Toyota Land Cruiser vs RAM 2500

What's the difference?

The i-Force Max hybrid set-up is aimed at improving performance rather than fuel efficiency, but its effectiveness in that respect is hard to fathom.

Increases in power and torque are welcome, of course, but the 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel Cruiser is just as good as the hybrid off-road and with a bigger fuel tank and greater driving range.

The hybrid LandCruiser will certainly appeal to some buyers, but the lion’s share of those interested in the 300 Series are looking to tow big loads and go long distances in comfort, which is why the diesel Cruiser at this stage is the better pick of the two powertrains.

There’s a hardcore bunch of people out there for whom the only answer to what powers a full-sized pick-up is V and 8.

But it’s hard to ignore the existence of the turbo-diesel-powered Ram 2500 that, arguably makes more sense in the context of the overall concept. Sure, the returning V8 engine is smooth, relaxed and works well with the transmission, but it’s thirsty and makes the least power and torque of any other version of the Ram 1500 or 2500 range.

If a V8 engine is what you need to make a vehicle like the Ram make sense, then go for it and be happy. But for our money, the twin-turbocharged inline six cylinder engine in the Ram 1500 is the still the engine of choice for us.

And if you really do need the extra hauling, towing and heft of the 2500 model, then the - albeit more expensive – turbo-diesel with its 1458Nm of torque makes a compelling argument. Quite literally.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer with accommodation and meals provided.

Nothing of note has changed onboard the Cruiser and the GR Sport variants are all the same, inside and out, no matter which powertrain you opt for.

And that’s fine because this is a good-looking rooster.

The GR Sport is listed as 4995mm long (with a 2850mm wheelbase), 1990mm wide and 1955mm high. It has a kerb weight of 2620kg.

This 300 Series looks much the same as it did at launch in 2021: big, chunky, imposing – like me if I was wearing high heels.

As a point of difference to other Cruisers, though, all GR Sports have variant-specific badging on the grille, front doors and rear tailgate.

Inside, it’s pretty much the same story which is borne out in how comfortable and practical it remains.

The original Dodge Warlock looked like a motor-show special with its (typically) jet-black body, timber side-steps and almost quaint gold coach-lines and pin-striping. The blacked-out theme has been continued for the new Warlock, too, and the 2500 gets a black front fascia and grille, wheel arch extensions, side-steps and even black front and rear bumpers.

Like the original, this Warlock is available in a range of colours, but bank on black being a pretty popular one.

The LandCruiser’s cabin is a functional and comfortable space, and – no matter the spec level – it always has a sense of familiarity about it.

All seats in the GR Sport are leather-accented and comfortable and there are soft-touch surfaces throughout the interior.

The driver gets a heated and power-adjustable steering wheel and both occupants up front cop ventilated and heated, power-adjustable seats (with memory functions for the driver).

The GR Sport’s 12.3-inch colour touchscreen is easy to use, with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there’s a wireless charging pad near the shifter.

Physical buttons and dials make operational life in the Cruiser much easier than if all functions were adjusted via on-screen controls, as is the case in some new vehicles.

There are USB and USB-C charging points up front.

There’s a cool box in the centre console and its lid can be opened from either side, so driver or passenger can access whatever is chilling within.

There’s also a powered sunroof if you’re that way inclined.

Beyond those features, there are the usual storage spaces, cupholders, receptacles in the doors for bigger bottles and other spaces for your bits and pieces.

The second-row seats are in a 40/20/40 split-folding configuration.

The GR Sport’s cargo space, when all five seats are in use, is a listed 910 litres behind the second row, somewhat impacted by the underfloor presence of the hybrid battery. That cargo area grows to 1842 litres when the second row is stowed away.

The rear cargo area of the hybrid has a 200V/1500W inverter, four tie-down points and of course, there's a full-size spare.

All in all, the Cruiser has the goods when it comes to practicality.

