2020 Toyota Land Cruiser Heritage Edition Review (w/ video)

This Land Cruiser is equipped with a 5.7 L V8 producing 381 HP and 401 lb-ft of torque mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission driving all four wheels (full-time 4WD w/A-TRAC and Torsen Locking Limited Slip Center Differential).

Having tested the 4Runner I had an idea of what the performance of the Land Cruiser would be; not a quick or exhilarating vehicle but definitely one that can haul and go off-road at a moment’s notice.

Sometimes getting into a large vehicle it doesn’t always drive as big as it looks, but in the case of the Land Cruiser it definitely did. The transmission was laggy and the engine struggled to keep up with my commands at times, which ate up gas quicker than I could fill it up. The car felt so top heavy and really tall, which is not a feeling I like.

The brakes felt a bit touchier than I expected, which was actually reassuring for a vehicle of this size.

The outside of the Land Cruiser is finished in Midnight Black paint and 18” BBS Alloy Wheels in a vintage gold/brass finish.

The exterior is definitely the highlight of this vehicle for me. From the awesome BBS wheels to the ‘Toyota Land Cruiser’ Heritage badge at the rear, to the roof rack this vehicle looked the part for sure. Even the grille is special to the Heritage Edition.

Inside the Land Cruiser is a black interior finished in perforated leather-trimmed seats and some wood accents.

Unfortunately, the inside is where the vehicle falls flat for me. For a vehicle costing as much as it does (check the end for price) the interior should be much nicer. Now, I understand this is meant to be an off-road capable vehicle. But really, how many owners actually take it off-road? And those who do would be careful enough to cover the nice surfaces with something to protect it.

It looks so outdated and cheap that I couldn’t get over how much the vehicle costs. Toyota could leave the outside alone for the most part and just completely revamp the interior surfaces and materials and tech and it would be a whole new car. I mean, how can a car nowadays with a navigation compatible screen not have the ability to have Apple CarPlay? That to me is insane. The interior has to be updated to be more current.

If I needed an off-road capable vehicle with lots of room would I choose the Land Cruiser over another vehicle? Probably not, simply because I’d have to do too much to it to make it modern and I’d already have spent an arm and a leg purchasing it. It’s a bummer because I wanted to like the vehicle a lot more than I did.