New To Us: A 2015 Land Cruiser

[rickc5]

We recently traded our 2014 4Runner Trail for a slightly used 2015 Land Cruiser J200--a truly amazing vehicle! The LC has all the off-road bells & whistles the 4Runner had (KDSS, Crawl Control, Terrain Select, etc.) and it's quieter, has a better sound system, and has that amazing V8 engine! Power & torque seem to never end. Of course, it only gets 16 MPG, but that's only 3 MPG less than the 4Runner. The LC is only available in ONE model, which is fully equipped. No options & only one price. In buying a used 2015, we saved about $20K over the cost of a new 2016.

Anyway, I'll now do my best to answer any Land Cruiser questions, but will still try to answer 4Runner questions too.

Photos to follow when the weather improves.

 

[toyotafan]

Nice! Congrats on the trade-up. Yeah, the Land Cruiser is a big step up for sure, how are you liking it?

 

[tibadoe]

Sounds nice - waiting on some pictures!

 

[rickc5]

We like the LC fine--so far. Still haven't taken it off-road, nor tried it in the snow yet (snow driving will be next week, with a trip to Denver).

It's only about 2" longer than the 4Runner, but slightly wider too. Ground clearance is 9" (no lift), which is an inch less than our 4Runner with a 2 1/2" lift, so I expect it "should" do great off-road--at least on the type of trails we usually run. That would be the easier ones.

 

[toyotafan]

Pics please.

 

[carid]

LC200 it' got far better off-road capabilities than 4Runner, and in general it's a higher class vehicle! Congrats!

 

[rickc5]

We drove the LC to Denver & back over Christmas. Had LOTS of snow driving experiences, and can say that the LC performed flawlessly! I never detected any slippage at all. Not saying there couldn't have been some, but I couldn't feel it. Gas mileage ranged around 16-17 mpg, which was OK with us. Temps were in the single digits every morning, and the heated steering wheel & seats were greatly appreciated. Now I need to wash off the mag chloride!

 

[rickc5]

Had to make another trip to Denver and THIS time a major storm came in dropping over 11" of new, heavy snow. I drove several miles through some virgin snow on a dirt road with no problems whatsoever, until I drove off the shoulder of the road cuz I couldn't see where the road was--just solid white stuff. Couldn't drive forward to get back on the road surface, but reverse pulled us out. I'm more impressed than ever with the LC, although I'm sure our 4Runner would have done as well in those conditions.

BTW, these trips over to Denver are to help my sis-in-law, who's recovering from brain cancer surgery and needed a 120 mile R/T drive every week day for radiation treatment. We took her to these appointments for 7 days. Lots of snow miles in that time.

 

[rickc5]

New photos of our LC, taken in our back yard.

 

[toyotafan]

Had to make another trip to Denver and THIS time a major storm came in dropping over 11" of new, heavy snow. I drove several miles through some virgin snow on a dirt road with no problems whatsoever, until I drove off the shoulder of the road cuz I couldn't see where the road was--just solid white stuff. Couldn't drive forward to get back on the road surface, but reverse pulled us out. I'm more impressed than ever with the LC, although I'm sure our 4Runner would have done as well in those conditions.

BTW, these trips over to Denver are to help my sis-in-law, who's recovering from brain cancer surgery and needed a 120 mile R/T drive every week day for radiation treatment. We took her to these appointments for 7 days. Lots of snow miles in that time.

How's your sister in law doing? Glad you got some snow driving but too bad it's not under better circumstances.

 

[toyotafan]

New photos of our LC, taken in our back yard.View attachment 4904 View attachment 4905

How big is your backyard?

 

[MuddyTacoma]

New photos of our LC, taken in our back yard.View attachment 4904 View attachment 4905

Looks like you got a great rig there and it's really helping to make a difference in your life and the life of your sis-in-law. good stuff.

 

[rickc5]

Sis-in-law just had a new MRI that showed her residual tumor (what couldn't be removed during the surgery) has shrunk due to radiation & chemo. GREAT news! She will now be on a stronger chemo dose and monitored closely. She's already beaten the doom-sayer docs prediction of a 4 month life span. We'll be making more trips over to Denver for sure, as she still needs lots of support & this new chemo will kick her butt.

Got home yesterday from another trip to Denver, again with a bunch of snow driving over the mountains on the way back. Vail pass was real messy. Once again, the LC did great!

We have a 2 acre lot, but nothing behind us but a couple of empty fields & a huge amount of BLM land known as "The Hunting Ground". I go 4-wheeling, shooting & mtn. biking on the BLM land frequently as it's only 5 minutes from the house. Reasonably good Jeep trails, but zero single track (for the bike).

 

[14TundraSammy]

How many miles per gallon mpg does your 2015 land cruiser get? Looks like a nice ride.

 

[toyotafan]

According to Google ... actually wish it wouldn't do this because it's not taking into consideration the model/trim/engine/transmission differences between vehicles.

 

[rickc5]

Our 200 is a 2015 with about 29K miles on it--well broken in. I use Mobil 1 oil to help mitigate wear (& improve mileage?). Anyway, that Google report seems a bit pessimistic to me. We have never gotten less than 15 mpg, and that was on a slow 4WD run in the mountains. Our "normal" average is 17-18 mpg in combined city/highway driving (we live 10 miles out of town). On long road trips we have gotten 19 mpg at times, and this was at 75-80 mph. As a comparison, our 2014 4Runner Trail never got any better than 21 mpg average.

Since 2008, there's only been ONE trim level offered in the Land Cruiser, and that is fully loaded. No options other than floor mats, wheel locks, etc. Check the Toyota web site. There are some things we could do without, like the flop-down DVD player and the cool-box console, but oh well.....

We love the 200. It is the most stable & secure vehicle we have ever owned. Driving across the mountains seems so much easier due to all the safety systems that work flawlessly. Plus, it's very comfortable, quiet and has tons of power. At the same time, it has a multitude of off-road systems, some that are not offered on any other Toyota vehicle. If we had to get rid of a vehicle, the 200 would be the one we keep.

Lastly, I need to add that Google's mpg numbers for the Highlander are optimistic, as we never get any better than 24 mpg and usually average 22-23.

 

[rickc5]

For those folks who have been following this thread, I'm sorry to say that my sis-in-law passed away on May 10, 2017. She had a good run though. After the surgery to remove the brain tumor, the docs only gave her 2-4 months. She fooled them, living almost 18 months! But, the last few months were painful to watch--as she steadily got worse. A class 4 "aggressive" brain tumor is sure nothing to scoff at. We're still grieving, so we're taking the LC over to Capitol Reef National Park in Utah next week for a few days of off-roading to help us get better. Ought to help.

 

[tibadoe]

Sorry for your loss. I can relate on the painful to watch part. May dad passed away years ago from Lung/Brain cancer, watching him suffer until his death still bothers me.