Towing is the name of the game here, and with a 50mm tow ball, the Warlock can lug 3500kg. But that’s just phase one. Fit a 70mm ball, and you’re suddenly looking at 4500kg and, if you stump up for the genuine 'goose-neck' towing package and fit your trailer with air-brakes, that limit rises to 6700kg.

That’s all set against a Gross Combination Mass (GCM) of 10,001kg (nobody could tell me why it’s 10,001 and not a round 10,000), and a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 4495kg, keeping the Ram car-license-friendly. Total payload is 1275kg, which means if you max out the GVM, you still have 5506kg of towing capacity up your sleeve.

The flip side is that with a kerb mass of 3220kg, and, say, 500kg worth of people, fuel, tools, Big M and sausage rolls on board, the legal payload in the tray suddenly shrinks to 775kg.

Hitch up the full 6700kg of load, and you’re left with just 3301kg of vehicle and payload, so that huge towing limit is perhaps more theoretical than practical. This is by no means a Ram-specific issue, but one that owners need to be familiar with to stay on the right side of the law and their insurance. And none of which, either, means the Ram won’t haul 4500kg pretty smartly with payload to spare.

It’s a long way up into the cabin of the Warlock, but there are grab handles and side-steps to make it physically possible. And, once you’re in place, the view out is absolutely magnificent; as if you’re sitting in a tennis umpire’s chair, looking down on the world.

One of the first things you notice is the Warlock has ditched the up-spec interior trim of the 1500 Ram line-up. So the glossy, anodised trim elements are replaced by rather more dowdy grey plastics, and the passenger’s side info-screen of the 1500 Laramie is gone, replaced by a huge storage bin (which is probably of more use to most people anyway).

Even though the Ram is converted to right-hand drive in Australia, a cost analysis demanded the indicators and column-mounted gear-shifter remain on the left and right hand side of the column, respectively. You’ll get used to it. The column itself features tilt, but no reach adjustment.

The seat trim is cloth rather than leather (which also works for a lot of people) but the front seat area is huge with vast stretching room in every direction. Even the centre console (which becomes the sixth seat when you need it) is high and wide and incorporates cupholders, storage cubbies and a writing surface.

There’s a 12-volt outlet in the top of the dashboard, and USB ports aplenty. But more impressive is the way Ram has stuck with physical switches rather than touchscreen menus for the important functions.

So, the climate control stuff is all contained within the centre stack, the entertainment controls are below that and the four-wheel drive mode switch is placed down low, left of the steering column; just where you want it off-road. Even stuff like the tow and haul mode switches are physical buttons.

The rear seat is absolutely huge, too. There’s more than enough knee and headroom for pro basketballers and the seat is wide. But, for some reason, the centre-rear position’s cushion depth is compromised by the placement of a pair of cupholders on the floor. Odd.

There is, however, a huge storage bin under the rear bench, and there are air vents but no climate controls in the rear. You do get grab handles and steps for easier access, and the entire floor is covered in sturdy looking rubber mats with a decent lip to contain mud and spills.

Thanks to all that wheelbase, the tray is vast despite the enormous cabin. The tailgate is spring-assisted, but still opens with a fair clunk if you let it drop, and the load height is going to make heavy loads a chore. Getting into the tub is made a bit easier, though, with a flip-down step on the rear-left corner.

There’s no standard tonneau, but you get a spray-in liner and there are LED lights on either side of the tub as well as eight tie-down points; four down low and four higher up the tray-sides.

A full-sized spare tyre is included.

As well as the six-cylinder Ram 1500 line-up, the 2500 range will continue with the Cummins diesel-powered Laramie and is now expanded with the V8 Warlock variant we’re dealing with here.

Price for the Warlock is a hefty $157,950, plus on-road costs, but that puts it in pretty good company with other big pick-ups such as the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 ZLT ($168,900), Ford F-250 XLT ($175,000) and Toyota Tundra ($155,990).

