- Toyota refreshed the Japan-spec Land Cruiser 250 with new safety and anti-theft tech.
- The VX gasoline trim gains a remote engine kill switch and a smart key proximity lock.
- Round retro LED headlights that were First Edition-only are now an available option.
Toyota’s Land Cruiser 250 gets a light refresh in Japan, two years after landing on home turf. The changes look modest on paper but are meaningful in practice, with more standard equipment focused on safety and theft prevention. There’s a small catch, though. For now, only the gasoline version gets the upgrades, while the diesel will have to wait until after December.
The exterior design remains unchanged, with the boxy stance of the Land Cruiser still looking quite fresh. The color palette gains the new Neutral Black shade that replaces previous Black (202), and a monotone Sand shade without the white roof. These are joined by the existing Platinum White Pearl Mica and Avant-Garde Bronze Metallic options.
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Furthermore, the round Bi-Beam LED headlights that were previously offered in the First Edition model are now available as an option for the VX. These give the off-roader a more retro look compared to the narrower standard-fit triple-beam rectangular LEDs. Toyota recently added the same feature to the European-spec Land Cruiser, following the example of the US-spec model.
More welcome additions are found inside the cabin. The VX trim gains the Toyota Teammate Advanced Drive, including traffic jam support, a driver monitoring camera, front cross-traffic alert, lane change assist, and emergency steering assist.
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Furthermore, the SUV comes standard with an eight-way power adjustment and memory function for the driver’s seat and four-way power adjustment for the front passenger seat.
Toyota has also added more sophisticated anti-theft features, which are important given that the Land Cruiser has consistently topped the lists of the most stolen vehicles in Japan. The smart key distance measurement system doesn’t allow unlocking and starting the engine when the key is not near the vehicle. On the other hand, the T-Connect My Start Lock allows the owner to remotely disable the engine start from a distance.
Under the hood lies a carry-over naturally aspirated 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine producing 160 hp (120 kW / 163 PS) and 246 Nm (181 lb-ft). The mill is connected to a six-speed automatic gearbox and a full-time 4WD system.
The Toyota Land Cruiser VX Gasoline 4WD seven-seater is available to order in Japan priced from ¥5,779,400 ($36,200) which represents an increase of ¥329,400 ($2,100) compared to its predecessor. As we mentioned earlier, the more potent turbodiesel will follow after December 2026.
