!