New Toyota Prado 2024: everything you need to know about Toyota’s next-gen 4WD

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Few vehicles are as highly anticipated as Toyota’s next-generation Land Cruiser Prado with the full reveal expected to take place very soon after many, many years of waiting. 

Toyota’s new Prado is expected to bring a long list of upgrades to this historic nameplate with hybrid powertrains, more off road capability and a modernised cabin among some of the likely changes due for this next-generation 4WD wagon.

And with the recent unveiling of the historically very closely related Lexus GX taking place in June, new information about the incoming Prado has begun to emerge rapidly.

So to follow every report and teaser we’ve detailed everything you need to know within this article.

August 2, 2023 – Australia confirms the new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado for mid-2024 release

On the same day that the new US-spec Land Cruiser has been confirmed, Toyota Australia has also announced that it will be bringing a new Land Cruiser Prado to market, set to arrive mid-2024. 

And to little surprise, the Australian-spec Land Cruiser Prado looks a lot like the US-spec version. 

With more squared-off LED headlights, the Australian Prado might not get the cool round-style headlights that have debuted on the US-market car, but it’s still a new look we can get behind.  

The new Prado will be powered by a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine that produces the same 150kW/500Nm as the current generation. This powertrain will be paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission, in place of the old six speed.

There’s no news yet on Australia being in line to receive the 2.4-litre hybrid engine available in North America.  

The reinvigorated Toyota Prado will feature a brand-new interior with dual screens and a very different-looking centre console.

It’s also not yet clear if Toyota Australia will bring both the slim-style LED headlight design and the classic front fascia but images of both were shared by the local press team.

August 2, 2023 – Land Cruiser breaks cover for the US market 

Toyota USA has officially pulled the covers off its new Land Cruiser for its home market. 

Built upon Toyota’s TNGA-F platform that is shared with the 300 Series Land Cruiser and Toyota Tundra ute, the new Land Cruiser is the first Land Cruiser to be sold in the United States since the outgoing 200 Series. 

Powered exclusively by a 2.4-litre I-Force Max hybrid engine, this powertrain will produce total system outputs of 243kW/630Nm. 

There will initially be three variants of Land Cruiser for the United States – a Land Cruiser 1958, the Land Cruiser and the Land Cruiser First Edition – all of which will look slightly unique in appearance. 

But what sort of standard features will the new Land Cruiser have?

Standard equipment for the Land Cruiser will include:

• Rear locking differential 
• Round LED headlights (on some variants)
• 18-inch alloy wheels
• 8.0-inch touchscreen
• Six-speaker sound system
• Heated steering wheel
• Manual fabric seats 

Higher-spec Land Cruisers are set to feature:

• Larger 12.3-inch touchscreen
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster 
• 10-speaker sound system
• Leather seats with heating and ventilation 
• Roof rack and roof rails
• Front skid plate
• Mudflaps 

It’s uncertain just yet what the future, next-generation Land Cruiser Prado for Australia will be powered by. It’s possible that a turbo-diesel engine could continue locally for the foreseeable future.

July 27, 2023 – Land Cruiser teased in the USA and Australia

Toyota USA has teased more official images of its upcoming Land Cruiser which is likely to mirror the Prado we should see on Australian soil sometime in 2024. 

The latest teaser image shows the front end of a previous Land Cruiser, with the front end of the new Land Cruiser also shown to one side. We can see Toyota bold brand lettering across the grille, along with chunky styling much like the related and upcoming Lexus GX.

Interestingly, there is an odd-looking duct to the front left hand side of the bumper, which could house a sensor for the ADAS safety system, or simply a fog light, however this is still unconfirmed for now. 

A short video of the rear of the US-spec Land Cruiser also showed off the taillights and badging.

It’s the first time we have seen one of the colours of the new Toyota Land Cruiser, which looks to be a dark blue-grey hue. 

Toyota releases more teasers in Japan and Australia

Interestingly, Toyota Australia teased several images of its own across several social media channels with other images also shared by the brand’s Japanese arm.

It’s now been confirmed by Toyota Australia that the model will be revealed on August 2.

The images show off the square edges of the new model such as the top bonnet corners and bulging wheel arches, as well as a shot of the tail-light.

