Shorter fuel range for new Toyota LandCruiser examined

It’s the most powerful, most advanced and most expensive example of its breed, but the new Toyota LandCruiser also has the smallest fuel tank fitted to Toyota’s off-road hero in decades.

With an 80-litre main tank and a 30-litre sub-tank, the 300 Series’ fuel capacity of 110 litres is 20 per cent smaller than that of the 200 Series it replaces (138 litres).

It’s also well down on the 100 Series before that (141 litres with the turbo-diesel) and even the much-loved 80 Series (145 litres) that went on sale in 1990.

Other Toyota models that wear the LandCruiser badge – the 70 Series and Prado – also have larger fuel capacities than the car pitched as “king off the road”.

The Prado’s two tanks swallow up to 150 litres and the 70 Series can carry 130 litres in all variants except the Troop Carrier, which has a ginormous 180 litres of fuel capacity.

So, how far will the new 300 Series go on a single fill without having to carry extra fuel? And how does that compare to its Toyota off-road siblings?

We’ve got calculators at the ready for the ultimate Toyota 4WD cruising range showdown.

There’s obviously more to driving range than the size of your fuel tank/s. How much fuel your vehicle does (or doesn’t) use plays just as important a role.

For this comparison we’ve chosen diesel engines hooked up to an auto transmission and (where there’s a choice) opted for the largest fuel capacity for that particular model.

Cutting to the chase, 300 Series is a winner, at least as far as efficiency goes for a 2.6-tonne off-road SUV. Claimed fuel use (which is derived in a laboratory to Australian standards) is 8.9 litres per 100km.

That’s six percent lower than the V8-powered 200 Series it replaces – and lower again than any of the ‘proper’ LandCruisers (Prado may have the LandCruiser badge on its rump, but it’s a completely different vehicle).

Not that it helps with the overall theoretical range.

Crunch the numbers and the last of the 200 Series models could potentially travel 1453km if you assume it used the official 9.5L/100km.

Yes, we know those figures are generally tough to achieve – and impossible if you’re heading off-road or hitching a trailer (we’ll get to that).

But for an apples-versus-apples comparison we’re sticking to the official figures.

Do the same for the 300 Series and the theoretical range drops to 1236km. So, yes, you should still be able to get between Sydney and Melbourne or Brisbane and Sydney without a top-up, provided you take it easy.

Interestingly, the old LandCruiser 100 Series also had a longer theoretical range, at 1282km from its 4.2-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel (141 litre tank and fuel use of 11.0L/100km).

Those crying foul about the smaller capacity and shorter range of the 300 Series may want to put the 70 Series under the calculator – because it’s actually marginally worse.

Sure, the 70 Series gets a bigger tank, at 130 litres, but its single-turbo 4.5-litre V8 and bluff stance that was seemingly developed before engineers had been introduced to the concept of aerodynamics (the current 70 Series remains largely unchanged since the 1984 original) don’t help fuel use.

Official consumption is relatively high at 10.7L/100km, making the theoretical range 1215km – 21km shy of the new 300 Series.

But if you choose the 70 Series Troop Carrier – the two-door version that was once lined with seats, hence the ‘Troopie’ name – you’ll get a massive 180 litres of fuel capacity that’ll ensure you sail past a 300 Series as it stops to refuel.

The Troopie can potentially go 1682km between top-ups. Again, we’re emphasising potentially here and fully appreciate those numbers are largely unachievable (we’ll also get to that).

LandCruiser 300 Series v Prado

We also wanted to crunch the numbers with the Prado, which the Toyota marketing department conveniently includes within the LandCruiser family.

The current (and ageing) 150 Series model offers a solid 150 litres of fuel capacity, which potentially allows it to travel 1899km between refills. That’ll comfortably get you from Broome to Darwin.

But the latest Prado went backwards from the 120 Series model before it. Using the old 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, it was claimed to slurp 12.6L/100km but its 180-litre fuel capacity meant you could theoretically go 1935km. That’s enough to travel from the northern tip of the UK to the south – and back again.

That makes that previous 120 Series Prado the king of the Toyota off-roaders for touring distance. By calculator, of course…

What about the real world?

Which brings us to the almost 900,000km of Australian roads on which so many Toyota off-roaders do their business – a very different environment to a laboratory where engineers scramble to save every millilitre of fuel.

Suddenly those lab figures – where there’s no wind resistance, corners or coarse-chip bitumen, nor whinging kids in the back – seem as fanciful as a politician who has the public’s interests at heart.

So, it’s back to the calculator…

We’ve assumed your average 4WD with some people and luggage on board and having the right boot put into it occasionally to keep things ticking along will probably use about 30 per cent more than what that impressive number on the fuel label suggests.

That being the case, the 300 Series drops back to a more realistic 951km of cruising range, which is still well below the 1117km of the last of the 200 Series (which was upgraded during its life and fuel efficiency improved).

That makes an 879km Sydney-to-Melbourne dash achievable, obviously depending on what you’re carrying and how you drive.

The 300’s real-world range is also less than that of the 100 Series (986km) and way behind a Prado, at 1489km.

Towing and off-road

Many people buy a 4WD to head off-road or tow – and that’s where fuel use jumps way beyond those official fuel figures. Think double or more.

We’re assuming that when towing around three tonnes the car will use about 2.2 times the official fuel number.

That’s also the same figure we use when doing the fuel calculations to cross one of Australia’s most iconic tracks: the Simpson Desert. We’ve done it six times and never been caught short yet.

Soft sand monsters fuel use and while it can vary depending on the conditions, it’s sometimes easy to use double or more what the marketing departments optimistically suggest.

Under those scenarios, we estimate the 300 Series can still cover 562km.

That’s enough to travel the circa-500km from Birdsville in Queensland to Mount Dare Station, which is the first (or last) fuel stop on the western side of the Simpson.

Of course, we’ll leave the final judgement until we get out and do it in an LC300 ourselves, but the calculations suggest it is still capable of crossing the Simpson without having to carry additional fuel.

But you won’t do it quite as easily as you would in a 200 Series – something we’ve done previously and easily made it without needing extra fuel. The 200 should get around 660km under similar circumstances – a figure backed up by our own testing.

Similarly, the Prado can do it without raising a sweat, with a forecast 880km of range under the same conditions.

But a 70 Series will find life tougher, with a 552km range estimate (765km for the Troopie).

In summary

Yes, the new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series will likely stop short of a 200 Series when it comes to distance between refueling. But it’ll still go further than most off-roaders.

For those wanting absolute certainty for those big treks – or if you’re planning on something like the 1800km Canning Stock Route – then the aftermarket will come to your rescue.

There is no shortage of fuel tank upgrades for past LandCruiser models, and many 300 Series owners will no doubt turn to the aftermarket for the same treatment.

Meanwhile, we’re planning our next big adventure to put our fuel range calculations for the new 300 Series to the real-world test.