Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series Hybrid 2026 Review

As is usually the case with these long-lead drives there are a lot of details that have yet to be locked in, and perhaps the most critical – pricing – is one of them.

From launch, Toyota Australia will only offer the 2026 Toyota LandCruiser Hybrid in top-shelf Sahara ZX or GR Sport grade, meaning the hybrids will likely be the most expensive variants in the entire LC300 family.

Local Toyota leadership says to expect a small premium for the hybrids versus their diesel-drinking counterparts, so with the Sahara ZX and GR Sport priced from $146,910 and $146,160 respectively, we would expect the hybrids to land somewhere north of $150,000.

Toyota has also hinted that there should be no compromises associated with the hybrid powerplant, so equipment levels for both the Sahara ZX hybrid and GR Sport hybrid should mirror those of their diesel siblings.

On the GR Sport hybrid we drove, its interior fit-out was almost identical to what we’re familiar with – the only obvious differences being a hybrid-specific instrument panel with energy flow graphics, as well as an EV-mode button to make it drive short distances electrically.

What the extra spend will net you is the gruntiest powertrain ever bolted into a LandCruiser from factory. Toyota Australia isn’t talking precise power or torque outputs just yet, and the hybrid is still going through the homologation phase so we can’t rely on the government to whisper those numbers into our ear either.

However, the LandCruiser hybrid is already on sale in the Middle East, and over there its petrol-electric powertrain produces a combined 340kW and 790Nm.

Those peaks come from the combination of a 305kW/650Nm 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 and a 35kW/290Nm single electric motor/generator that’s squeezed between the combustion engine and the 10-speed automatic transmission. It’s essentially an uprated version of the Tundra’s “i-Force Max” hybrid setup, which makes 326kW and 790Nm in Australia. Will Aussie-bound LC300 hybrids produce the same power as Middle-East spec cars, or will it cop a detune to match the Tundra’s output? We’ll find out closer to its launch next year.

It’s hard to form a definitive opinion about any car when given just a few laps around a confined proving ground, but right from the get-go one thing is obvious about the 2026 Toyota LandCruiser Hybrid: boy is it refined.

Only when you stomp the accelerator do you really start to hear that turbo V6, and once you settle to more sensible driving almost all mechanical noise seems to cease. From a standing start it’s definitely brisk, but even so it doesn’t necessarily feel like it’ll monster a Y62 Nissan Patrol in a drag race – and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes against the new one.

The hybrid Cruiser can also (very gently) be driven at speeds up to 30km/h on electric power alone, but hypermiling isn’t really the point of this car.

Instead, it’s performance – Toyota wants to emphasise the power and torque of this rig, and while it hasn’t officially confirmed that it will have a tow rating to match the diesel, a not-so-subtle nudge and wink from local staff says that yes, it’ll still be able to tug 3500kg along on a braked trailer.

As for gross vehicle mass (GVM) and gross combination mass (GCM)? Both are equally important numbers for those who tow but we’ll need to wait until after the homologation process is done to know more about those.

We can at least report that the off-road nous that has endeared the LandCruiser to generations of bush-loving Aussies hasn’t been messed with. In the GR Sport hybrid, you still have the multi-terrain select 4WD system, multiple differential lockers, and the trick off-road cruise control that’ll manage your speed over challenging obstacles for you, except this time it’s impressively quiet.

The electric drive motor essentially acts as a torque fill, providing 290Nm of twist right from zero revs and reducing the need for the petrol engine to work hard to overcome steep grades. The blending of the electric side with the combustion side is near seamless, and it will be interesting to see what works better out in the wild.

It’s hard to really assess ‘the bad’ when we still can’t see the full picture on the 2026 Toyota LandCruiser Hybrid. Will price be its downfall? Or could it be trimmed GCM or GVM that harms its appeal among the caravanning crowd?

If it only receives the Mid-East-spec 68-litre fuel tank, could it be a shortage of range that turns punters off, or perhaps a fuel efficiency figure that offers little advantage over the diesel? We’ll be able to say more once it launches in the first quarter of 2026, when all those relevant numbers will be released.

There is one compromise that we can see with the hybrid, though. The nickel-metal hydride high-voltage battery lives under the boot floor, and as a result it appears that the spare wheel is a few centimetres closer to the road. It didn’t impinge on the light off-roading that we did but expect a small decrease in the rear departure angle as a result.

That depends – and it’s something we’ll be able to detail more extensively with its launch.

If you’re attracted to the idea of the 2026 Toyota LandCruiser hybrid because you’d like to leave a lighter footprint on the planet, maybe don’t. It’s not that kind of hybrid.

However, if you’re keen on having the most muscular ’Cruiser to go out and explore the great outdoors with, and don’t mind spending a little bit more to get it, then this big rig could be up your alley.

2026 Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series Hybrid at a glance:
Price: $TBC
Available: First quarter 2026
Powertrain: 3.5-litre six-cylinder turbo, petrol-electric
Output: TBC (305kW/650Nm expected from combustion engine, 35kW/290Nm from electric motor)
Combined output: TBC (340kW/790Nm expected)
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: Not tested

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