Compare the2024 Toyota Land CruiserVS 2024 Mercedes GLC

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Land Cruiser are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLC doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Toyota Land Cruiser has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The GLC doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Land Cruiser has standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The GLC doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Land Cruiser. But it costs extra on the GLC.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Land Cruiser’s standard Downhill Assist Control allows you to creep down safely. The GLC doesn’t offer Downhill Assist Control.

The Land Cruiser’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLC.

Both the Land Cruiser and the GLC have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Toyota Land Cruiser weighs 761 to 871 pounds more than the Mercedes GLC. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Land Cruiser 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLC. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the GLC ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Land Cruiser for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the GLC.

There are over 3 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Land Cruiser’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. With 7 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Toyota higher than Mercedes.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in overall reliability. Mercedes is ranked 29th.

The Land Cruiser’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 71 more horsepower (326 vs. 255) and 170 lbs.-ft. more torque (465 vs. 295) than the GLC’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Land Cruiser uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLC requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

For better traction, the Land Cruiser has larger standard tires than the GLC (245/70R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Land Cruiser’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GLC (265/60R20 vs. 255/45R20).

The Toyota Land Cruiser’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Mercedes GLC only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Land Cruiser has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the GLC; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Land Cruiser (except 1958) has an active front sway bar, which helps keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnects at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The GLC doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Land Cruiser is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than on the GLC.

The Land Cruiser has 1.2 inches more front shoulder room and 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLC.

The Land Cruiser has a much larger cargo volume than the GLC with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 21.9 cubic feet).

The Land Cruiser’s cargo area is larger than the GLC’s in almost every dimension:

The Land Cruiser’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The GLC’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Land Cruiser’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the GLC’s (6000 vs. 5291 pounds).

The Land Cruiser’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The GLC does not have an oil pressure gauge.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Land Cruiser has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLC only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Land Cruiser has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the GLC.