It also recognises the fact that the Ram is imported into Australia as a left-hand drive vehicle and re-engineered as a right-hand drive. That’s a lot of labour and attention to detail, not to mention the engineering and development that needs to be amortised across what is a low-volume vehicle.

The equipment list is a reasonably long one, including:

• 20-inch alloy wheels (up from the 18s on the diesel 2500)
• All-terrain tyres (to make the most of the vehicle’s recreational off-road ability
• LED headlights
• Fender flares
• 12-inch central multimedia screen
• Rear-view camera
• Towbar (something a lot of brands charge extra for)

It's also worth mentioning that the Warlock is a six-seater with a three-and-three layout, although the front-centre seat precludes access to the centre console. Nevertheless, accommodating six people is not something the majority of dual-cab utes can boast and it might be the difference for some families.

What you don’t get is the ritzier trim and leather upholstery of the Laramie 2500, and the Warlock is based on the more cost-conscious tradesman-oriented trim package. That means a lot more plain, grey plastic and cloth seats.

The main option is metallic paint at $950, although the various optional tow-balls and hitches will also be common fitments

The big news here is the i-Force Max hybrid powertrain consisting of a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine, an electric motor and a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Toyota reckons the “purpose‑built 1‑Motor Hybrid system” is designed for towing, off‑roading and heavy‑duty performance and that the additional electric motor “enhances power and responsiveness (compared with an equivalent diesel-only model), working seamlessly alongside the internal combustion engine”.

In general driving, it’s difficult, nigh on impossible, to discern the positive impact, if any, of the i-Force Max. But the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine alone is impressive.

There’s no denying this Cruiser now benefits from a substantial increase in power (up 114kW to 341kW combined peak output) and torque (up 90Nm to 790Nm combined peak output) over the diesel Cruiser.

The Dakar Rally-inspired LC300 GR Sport’s 10-speed torque converter auto cleverly handles open-road driving and high- and low-range 4WDing, micro-managing power and torque to maintain a level-headed but involved driving experience.

The GR Sport has full-time, dual-range 4WD, a well-calibrated off-road traction control system, as well as front, rear and centre diff locks, so it’s almost unstoppable.

In this realm, the Cruiser holds its own against the likes of Nissan Patrol Warrior and Land Rover Defender.

Here’s where the headline stuff lives. The Hemi V8 measures 6.4 litres and cranks out a solid 306kW of power and 582Nm of torque, albeit at a fairly high (for a pick-up) 4000rpm.

The paradox, of course, is the V8 makes less power and torque than the turbocharged inline six-cylinder Ram sells in the smaller 1500 model (and replaced the V8 in that vehicle). In fact, even the most conservative tune of the turbo-six makes seven kiloWatts and 53Nm more than the V8, while the HO version of the six absolutely stomps on the V8 with 403kW (up 97) and 707 Nm (125 more).

So what’s the buying proposition? It’s a great question, but it’s not as simple as it appears on the surface. While Ram Australia did, indeed, replace the Hemi V8 with the inline six-cylinder for the 1500 series of pick-ups, the V8 has not returned to that line-up. Instead, the V8 is only available in the 2500 Ram – as the Warlock, no less - which is a pretty effective line in the sand.

Beyond that, the existence of the non-turbocharged V8 is largely down to the refinement it offers and that warbling soundtrack that has inspired enthusiasts since the Cadillac Type 51 introduced the V8 concept to production cars in 1914.

Meanwhile, The Ram V8 runs on premium ULP and is paired with an eight-speed conventional automatic transmission. In turn, that feeds into a transfer-case with high and low ratios for a traditional mechanical four-wheel drive layout. The differential ratios have also been shortened compared with the diesel 2500, as a means of ensuring the V8 is in its power zone for more of the time.

The off-road proposition is boosted by decent clearance and approach and departure angles and the Warlock uses coil rear springs rather than the more typical leaf springs of many similarly sized utes. High-end Bilstein dampers are also standard on the Warlock.

