Aussies lining up for new Toyota Prado

Australians are already queueing up to own the new 2024 Toyota Prado 250 Series almost a year before it hits local dealerships in mid-2024.

And while the replacement for Australia’s top-selling large SUV will arrive with a carryover 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel – albeit with 48-volt mild-hybrid technology – Toyota Australia says it would consider the turbo-petrol hybrid system available in the United States.

The news comes as Toyota reveals more snippets about what will be the first all-new Prado in 15 years, following an intensive local development process on Australian roads and tracks.

Pre-production mules of the fifth-generation off-road family wagon have been testing in Australia since 2022 and Toyota says the advanced prototype that was shown to local media and dealers this week – minus the camouflage it was initially layered in – is the only version outside Japan.

Toyota Australia vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley says the single white Prado has had “a pretty hard life”, with underbody scars and thousands of kilometres under its all-terrain tyres.

“It’s been driven a hell of a lot because… our vehicle evaluation team has been putting the 250 Series LandCruiser Prado through its paces exactly as they did with the 300 Series over an extended period,” he says. 

“Since early last year we’ve had what we call platform style prototypes in Australia.”

Local suitability and a tough new look should make the new Prado another hit with adventurous Australians, who already face delivery wait times of more than 12 months for the current Prado, as well as the LandCruiser 300 Series and LandCruiser 70 Series.

“The enquiry [on Prado] on our dealers since the global launch [earlier this month] has been incredible,” says Hanley. “I expect demand would exceed supply [initially] from what I’ve seen now.”

The new Toyota Prado 250 Series sits on the same TNGA-F ladder-frame architecture as the LandCruiser 300 Series, which also donates its wheelbase and a similar overall length and width, meaning it’s a lot larger than the existing model it will replace in the middle of 2024.

It’s also closer in its broad design ethos to the LandCruiser, ditching the swing-out tailgate previously reserved for Prado and instead going for a lift-up rear opening.

Key to the new Prado’s appeal will be its bold styling, which leverages themes and elements from LandCruisers of the past, including the much-loved 60 and 80 Series models.

While the Prado will be available globally with both a circular dual-headlight treatment and a quad-headlight set-up, it’s the latter that is on the cards for Australia.

We’ll also only get the one engine – an electrified version of the GD-series 150kW/500Nm turbo-diesel in the current Prado, HiLux and Fortuner – but Toyota Australia has cracked the door open for the petrol-electric hybrid powertrain that’s been earmarked for the North American market.

The hybrid combines a 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with an electric motor to produce total outputs of 243kW and 630Nm – V8 diesel-like outputs that would clearly be well suited to towing and offer strong all-round performance.

Hanley said the hybrid’s Australian suitability would come down to further testing and evaluation, given the towing and rough-road expectations of Prado customers.

“At the moment, whilst we haven’t ruled it [the hybrid] out, it’s just not part of our product planning,” he says.

“We’ve really got to look at the US car, make sure it can tow, make sure it can do all those things [expected of a Prado]. If it can do those things then certainly it’s a car we’d be interested in bringing to this market.”

However, the hybrid drivetrain could soon be outdone by more advanced powertrain technologies. Toyota is reportedly working on plug-in hybrid, battery-electric and even hydrogen fuel-cell electric-powered versions of the new Prado.

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