Toyota Land Cruiser 300 at autoX Awards: Best Cars of 2025 Ranked

Toyota proudly calls the LC300 the “King of SUVs” on its website and marketing material—and looking at the Land Cruiser’s legacy across decades and generations, it’s hard to disagree. If not the king, it certainly sits among the top-ranking SUVs in the world in terms of go-anywhere capability. The Land Cruiser has been in continuous production since 1951, making it Toyota’s longest-running product line. Across its nine generations, it has sold over 10 million units globally. The model is particularly popular in regions with harsh environment, such as Australia and Africa – regions where durability and dependability aren’t optional but essential.

In India, however, most owners don’t buy the Land Cruiser for serious off-roading. The occasional long road trip or a Leh-Ladakh expedition is likely the harshest terrain an LC will ever see here. But there are other qualities that make it so compelling. First, reliability – being a Toyota, the LC is known for being indestructible in a world where luxury cars often suffer from electronic issues due to overcomplexity. Second, practicality – basic things like effective air-conditioning, despite the vast glasshouse and sheer size, are genuinely appreciated, given India’s harsh climate.

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Third, presence – whether it’s an older generation or the new LC300, its towering stance and massive grille command instant respect on the road. Even the Thar and Scorpio drivers tend to stay away from an LC on the road.

In the final scores, the LC300 turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag. As expected, it lost points on the lap time, but it scored highly in terms of quality, refinement, and drivetrain performance. Design proved somewhat polarising, but the LC’s X-Factor was through the roof – in fact, it received the highest score of all vehicles in that category.

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Where it does lose ground is on value for money. Priced between ₹2.16 and ₹2.25 crore, it might seem justifiable for what it offers, but many buyers in that price bracket prefer a more premium badge. So, while the LC300 remains one of my personal favourites from this year’s lineup, a few factors inevitably pulled down its overall score.