Did The Toyota Land Cruiser Get Smaller? What To Know Before You Buy

When Toyota brought the Land Cruiser nameplate back to its American lineup for the 2024 model year after a short two-model-year hiatus, the new version was quite a departure from the SUV it replaced. It wasn't just that this version of the Land Cruiser was sporting an updated look and powertrain; it was a different type of SUV altogether. 

The new American market Land Cruiser, the Land Cruiser 250-series, as Toyota designates it, is different in shape and significantly cheaper than the old 200-series Land Cruiser, which was last sold for the 2021 model year. So far, the 2024-onwards Land Cruiser has generally been received well, but it hasn't been without some confusion over its nameplate and questions about how it compares to the old model in terms of size. 

Though the latest Land Cruiser comes from a different branch of the Land Cruiser family tree than it did before, the new version is actually the same size or slightly larger than the old one by most measurements. But there's a little more to the story than just size, so let's take a look. 

Until 2021, modern American-market Land Cruisers all came from the "station wagon" branch of the global Land Cruiser family tree. But the 250-Series is part of the "light duty" branch. There's also a new 300-series Land Cruiser to carry on the station wagon branch in other markets, but that version is no longer offered in America.

As for the light-duty models, these smaller, less expensive Land Cruisers have been sold overseas for decades as Land Cruiser Prados. Toyota has never used the Prado nameplate itself in America, but since 2003, we have gotten a luxury-badged version of the Prado in the form of the Lexus GX. 

With that cleared up, let's look at the size difference between the old 200 series Land Cruiser and the new 250 series. The 250-series Land Cruiser is about one inch longer overall, while having the same width and the same wheelbase as the 200-series. The biggest change on the outside is its height. The new Land Cruiser is over two inches taller than the old one, which gives it a more upright profile and, to some, the false appearance of being smaller overall. 

Inside, the numbers are close, with the new version having a small edge in second-row legroom and in rear cargo space when all the seats are up. On the other hand, thanks to its hybrid battery placement, the new Land Cruiser does not offer third-row seating like the old one did. 

Fans of the old 200 series or those just looking for a larger, more "wagon-like" SUV might search elsewhere for alternatives. Within Toyota's own lineup, there's the Sequoia, with its massive interior and third-row seating. In its third generation, the Sequoia is built on the same TNGA-F platform as both the 250 and 300-series Land Cruisers.

Or if you head to your nearest Lexus dealer, you'll find the full-size LX SUV, which is based directly on the 300-series Land Cruiser. It's larger than the US market Land Cruiser and much closer in spirit to the old 200-series. Expect to pay a lot more, though. The Lexus LX starts at over $108,000 after destination, which is about $50,000 more than the 2025 Land Cruiser. For comparison's sake, it's important to remember that the 200-series Land Cruiser had an MSRP over $87,000 back in 2021. 

With a legendary nameplate, cheaper price, and some throwback style, Toyota is betting it will move a lot more units of the "light duty" Land Cruiser than the old one, which was always a niche model in Toyota's American lineup. So far, the sales figures have borne this out. During the last few years of its existence, Toyota never sold fewer than 4,000 units annually of the 200-series Land Cruiser. In 2024 alone, over 29,000 250-series Land Cruisers were sold.