While we’ve yet to see a shot of the dashboard, Toyota released its first image of the interior which focuses on the the 4WD modes, consisting of the H4F, H4L and L4L with ‘F’ and ‘L’ lettering likely representing the ‘free’ and ‘locked’ states of the centre differential. 

Also seen is the button to lock the rear differential which is standard fit on most off roaders. 

The shifter also appears to be a traditional stick rather than a rotary dial or button in a small win for traditionalists. 

More news to come soon.

July 12, 2023 – Toyota Prado could just stick with four-cylinder engines

The next Toyota Prado is unlikely to mirror the same enticing powertrain options as the new Lexus GX, if overseas reports are accurate. 

According to Carscoops, a leaked document suggests that the US-spec Toyota Land Cruiser (to be known as the Prado in Australia) is set to receive four cylinder engines only. 

This ultimately means that the twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine may not be coming for the Prado – likely done to ensure the Prado doesn’t step too far onto the toes of the existing V6-powered Land Cruiser 300 Series. 

The report states a series of engines that will be available in the Toyota’s large SUV including  the ‘1GD-FTV’ 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine (found in the current-generation Toyota Hilux and Prado in Australia) and the ‘TJA250’ which could refer to the a version of the 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine currently found in the Toyota Tacoma and Kluger. 

A 2.7-litre petrol engine is also mentioned and is likely to be the same, if not similar unit to the one used in lower Workmate tiers of the current Toyota Hilux. 

It’s likely that the Australian-spec Prados will receive the hybrid four-cylinder petrol engine in the coming years, rather than the non-electrified variants of the 2.4-litre turbo, as the brand works toward slowly electrifying its model range.

Toyota Australia currently has a total of nine models that are available with hybrid power. The upcoming Toyota Hilux will soon add 48-volt mild-hybrid technology to the ute for the very first time. 

The next-generation Toyota Prado is expected to launch in Australia during 2024. 

An official reveal for the Australian market is surely only months away. 

July 11, 2023 – render provides our best look yet at the 2024 Prado 

Renders have begun to circulate through the internet, with this interpretation from Kolesa.ru the closest we have seen to what will be the production version of the 2024 Land Cruiser Prado for Australia. 

Of course, the Prado render takes much inspiration from the latest Lexus GX SUV, as well as recent teaser images, and is far more boxy in terms of styling than the outgoing Prado. 

We can even see slight design hints of Land Rover Defender in there, however both Toyota and Lexus have styled things their own way. 

Expect several variants and several powertrain options for the new Prado, which is set to launch in Australia sometime in 2024.

July 7, 2023: Toyota USA teases image of next Land Cruiser, likely to be the Prado 

Toyota USA has posted a teaser image of what is very likely to be the next Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, alongside a silhouette of an original 40 Series Land Cruiser. 

The news comes roughly three weeks after Lexus announced its new-generation GX SUV – the luxury version of the Land Cruiser Prado.

Although we can’t see much from the silhouetted image, the overall shape of the vehicle looks basically identical to the freshly-revealed Lexus GX, as expected. 

Stay tuned, there’s much more to come. 

June 8, 2023: Lexus reveals new GX SUV – the luxury version of the Prado 

Lexus has confirmed it will bring an all-new GX to market in 2024. 

With striking boxy looks and no more V8 power, Lexus has confirmed that the new GX will initially be powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 engine that produces 260kW of power and 650Nm of torque. 

The twin-turbo V6 will be mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

But what about the option of a hybrid?

A hybrid powertrain has been confirmed and is coming at a later stage, consisting of a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is likely to use similar technologies as Toyota’s I-Force Max system used in the US-market Tacoma.

While the hybrid outputs have not yet been confirmed for the GX, in the Tacoma, this same setup produces 243kW/630Nm. 

What platform will the new GX ride upon?

The new Lexus GX will be built upon the same TNGA-F platform that also underpins the Australian-market Land Cruiser 300 Series, as well as the US-market, full-size Toyota Tundra pickup and the midsize Toyota Tacoma ute. 

The GX will use a system called E-KDSS (Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension) that aims to promote better on-road driving dynamics without compromising articulation off the beaten track.