Next Toyota LandCruiser Prado here in 2023

Reports from Japan claim the next-generation Toyota LandCruiser Prado will break cover in late 2022 with petrol-electric hybrid powertrain options, launching about a year after the bigger Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.

According to Japanese publication

The Prado is Australia's top-selling large SUV and an all-new version is set to break cover about 12 months after Toyota’s next-generation flagship 4x4 wagon, the LandCruiser 300 Series, which has had its unveiling pushed back again – to September 2021 – due to real-world testing issues complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and related travel bans.

The latest reports suggest the next seven-seat Toyota LandCruiser Prado will leverage the same TNGA-F platform architecture as the 300 Series, and will be offered with new engines including a 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid powertrain.

Toyota Australia’s official line on the development progress of the next Prado is “no comment” at the moment.

“We have no announcements to make on any future updates to Prado,” a Toyota spokesperson told carsales.

The current Prado’s 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine (150kW/500Nm) was recently upgraded as part of a late-life update for the 4WD, which rolled into dealerships this month.

However, this engine, which has been plagued by a variety of problems, is likely to be replaced with a newer, cleaner turbo-diesel.

It’s not yet clear if the Prado will adopt the new turbo-diesel V6 that’s set to power the LandCruiser 300 Series and produce at least 200kW and 650Nm of torque.

While the new Prado will retain its traditional tough ladder-frame chassis, the generational change will bring a variety of safety and tech upgrades.

These should extend to a variety of new advanced driving systems that will help steer, accelerate and brake the vehicle – on- and off-road – together with vastly improved connectivity and infotainment systems.

This will ensure the popular 4x4 preserves its solid all-terrain capability and a significant towing threshold. It’s also expected to retain its seven-seat layout.

An entirely new design will be brought to bear, described as more aggressive than the LandCruiser 300.

The lifecycle for the previous three generations (J70, J90, J120) of LandCruiser Prado lasted seven years each, but the current fourth-generation Prado (J150) was launched in Australia in late 2009, meaning it’s now more than a decade old.

This is ancient in today’s world of rapidly evolving product cycles.

Timelines for the fifth-generation Toyota Prado’s Aussie introduction are unclear at this stage, but if the Japanese reports prove correct it might not be here until 2023.