5 Cheaper Alternatives To The Toyota Land Cruiser

The Toyota Land Cruiser has been taking on the world's roughest surfaces since the 1950s. It's gone through several major updates since then, becoming more refined with each new Land Cruiser generation. Toyota has sold more than 10 million Land Cruisers in about 170 of the world's countries, and the model is especially popular in arid regions where it can withstand harsh desert conditions. Toyota stopped selling the Land Cruiser in the United States after the 2021 model year but brought it back for 2024. 

SlashGear road-tested and reviewed the 2024 Land Cruiser, finding it a standout in off-road situations. This capability doesn't come cheap, though, as the various trim levels of the 2024 Land Cruiser range in price from about $56,000 for the 1958 version to just under $75,000 for the First Edition. 

For less than the price of the Land Cruiser 1958, you can pick up any of these alternatives. They might not last hundreds of thousands of miles like many Toyota SUVs, but the thousands of dollars you save on the purchase price make for a healthy maintenance and repair fund. We chose the following five SUVs based on capability, value, and the presence of modern features that challenge those found in the 2024 Land Cruiser.

The first Land Rover was a spartan off-roader built in the late 1940s on a Jeep chassis, and that vehicle was recently restored by Grenadier founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and taken on a trip across the Gobi Desert. Like the Land Cruiser, Land Rover's offerings have become more refined and luxurious since those early days, and the prices have gone up accordingly. There is one modern Land Rover that you can pick up for about $50,000, though. The Range Rover Evoque starts at $49,900 in the S trim, although the SE version will cost at least $5,000 more. The Evoque is a little smaller than some of its competitors, but it has all the off-road chops of the Land Cruiser and its bigger Land Rover cousins.

For your $50,000 or so, you get full-time all-wheel drive and the Terrain Response 2 system with multiple driver-selectable modes. The 11.4-inch infotainment screen provides views of the terrain around you via an array of external cameras, as well as altitude, bearing, and tilt/incline readings. SlashGear's review of the 2024 Range Rover Evoque found it to be solid, even at the base trim level, with a digital dashboard, heated steering wheel and front seats, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. There's also a panoramic glass roof, parking sensors, and a power rear liftgate to add to the Evoque's value. 

Honda began in 1948 with a focus on motorized bicycles and produced its first automobile, the T360, in 1963. Since then, Honda vehicles have earned a reputation for reliable operation and long lives. Honda currently offers seven different crossovers and SUVs, including the HR-V, which starts at just over $25,000. That model is a bit small to qualify as a Land Cruiser alternative, but Honda also makes the Passport for those in need of a little more space. The Passport comes in three trim levels: the EX-L, TrailSport, and Black Edition. Base prices range from $42,400 for the EX-L to $48,470 for the premium Black Edition.

For that price, you get a 280-horsepower V6 engine, nine-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive. The driver can select from snow, sand, and mud modes via the Intelligent Traction Management system. Inside the Black Edition are heated and ventilated power front seats, a power moonroof, and a 540-watt sound system with 10 speakers. The eight-inch infotainment screen has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and there's a wireless charging pad for compatible devices. For safety's sake, Honda includes an active collision avoidance system, blind spot and cross-traffic detection, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, and parking sensors. 

The Jeep brand dates back to World War II and has become an off-road icon in the decades since then. While the Wrangler is probably the most recognizable Jeep model, the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee have been around in various iterations since 1974. The Grand Cherokee was first shown at the 1992 Detroit Auto Show and came to dealerships as a 1993 model. It's gone through several updates since then and is currently in its fifth generation. The 2024 version starts at just $36,495, making it one of the more affordable mid-sized SUVs on the market. If you want to step up to the three-row Grand Cherokee L, you'll have to pay a little over 40,000. 

That model can seat up to seven passengers and has an optional rear-seat camera that feeds images of kids, pets, and cargo to the Uconnect 5 infotainment screen in front. Five-seat Grand Cherokees access Uconnect via a 10.1-inch touchscreen that has TomTom GPS navigation and the ability to set up as many as five user profiles and connect multiple smartphones simultaneously. Infotainment options include a separate screen for the front seat passenger and Amazon Fire TV in back. On top of all the features you get for a reasonable price, the 2024 Grand Cherokee earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Mazda's current line of crossovers and SUVs ranges from the subcompact CX-30 to the three-row CX-90. The CX-70 is the most appropriate and affordable Land Cruiser alternative, with seating for up to five people, a mild hybrid inline-six engine, and a starting price of $40,445 that gets you into the base Preferred trim version. There are six more trim levels of the 2025 Mazda CX-70, the most expensive being the Turbo S Premium Plus at $55,950.  Every CX-70 comes with a 12.3-inch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-ready infotainment panel, a digital dashboard, and an eight-speaker sound system. 

The base-level CX-70 comes with a long list of standard amenities, including wireless smartphone charging, USB ports in front and back, and heated power front seats. You also get a rearview camera, blind spot and rear cross-traffic warning systems, and lane keeping assist. The more expensive Turbo S Premium and Premium Plus versions get Mazda's most powerful gasoline engine ever — the e-Skyactiv G 3.3-liter turbocharged inline-six. It makes 340 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, while delivering a combined fuel economy of 25 miles per gallon. 

Kia is another automaker with a wide variety of crossovers and SUVs in its catalog. The best Land Cruiser alternative from Kia is the Sorento, a model that starts at just $31,990. The 2025 Sorento is available in two or three-row formats and eight different trim levels. The cheapest is the LX, which is powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. It's far from bare-boned, though, with an eight-speed automatic transmission and several active safety systems. These include lane keeping assist, blind spot and rear cross-traffic alerts, and an automatic braking system that detects pedestrians and cyclists.

You'll have to step up to at least the $41,790 Sorento X-Line EX to get all-wheel drive. That feature comes with the rest of the Sorento lineup, on up to the top-trim X-Pro SX Prestige, which starts at $47,390. All X-Pro Sorentos come with second-row captain's chairs and optional third-row seating. You can tow up to 4,500 pounds with the 2.5-liter turbocharged I4 engine, and the center-locking differential and all-terrain tires help make X-Pro Sorentos formidable off-road machines. 

Inside are dual 12.3-inch panoramic infotainment screens with navigation and Sirius XM capability, as well as a digital rearview mirror to help see behind you even if the cargo area is packed to the roof. Kia is up there with the best dealership warranty programs in the auto industry. You get powertrain coverage for up to 10 years and 100,000 miles, and five years and 60,000 miles of basic protection, including roadside assistance.

To compile this list, we looked through the catalogs of automakers that sell their SUVs in the United States and found models that shared some basic criteria. We looked for vehicles with seating for at least five adults, a solid reputation for reliability, and reasonable off-road and towing capabilities. We eliminated any SUVs that were considerably larger than the Land Cruiser, as well as any that had a base price higher than the Land Cruiser 1958's $56,000. Final cuts were made based on safety and convenience features, as well as conclusions drawn by SlashGear reviewers regarding drivability.