Trailhunter vs LC 250 Land Cruiser…what would you do?

UPDATE: I ended up locking down a Land Cruiser regular model with premium package in Traildust and cancelling my order for the Trailhunter. For roughly the same money, it was too hard to justify paying that much for a Tacoma--even though I do think it is a very cool truck.

EDIT: AND THE TRAILHUNTER IS ALREADY GONE. That took a matter of minutes. LOL.

 

How much is the Land Cruiser?

 

100%. I regret selling my 91’ FJ80 every single day. I just wasn’t using it like I used too and with the ARB bumpers, skid plates, sliders, it just wasn’t a great drive around town vehicle, but looking back I do wish I just held onto it even though it was just taking up space for the most part except for the occasional excursion. At least I know it is being used properly again, but I miss her

 

Roughly $70k with Premium Package. It was $67k vs. $70k, effectively. To me, it made more sense to spend the few extra bucks and spring for the LC.

 

Is there a reason why two vehicles with the exact same powertrain are recommended to use different grades of fuel? This would definitely cause me to wonder whether the '24 Tacoma should also be running premium gas.

 

The Tacoma shouldn’t be running premium or else that manual would specify that. A simple change to the ECU tune is all that’s required to make the Land Cruiser need premium.

 

Pssh. I have no idea. I thought it was regular until I actually had it in front of me, with the manual.

I think the question he’s asking is if it’s that easy, and the power train is exactly the same, and the power train specs are the same…why would they? And idk

It could be a detergent thing. It could be a knock thing. It could just be tunes for a more precise detonation…

but again, then why not do that on the Tacomas premium trims? If it isn’t necessary, why allow consumers to waste money?

those kind of questions.

https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=47762

 

omg i cant, it says for optimum performance/fuel economy use 91+, its not required

 

Thank you. 2025 4Runner pricing should be interesting. The upper tiers are going to be in Land Cruiser and GX territory.

 

I prefer the overall look and certainly the interior (including integrated infotainment) of the LC but man, those prices. I guess we will see how close the 4Runner is in a few months.

 

I think the new 4Runner will have a big price range. Those upper trims are going to be expensive. The 2wd SR5 will probably be 43,000.

 

It boils down to tuning. I can have my supercharged taco run on regular with the right tune. That’s all.

 

So you’re saying to produce the same amount of horsey’s and the same amount of torque using the same engine and same general platform, they had to tune the landcruiser to use premium gas…?

Which component caused that?

 

Yeah, that's the conundrum. It's not like the situation before where you had the same 3.5L in the Highlander and RX350, with the latter asking for premium and making more power.

Maybe the published numbers are off? Or maybe the claimed Taco numbers are only attainable with premium. We'll probably never know, but this will be a good 4th gen topic for years to come.

 

Yes. The computer caused that (designed by the engineer). You can have two cars with all components being the same but tuned for different gas octane.

It’s not new to Toyota. You’ll find variations of the 3.5 that only take premium such as the GS350 (pushing over 310hp stock/naturally aspirated) and super charged lotus Elise. While the taco and sienna minivan take regular stuff. All 4 examples will have different hp/torque curves.

The taco has to take regular to stay competitive in the truck market, so a tune that optimizes for regular at the expense of ____ (power, longevity, efficiency, or whatever Toyota decided). LC owners won’t exactly be crying for regular gas IMHO. So yes this is totally possible.

On the flip side, I’m sure the folks at hp tuners are working to unlock this Toyota generation (if they haven’t already). Then you’ll find tuners around the country who will try to take a crack at optimizing for fuel efficiency, power, track time, etc. Then at that point anything is possible.

edit: just saw response above. Also well said.

 

the land cruiser has this marketing gem as a selling point:

Emission Rating
Ultra Low Emission Vehicle BIN 125

My guess is thats why they add that blurb about using a higher octane for optimal economy, the tacoma doesn't have that same emission rating.

 

Probably be 2027 before anyone is driving the 6G 5Runner.

 

I think you may have found the answer. Higher octane does indeed reduce CO2 emissions if the engine is tuned for it.

 

Sequioa, LandCruiser, 6G-4Runner! You have been put on notice!

Wait until GM slaps a bed on the rear and offers a ZR2 Bison PHEV version. There's some Maverick owners out there who would like a little more power and size.
https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/chevrolet/traverse/2025-chevrolet-traverse/

 

Happy for you. Congrats.