For what has felt like forever, the new Toyota Landcruiser Prado has had its world premiere and has shocked quite a few around the world with its retro inspired styling. The new-generation Prado is set to arrive in Australia mid-2024.
The most obvious changes is the new design direction, bringing traditional Toyota styling and contemporary styling together. Many will see the LandCruiser heritage in its horizontal lines but with a modern take.
This trend isn’t exactly new but typically has been successful with the Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender, Hummer EV, and the Ineos Grenadier having their own interpretation of classic modern styling.
While keeping those traditional cues, Toyota’s design team were conscious of also improving key aspects to make everyday useability better, such as the front end has a low-set front cowl to improve forward visibility, and a lower beltline to improve occupant visibility.
Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley said the new Prado provides all the hallmarks of a LandCruiser that customers love.
“Australian customers appreciate the vast capability of the LandCruiser Prado, from use as a family vehicle, to off-roading, towing and long-distance touring, which is evidenced by its huge popularity,” Mr Hanley said.
“The all-new Prado takes everything that customers love about the Prado to a new level, with even greater performance, capability and technology, as well as bold new styling inside and out.”
Shared underpinnings
The dimensions of the new-generation LandCruiser Prado have increased by 95mm in length and width, 10mm in height, and 60mm longer in the wheelbase. The increased wheelbase now matches the LandCruiser 300 Series.
It is not just in length that the Prado shares with the 300 Series, the underpinnings are also the same with the TNGA-F ladder-frame adding 50% in rigidity over the previous Prado, and 30% in overall rigidity.
Toyota says that the improved rigidity allows for improved suspension performance with increased wheel articulation for off-roading and better handling and comfort on-road.
Hybrid the only choice
One of the biggest changes for the Prado compared to the outgoing generation is the change in powerplants offered. At launch there will just be one option offered, and that is the 1GD-FTV 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine paired with a 48-volt system. Toyota hasn’t called it a hybrid, but the mere fact that there are two systems paired together mean it is a hybrid.
The turbo-diesel delivers 150kW of power and 500Nm of torque, which are the same figures for the same motor used in the current generation HiLux ute. We have reached out to Toyota Australia to see if they can explain how the 48-volt system works if it doesn’t increase the power or torque compared to the HiLux.
There’s no official fuel economy numbers yet, expect those to land closer to official pricing and final specification for the Australian market. We are hopeful that the addition of the hybrid system can improve the urban fuel economy figures.
Interior refresh
The refresh continues inside, with a clean but functional design with digital screens for the dash and infotainment system. Seating will be offered in both five and seven seat layouts dependent on the model variant.
Australian omissions
Curiously, the Australian model range is missing out on some of the largest changes to the LandCruiser Prado. Firstly, the more powerful 2.4-litre turbo-petrol hybrid that outputs 243kW of power and 630Nm of torque. Quite an increase over the 150kW and 500Nm we will be seeing.
We have asked Toyota Australia if there was a specific reason why it is currently not part of the launch line up.
Pricing and final specification is expected closer to launch in 2024. Tell us, is the Prado something you’re looking forward to?
