Search Consumer Guide Auto and the Web
 

2002 Toyota Land Cruiser
Date Published: 8/28/08

2002 Toyota Land Cruiser
More Photos

MSRP:
$52,595 -

Invoice:
$46,018 -

Class:
Premium Large Sport-utility Vehicle

CG Award: (What's This?)
2002 Toyota Land Cruiser
Expert Rating Summary
Category Base Rating (See All
Ratings)
Premium Large Sport-utility Vehicle Average Rating
Acceleration 5 4.4
Fuel Economy 2 2
Ride Quality 7 4.9
Steering/Handling/Braking 3 2.8
Quietness 8 5.1
Controls 7 4.6
Room/Comfort/Driver Seating (front) 8 7.4
Room/Comfort (rear) 8 6.9
Cargo Room 8 7.7
Value within Class 7 3
Total Score: 63 48.8
Ratings: Maximum 10 points per category
2002 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER BUYING RESOURCES
Trade-In Calculator
Sell Your Car
2002 Toyota Land Cruiser Review
Toyota's luxury SUV gets standard instead of optional 3rd-row seating, plus rear-seat automatic climate control for 2002. Somewhat smaller but much costlier than Toyota's big-truck-based Sequoia SUV, Land Cruiser is the basis for the Lexus LX 470. They share a basic body, chassis, V8 engine, automatic transmission, all-wheel drive with low-range gearing, ABS, and standard traction control/antiskid system. An available navigation system displays maps stored on DVDs. It also has a 6-disc CD changer and can play movies on an in-dash screen with the transmission in Park. The newly standard 3rd-row seating, rear-seat climate control, and power swing-out rear side windows had previously comprised a $2265 option package. The 3rd-row seat can hold 3 passengers and is removable. Unlike the American-built Sequoia, Land Cruiser and LX 470 are made in Japan, do not offer a rear-wheel-drive version, and lack side and curtain airbags.
Competition
Though this segment has cooled somewhat with the rise in fuel prices, it's still one of the hottest. Our Best Buys are the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Recommended are the Ford Expedition and GMC Yukon. For a few more bucks you can get the Toyota Land Cruiser. Its high price is the only thing holding back this refined and drivable SUV. We love the size, comfort, and power of these big SUVs but wish they got a few more miles per gallon.
News
Demand for upper-end SUVs has been slowing since the economy started slowing in 2000. Land Cruiser is no exception, year-to-year deliveries falling 16.6 percent in calendar 2000 and a whopping 52.3 percent for the first nine months of 2001. New intramural competition from the U.S.-built Sequoia hasn't helped.

Industry moles say the Cruiser will hang on at least through the 2005 campaign and the end of the current design's planned lifespan. What happens then is unclear. Land Cruiser is a well-liked vehicle with strong name recognition, but Toyota may decide it doesn't need two big SUVs having few shared components; there's just no money in it. Assuming it's not consigned to the four-wheeler graveyard, the Cruiser would be redesigned after '05 as either a Sequoia spinoff or something very different, perhaps a new kind of "crossover" SUV.
Car Buying Resources

Trade-In Calculator

Research how much your car is truly worth

Trade-In Calculator



Used Cars

Search online classifieds and find a local dealer
Search Local Listings

Vehicle History Report

Get a CARFAX Vehicle History... the first step to protecting yourself from costly hidden problems.



What's Under the Hood?

Learn about how cars work.

Learn things



Insurance

We're dedicated to making insurance easier.

Get Insurance



Sell Your Car

Reach over 8 million buyers
Sell Your Car


    Sell Your Car
Powered by: