There's no denying the fact that the triumphant return of the Toyota Land Cruiser was a highly-anticipated one. Sure, the bigger, more expensive older generation Land Cruiser (also known as the Land Cruiser 200 overseas) it replaced in the United States didn't sell well because it was priced and drove too similarly to the more luxurious Lexus LX 570 at its time.

If you've got the money for a Land Cruiser, then you'd probably spend the minuscule extra to splurge on the Lexus. This time, Toyota brought in a smaller Land Cruiser, a successor to the smaller Prado that's aptly called globally the Land Cruiser 250 (because it's smaller than the Land Cruiser 300). It's an impressive piece of machinery, but one that's missing a critical feature for the North American market.

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What Is That Missing Critical Feature?

The new Toyota Land Cruiser is slightly smaller than the previous generation model since this is actually a Land Cruiser Prado successor. Though calling it "smaller" is a misnomer since the differences in dimensions are only about an inch of each other, since as with every new car, external dimensions incrementally grow. By doing so, Toyota in North America somehow thought it was only appropriate to remove one important feature from the new generation Land Cruiser--its third-row seating.

Yes, folks. The American-market Land Cruiser doesn't come with third-row seating, even if all other markets around the world come with seating for seven as standard (as shown). We're not exactly sure why Toyota thought it was the right move to remove the third-row seats, but we do have a few plausible reasons.

First, the new Land Cruiser is now closer in size to the 4Runner--and more so whatever Toyota has in mind for the anticipated next-generation model. If both models have third-row seating, it will probably cannibalize the sales of one or the other. The other possible reason is Toyota would probably want you to splurge for a Sequoia if you want three-row seating as well as the ruggedness of a large body-on-frame SUV.

Related: The Iconic Toyota FJ Cruiser Is Now Gone For Good

The Land Cruiser Goes Back To Its Roots

There's also the way Toyota is somehow positioning the Land Cruiser. If you look carefully at the marketing materials and photos--heck even the way it looks, Toyota is pitching the Land Cruiser as a rival to the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler. These two vehicles are hardcore off-roaders, and the new Land Cruiser seems to be a more practical version of the FJ Cruiser that was brought to market way ahead of the off-roader craze, which led to its untimely and early demise.

It's less of a family car for seven people and more of an off-road toy for a family of five. If viewed that way, then offering the Land Cruiser with just five seats somehow makes sense--even if it's probably not the best decision from a practicality perspective.

If you take a look at how the Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser Prado have evolved over the decades, you will notice that these SUVs have transformed from rugged off-roaders that served utilitarian and humanitarian use to still capable off-roaders but with a greater emphasis on luxury and comfort.

That's especially true with the former Land Cruiser 200 and current Land Cruiser 300, which are already positioned as luxury SUVs in a lot of global markets. These vehicles have become extremely popular (even to the point of having a four-year waitlist) since they became an aspirational SUV for a lot of people, whether it's a large family, an adventurer, and even your typical mall goer.

But something brilliant happened to one of the minds of Toyota's engineers and designers. They suddenly toyed with the idea of the next-generation Land Cruiser Prado going back to its utilitarian and rugged roots--thus reversing the generational path of making the Land Cruiser Prado even more luxurious.

What we got instead was Toyota's version of the Wrangler, and in Lexus's case, a worthy rival to the Defender. The new Land Cruiser and consequently the GX, aren't any more mall crawlers from how they look. Instead, they've fully embraced their outdoorsy and rugged nature to create an SUV that has massive curb appeal.

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Smaller, More Affordable, But More Appealing

Since North America is now getting what is actually a successor to the Land Cruiser Prado and not the full-size Land Cruiser 200 we used to get, that introduces a lot of advantages and a few disadvantages. First is that it's a lot more affordable. The older Land Cruiser starts at around $80,000, while this new model will start in the mid-$50,000 (exact pricing has not yet been revealed).

That's a massive $30,000 difference, but because this Land Cruiser is now smaller, it comes with a few concessions--albeit extremely minor and not enough to detract those looking for a new Land Cruiser. Most of these revolve around the off-roading capability of the vehicle, which is listed below in comparison to the older, bigger Land Cruiser 200 and the Land Cruiser 300.

Land Cruiser Model Comparison

Another difference between the Land Cruiser 300 and the new model is its engine choices. The older model came with a 5.7-liter V-8, while the new Land Cruiser 300 comes with three engine choices--all of which are a V-6 and two of which have twin-turbocharging. The new Land Cruiser 250 features a 2.4-liter turbocharged parallel hybrid powertrain called iForce Max that debuted in the new Tacoma.

Engine Specifications

Overseas models of the Land Cruiser 250 can be fitted with a plethora of other engine options, ranging from a 2.8-liter turbo diesel that's also fitted in the Hilux, along with a version of that diesel engine with a new 48-volt mild-hybrid system. For the most basic versions, a simple and rudimentary 2.7-liter naturally-aspirated gasoline engine will be offered.

240 Series Land Cruiser Engine Specifications

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When Can I Order A Land Cruiser?

The new Toyota Land Cruiser will be built at Toyota's Tahara and Hino plants in Japan, and they are scheduled to start shipping to the U.S. in the spring of 2024. Exact pricing and the full specifications of each variant will be revealed closer to its on-sale date. Till then, all we can do right now is wait or plunk down an interest or reservation at a local Toyota dealer--hopefully without any strings or dealer markups attached.