Official fuel consumption is 10.0L/100km on a combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle.

Our fuel consumption on this test was 13.6L/100km, which is substantially more than the claimed figure, but testing did, of course, include high- and low-range 4WDing.

This hybrid Cruiser has a 98-litre fuel tank (the diesel holds 110 litres) so, going by those fuel figures, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 720km out of a full tank.

Vehicles in this market segment aren’t required to claim an official fuel consumption number, but it’s no secret the Ram V8 will drink its share. Oh, and it requires 95 RON fuel, too, so add another few bucks per tankful over the cost of standard ULP.

On our on-road test, we averaged a reasonable 13.7 litres per 100km, but on a gently highway cruise, that would improve a little, thanks to the cylinder deactivation system that sends the V8 on to four cylinders when the extra grunt of all eight is not needed.

But hitch up a caravan or select low-range four-wheel drive and the numbers will pretty soon descend into fairly frightening territory. In reality, the around-town average is likely to be 15 litres per 100km or maybe even a bit more. That’s physics for you.

With the 177-litre tank and our on-road average, you could expect to travel for about 800km before looking for a service station.

Steering, now electric, is light but precise and this 4WD wagon feels highly manoeuvrable; with a turning circle of 11.8m it's quite nimble.

The new hybrid set-up is aimed at performance rather than fuel efficiency and as before the Cruiser remains a comfortable open-road cruiser, smoothly tapping into oodles of power and torque when required, all managed smoothly through the 10-speed auto.

This Cruiser’s on-road ride and handling are composed but it is soft rather than dynamic. Its suspension – double wishbone, independent at the front and live axle and multi-links at the rear with coils all-around – soaks up most irregularities in any road surface.

Its ventilated disc brakes front and rear brought the big Cruiser to a controlled stop during our emergency-braking scenarios on test.

When it comes to off-roading, this LandCruiser benefits from handy 4WD gear some other Cruiser grades miss out on, namely Toyota’s swaybar-disconnect equivalent E-KDSS (electronic-Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System), front and rear differential locks, and adaptive variable suspension.

The E-KDSS set-up acts like an electronic active swaybar, adjusting tension on the front and rear sway bars to suit the terrain and driving conditions.

While it’s a high-value addition on-road – tightening them for better body control at higher speeds on sealed surfaces – it gives the vehicle a lot more flexibility in terms of wheel articulation off-road, offering full stretch on the axles when tackling off-road scenarios.

This hybrid 300 Series tackled all obstacles at our unofficial testing and proving ground without any strife; its top-tier power and torque levels are consistently delivered across a broad rev range and that 10-speed auto is never caught out, scrambling through ratios to find the sweet spot.

High- and low-range gearing are solid in the 300 Series, and the suite of driver assist tech, aimed at making off-road driving easier and safer, is comprehensive: the traction control system has been further fine-tuned over previous versions, and is now even more precise in application.

The 300’s multi-terrain select system gives you the option of cycling through driving modes – for example, Sand, Snow, Mud, Rocks and Dirt – to suit the terrain. When engaged, the modes adjust vehicle systems, throttle, engine output etc to best suit the conditions, driving style and terrain.

Off-road measurements and angles are on point for a large 4WD wagon. Ground clearance is 245mm, wading depth is 700mm, and approach, ramp-over and departure angles are 32, 25 and 25 degrees, respectively.

Besides that, whether it’s being able to access 790Nm of useable torque across a broad rev range, or relying on the LC300’s well-calibrated traction control, or if you are engaging front, rear and centre diff locks, this Cruiser is an almost unstoppable off-roader in the right hands.

Even without the diff locks engaged, this 300 conquers every obstacle you drive it at, through and over.

If you plan to use this 4WD wagon for anything more difficult than dry-track 4WDing in good weather then get more aggressive all-terrain tyres to replace the standard Bridgestone Dueler all-terrains (265/65 R18).

The GR Sport’s full-size spare is mounted to the underbody but it doesn’t impact running clearance.

