New Toyota LandCruiser tech for full range of SUVs, utes

An all-new Toyota LandCruiser comes around only once every decade or so, and it doesn’t always bring a redesigned ladder-frame chassis – let alone a new family of powertrains.

So it’s safe to assume Toyota is planning to recoup its significant investment in the 2022 LandCruiser by spreading as much of its new hardware across as many models as possible, which should keep its product planners and vehicle development teams busy for many years to come.

Indeed, the LandCruiser 300 Series’ ground-breaking new ladder-frame architecture and its twin-turbo V6 diesel, petrol and eventually hybrid powertrains should form the basis of a range of ladder-frame SUVs and utes for more than a decade.

If you missed the global launch of the next-generation Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, the big news was the death of its V8 engine and an all-new TNGA-F steel ladder frame that’s both lighter and more rigid.

The 200 Series LandCruiser’s hallowed 200kW/650Nm twin-turbo diesel V8 has been replaced by more powerful and efficient twin-turbo V6 engines – including 3.5-litre petrol and, for Australia, 3.3-litre diesel units – matched to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Further afield, the LC300 will become available with a V6 petrol-electric hybrid powertrain, as part of Toyota’s promise to electrify every model in its range this decade.

Beyond the new Lexus LX, all of Toyota’s next-generation ladder-frame SUVs and utes are potential candidates for the new LandCruiser’s advanced chassis and powertrain technologies, including the new Tundra, HiLux, Fortuner, Prado and maybe even the 70 Series.

The new 2022 Lexus LX, which is just about to be revealed ahead of its global launch later this year, will once again be a reskinned version of the LandCruiser with more luxury, refinement, technology and different engines.

What the latter will comprise is not yet clear, but the emergence of the LX 600 name in trademarks and leaked documents suggests Toyota’s all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 will grace the all-new full-size luxury SUV.

Reports suggest the new biturbo V8, which is also expected to power the new Lexus IS F, LC F and LS F, will produce a healthy 493kW and 650Nm, which should be enough to rival similar engines from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-AMG.

But there’s a chance the new LX could also be offered in some markets with either or both of the 300 Series’ new twin-turbo V6 engines, just as the current LX 570 was joined Down Under in 2018 by the LX 450d diesel.

Toyota’s new-generation full-size pick-up is similarly due for imminent reveal ahead of its US release later this year, and it will also be based on the LandCruiser’s new TNGA-F ladder frame.

This week’s latest official teaser suggests the new Tundra will ditch its ageing 5.7-litre petrol V8 (284kW/583Nm) in favour of the LandCruiser’s 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 (305kW/650Nm), which should see it maintain – if not increase – the current model’s 4.5-tonne towing capacity.

The new Tundra will be offered with a second powertrain too, but it’s not yet clear whether that will be a V6 petrol-electric hybrid system, the 227kW/700Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbo diesel that will power Australia’s 300 Series, or the lusty new Lexus V8 in a range-topping rival for the RAM TRX and Ford F-150 Raptor.

Toyota Australia has made no secret of its desire to get its hands on the new Tundra and, given the LandCruiser’s platform is packaged for both left- and right-hand drive, it seems all that remains is a successful business case for RHD production for the first time.

“We are on record as saying we continue to review that market segment [full-size US pick-ups like the RAM 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado, both of which are converted to RHD locally]. We have seen that market segment grow in recent years,” Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley said previously.

“We don’t have any announcements today, but one thing about Toyota, when we bring something to market we study it and we get it right.”

While the next-generation Toyota HiLux won’t appear until 2024 or 2025, following a major midlife facelift in 2020, it will also adopt the same scalable TNGA ladder frame that underpins the new LandCruiser.

Therefore it will also be compatible with Toyota’s first twin-turbo diesel V6, which is expected to replace four-cylinder diesel power at least in some up-spec variants to rival V6 diesel-powered versions of its arch-rival, the new Ford Ranger due in early 2022.

Intriguingly, there’s also scope for the HiLux to return to its V6 petrol roots, with rumours that a hard-core GR HiLux flagship will leverage Toyota’s Dakar Rally dominance with significant upgrades for its suspension, bodywork, tyres, brakes and engine – in the form of a beefy 300kW-plus 3.5-litre turbo-petrol V6.

Like its HiLux sister model, the Toyota Fortuner received a substantial facelift last year and its replacement is not expected to appear for up to five years.

When it does, it will ride on the same 300 Series-based TNGA ladder frame as the next HiLux, which will also donate its four-cylinder (and potentially six-cylinder) diesel engines.

Both models should also score much of the new ’Cruiser’s safety and multimedia technologies, including a big new tablet-style 12.3-inch touch-screen infotainment system with all the latest connectivity features.

The release of the next-generation Toyota Prado has apparently been delayed until 2024, by which time the current model would be 16 years old.

And it’s not yet clear whether the new 300 Series platform will form the basis of it – or yet another new three-row SUV to come from Toyota and Lexus.

If it does, the new Prado could be available with all of the LC300’s new tech, including V6 power, but we suspect the next ‘son of LandCruiser’ will stick with four-cylinder diesel engines to keep pricing down and protect sales of the more profitable 300 Series.

Speaking of profitability, few models come close to the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series ute, wagon and Troop Carrier line-up, which continues to sell strongly despite only minor upgrades since 1984.

Toyota therefore faces tough decisions when it comes to an all-new replacement for the 70 Series, which would logically also adopt the TNGA-F ladder frame and powertrains from the 300 Series.

Toyota said back in May 2019 that the 70 Series will eventually be replaced but it remains to be seen whether that means an all-new model, which would require significant investment.

More likely is a substantial upgrade, including the move to the LC300’s new V6 diesel engine, which will offer greater performance and efficiency than the 151kW/430Nm single-turbo 4.5-litre V8 diesel that’s powered the 70 Series since 2007.

Toyota has confirmed the diesel V8 will remain in production for now, but its lifespan will likely be dictated by the introduction of the stricter new Euro 6 emissions standard in Australia, where it’s unlikely before 2027.

Toyota Australia is also party to a voluntary CO2 standard created by the local industry last year, which sets specific targets and further encourages car-makers to introduce new and more efficient powertrains.

Watch this space.