New Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series ‘Shorty’ launched overseas

We saw it on a car carrier back in August and now a new short-wheelbase version of the facelifted 2024 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series is on sale in the United Arab Emirates.

There are no moves by Toyota Australia at this stage to offer the rugged new three-door SWB 71 Series LandCruiser, which is priced from 169,900 AED ($A69,000) in the UAE.

Sitting alongside the regular five-door Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series wagon, the new 71 Series sits on a shrunken 2310mm wheelbase that’s a considerable 420mm shorter than the bigger wagon sold Down Under.

In the UAE, the new 71 Series Shorty is available in a single VXR model grade and comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, black plastic wheel-arches, LED headlights (with adaptive high beam) and front fog lamps.

Inside, the three-door LC71 has tan synthetic leather seats and a 9.0-inch infotainment system that’s bigger than the 6.7-inch unit we get in Australia. Both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available, along with safety tech such as pre-collision detection and lane departure alert.

There’s no V8 turbo-diesel under the bonnet, nor a 2.8-litre four-cylinder oiler that’s now available in the LC70, but a 4.0-litre V6 petrol that pushes out 170kW and 360Nm of torque.

It combines with a six-speed automatic transmission only.

Toyota has announced that some markets will also gain a seven-seat version – for both military and civilian use – that features a removeable roof and a middle jump seat up front, plus two side-mounted benches in the rear.

In Australia, the facelifted LandCruiser 70 Series workhorse range continues in familiar LC79 single-cab and LC78 Troop Carrier guise, as well as LC70 dual-cab and LC76 wagon form.

First local deliveries are now taking place, although V8 versions remain unavailable to order while Toyota continues to clear its long back-order list.

There’s a host of upgrades with the facelifted version, however the headline act is the 150kW/500Nm 2.8-litre four-cylinder 1GD turbo-diesel that's been revised to cope with heavier-duty conditions.

It was initially believed that it would be the upgraded mild-hybrid version that will power the top-selling HiLux range early next year, but the fuel-saving tech has been left off the LC70.

The four-pot diesel is also paired to a six-speed automatic.

By comparison, the carryover 4.5-litre V8 turbo-diesel produces 151kW/430Nm and continues to be available only with a five-speed manual.

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