2013 Toyota Land Cruiser vs. Its Competition

Martin Padgett Editorial Director

Few SUVs can venture deeply into the kind of territory explored by the Toyota Land Cruisers of yesterday and today.

That may justify the high base price for the 2013 Land Cruiser, but boy, does it also invite some comparison with other high-priced, truly luxurious competitors.

In Toyota's own dominion, there's the nearly identical Lexus LX 570, a mechanical twin to the Land Cruiser, with slightly different styling and standard equipment, priced a bit higher than the Toyota, and rated a mile per gallon more thirsty.

The Land Rover Range Rover can't carry eight passengers, but it's the only other vehicle with the universal recognition of the Land Cruiser: it's known from royal palaces to the savana as a trusty piece of go-anywhere hardware, one replete with fine wool and leather and wood trim.

The Mercedes-Benz GL and its ancestor, the G Class, are German echoes of the same SUV principles; the GL's a little more suburban in intent, and its marvelous diesel model's a standout, while the G remains a classic piece of Benz heritage you can buy new today.

At the bottom of the list--altogether more practical and cheap, but every bit as spacious and inefficient, is Toyota's Sequoia.

It probably can't tote a team to the base camp at Kilimanjaro, but for fetching the goods at Lowe's for $30,000 less, it's worth a long, hard look--at your own needs.