The 300 Series can legally tow 750kg unbraked, and 3500kg braked.

Here, the Cruiser remains true to its old-school spirit – albeit with a tech edge – in the same way the Nissan Patrol Warrior does, while something like the Land Rover Defender is more spaceship than scrub explorer.

It might seem a bit odd, but the Ram pick-ups of this era have usually offered up a pretty refined, un-truck-like experience. It’s all down to plenty of sound-proofing, coil-sprung suspension and classy drivelines that merge effortlessness with clever, smooth transmissions.

And that hasn’t changed here. Although the sheer size of the Ram 2500 takes a bit of getting used to, everything from the dual-view exterior mirrors to the huge cabin glass area is designed to make it all a little less intimidating.

The V8 engine is muscular rather than brutal in the way it delivers, and it feels as though 0-100km/h would take about eight seconds to achieve. But it’s the manner, not the speed at which the Ram gets there that’s most impressive.

The engine is mellow and feels free-revving, and it works particularly well with the eight-speed automatic transmission to take out any torque deficits and keep it all rolling along with zero fuss. If you watch the tachometer, you might notice the engine is revving a little harder in each gear than you expected, with 5000rpm cropping up regularly if you start to get a bit enterprising with your progress. But the engine is so willing and so smooth in the process, this remains an observation rather than a criticism.

The steering feels light and takes a while to haul on the lock, but that’s probably a function of the vehicle’s off-road orientation. Speaking of which, it’s pretty good on a rough track, too, with lots of wheel articulation. The caveats for off-roading, however, include the huge bonnet that blocks the way forward when cresting lumps (a forward-facing camera would be a great addition) and the fact that the Ram’s wheel tracks are a lot farther apart than the four-wheel drives that have created Australia’s many bush tracks.

Staying with that theme, the Ram’s obvious girth can be an issue in tight driveways and parking stations, but that’s nothing new. We’ll also mention the engine can feel a bit grumbly when it drops on to four cylinders at low-speed cruising, and that the all-terrain tyres contribute a bit of noise on some coarse bitumen surfaces.

The Ram 2500 is pretty well equipped from a safety point of view. Modern ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) features are present, starting with autonomous emergency braking which incorporates a forward-collision warning and can identify pedestrians and cyclists.

Beyond that, the safety list includes:

• Radar cruise control
• Speed sign recognition
• A rear-view camera
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Blind zone warning
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Driver fatigue monitoring (new for this version of the 2500)
• An improved lane-keeping assistance program
• Trailer sway control
• Tyre pressure monitoring

What’s missing? A 360-degree camera would be great (and possibly should be mandatory) in a vehicle of this size. The higher Ram Laramie specification offers a 360-degree camera view as standard, and this really should be added to the Warlock.

The Ram features six airbags with full side-curtain coverage and two front airbags, but no knee airbag which suggests it doesn’t need it anyway. The real shortfall is a lap-only seat-belt for the centre-front passenger. Three child restraint points are fitted in the rear seat.

The hybrid Cruiser is covered by Toyota’s five year/unlimited km warranty.

Servicing is scheduled for every 12 months or 20,000km (whichever occurs soonest) and costs are, at time of writing, $450 per appointment for the first five years or 100,000km (whichever occurs first).

Toyota Australia has more than 300 authorised service centres around the country.

Big trucks don’t carry the same generous warranties as passenger car buyers are accustomed to. So the Warlock’s three-year/100,000km warranty might seem a bit rude. But trust us, it’s par for the course in the trucking world.

Service intervals for the Ram are every 12 months or 12,000km, which, again, seems a bit short but reflects the likely conditions under which a Ram 2500 will operate and the need for more regular oil changes and other servicing.

Ram includes 24-hour roadside assistance for the first three years of ownership, too, but there’s no capped price servicing plan on offer.

There are 77 Ram dealers in Australia covering all states and territories, including key rural and regional areas.