In our perpetual race to the bottom of pricing and a constant quest for newness, everything is cheaper but also cheaply built to the point of being disposable. No longer is anything built to last for generations, and there’s a real sense this is extending to our cars. The 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser 1958 Edition bucks that trend by feeling like a generational thing. Part of it is the stellar reputation of quality implied by the lettering looking up at you from the steering wheel, and the other part it is that because of how basic this thing is, it’ll still be relevant in a generation.

This Land Cruiser tester is the 1958 Edition, meaning it’s the base model of the newly reborn lineup, but calling it basic misses the point entirely. The name is a nod to the Land Cruiser’s arrival on North American soil for the first time in 1958, back when it was still a humble, utilitarian 4×4 that quickly developed a reputation for being unstoppable and unkillable. This new entry-level trim carries that spirit forward to the modern era with a deliberate focus on being basic without being bare.

Plain is vogue

That approach might not work in every segment, but in the current SUV world where rugged and retro “lifestyle” off-roaders are so in fashion and being pushed upmarket through trend-chasing and increasingly bourgeois accoutrements, the 1958’s proletariat charm feels refreshingly honest. It makes a fashion statement out of being plain.

Toyota’s design team deserves a lot of credit here. Even without the flashier paint options or big screens in the fully loaded First Edition model, the 1958 still manages to look fantastic. Round LED headlights and the blocky grille with spelled-out, all-caps TOYOTA lettering set the tone; the overall proportions are upright, blocky, handsome, and unmistakably Land Cruiser.

That same plain-is-vogue fashion statement continues inside. The manual seats wrapped in thick cloth set the tone; there’s no gimmicks here. You get physical buttons. You get a small screen in the dash running Toyota’s newer infotainment system, and a second screen in the gauge cluster that tells you what you need to know. No more, no less. The Land Cruiser 1958 isn’t too-basic-for-its-own-good, either, as you still get heated seats and a heated steering wheel, but you won’t find frills like a sunroof or wireless charging for your phone.

No frills, no problem

And you know what? That’s great. In a world where base trims are usually little more than loss leaders to get you in the door at one price and out the door at another, the 1958 feels thoughtfully equipped. Everything you interact with has a solid, well-built feel. The cabin doesn’t feel cheap, just focused. There’s a refreshing clarity to it. Very little piano black. No capacitive-touch trickery. No LED light strips running across the dash pretending to enhance your mood. Everything in this cabin has a job and does it well.

There’s also a lot more space than you might think. Headroom and legroom are generous front and rear, and the upright greenhouse makes visibility excellent in every direction. The cargo area is wide and flat, with enough room for camping gear, a Costco run, or a week’s worth of road trip supplies. This may be a smaller Land Cruiser than before, but it is by no means too small to live with every day.

What’s under the hood?

Historically, the Land Cruiser hasn’t exactly been synonymous with fuel efficiency or brisk performance, but that changes here. All Land Cruisers, including the 1958 Edition, comes standard with Toyota’s excellent i-Force Max hybrid powertrain. It pairs a 2.4-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine with a 48-hp electric motor, good for a combined 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. That’s routed to the ground through an eight-speed automatic transmission and a full-time four-wheel drive system with a low-range mode.

It’s easily the best drivetrain in the segment. There’s more power than anything short of a Bronco Raptor, and more torque than a V8 Defender, both of which really stretch the limits of the segment. The bottom-end torque fill from the electric motor makes for immediate throttle response, turbo lag is minimal, and the transmission manages it all seamlessly. Unsurprisingly, it’s efficient too, returning an impressive 10.4 L/100 km combined. It has a bit of a gruff character, but I wouldn’t call it coarse, and it’s all in-keeping with the theme of the truck.

How does the Land Cruiser drive?

To that end, the Land Cruiser rides a little firm. But it’s still a body-on-frame truck, and it feels appropriately trucky without being abrasive. There’s very little wind or road noise, the steering is relaxed and predictable, and it never feels like a chore to drive. The Land Cruiser has always been known for getting places, but this one makes the getting-there part more enjoyable than ever. Toyota’s standard safety suite includes a robust adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping system, so it’s easier than ever to cruise the land.

This 1958 Edition is still plenty capable of cruising off the beaten path, too, albeit maybe not quite as extreme as a loaded model. It loses the sway bar disconnect, front diff locker, terrain drive modes, and trail cameras, but it still has the core tenets including centre and rear locking differentials, as well as the inherently excellent geometry that comes with Land Cruiser’s shape. The only letdown is the very road-centric Yokohama Geolander tires, but that’s an easy fix.

Is the Land Cruiser worth it?

There’s one other thing that I initially thought might need fixing, but I’ve come to terms with it: the price. This Land Cruiser 1958 Edition may be the least expensive Land Cruiser, but at $70,195 as-tested, it’s not cheap. On the flip side, the Land Cruiser isn’t cheaply made, and while some of my colleagues saw cloth seats for seventy grand and balked, I think they missed the point. The solid wood furniture that used to be handed down through generations was expensive, too. Is more screen and synthetic leather really what you need? Is that how we break the cycle of disposable luxury that’s dooming us?

The Land Cruiser doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not, especially in this most basic form. It’s a back-to-basics 4×4 that trades excess for usability; frills for function. The things that matter — practicality, drivability, class-dominating powertrain, and legendary reputation of durability — are all there, largely above and beyond the other lifestyle bricks on the market. It all culminates in a package that’s charming like an old beer fridge or thick flannel; the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser 1958 Edition is unpretentious, unfussy, and the right kind of basic that will be relevant for this generation and the next. That is real luxury.