Toyota LandCruiser global reveal delayed

The long-awaited 2022 Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series now appears unlikely to make its world debut this month, as widely anticipated.

According to sources familiar with the rollout of Toyota’s new flagship 4x4 off-roader, the chances of the new LandCruiser making its global premiere in April are virtually zero.

However, it’s understood that Toyota Australia is still aiming to launch the all-new LandCruiser by the end of this year.

And when it arrives Down Under it’ll be available exclusively with one engine, as we’ve previously reported – an all-new 3.3-litre V6 turbo-diesel that will match or better the power, torque and towing capability of the 4.5-litre V8 turbo-diesel it replaces.

Some Toyota dealerships have been telling customers the all-new Toyota LandCruiser, which has been 14 years in the making, will arrive here in July or August. Toyota Australia would not comment on these claims, but the new LC300 will be more expensive and could top $150,000 for the flagship Sahara variant.

However, we can confirm that the technical documents recently leaked by Kurdistan Automotive Blog and then recoloured by Land Cruiser Updates are legitimate, revealing key details about the new LandCruiser’s exterior, interior and engines.

The 2022 Toyota LandCruiser will present an all-new interior inside an evolutionary body design that rides on the same 2850mm wheelbase and measures the same 4950mm long and 1980mm wide, but is 10mm higher than the outgoing 200 Series.

Dominating the new dashboard will be a large (up to 12.3-inch) free-standing tablet-style central touch-screen, above physical buttons to operate off-road modes, climate controls and infotainment functions.

Technologies evident in the drawings include switchable front and rear differentials, a low-speed crawling mode, a second-gear start mode and, for the first time, a fuel-saving idle-stop system.

Rear parking sensors, a power-operated tailgate, surround-view cameras, automatic headlights and push-button starting can also be seen, but some of these features may be omitted from entry variants to keep the admission price down.

Interestingly, a GR-branded engine start/stop button confirms there will be at least some involvement by Toyota’s Gazoo Racing performance sub-brand, but this is more likely to extend to a cosmetically enhanced GR variant than a high-output, hard-core range-topper.

Three new colour options will be available (Snow White, Indigo and a third unspecified hue) and wheel options will include 17-, 18- and 20-inch – each with a six-hole stud pattern rather than five.

Expect a touch more head, leg and shoulder room inside a better packaged three-row layout that should continue to offer up to eight seats.

The 2022 Toyota LandCruiser will be powered exclusively by V6 engines, including a new 3.3-litre turbo-diesel.

Contradicting our previous intel that indicated the 300 Series would be powered by Mazda’s upcoming 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel, latest documents indicate Toyota has developed its own all-new V6 diesel that is expected to match if not out-power the current 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 (200kW/650Nm) in the 200 Series.

While the leaked documentation doesn’t detail peak power or torque – or the new LandCruiser’s towing capabilities, which currently top out at 3500kg – they do confirm the engine capacity and codename, F33A-FTV.

Almost certain to be matched to a new 10-speed automatic transmission, the new 3.3-litre turbo-diesel should be good for at least 200kW and potentially a lot more than 650Nm of torque, if rumours of its twin-turbo configuration prove correct.

The leaked documentation details two other (petrol) V6 engines, neither of which will be offered in Australia – at least in the short term – as Aussie buyers prefer the low-end torque and towing superiority of turbo-diesels.

These are the reasons Toyota, which is synonymous with petrol-electric hybrid power but sells more diesel vehicles in Australia than any other car-maker – doesn’t offer petrol engines in its larger SUVs any more.

The 1GR-FE 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated petrol V6 that has previously seen action in the Toyota HiLux and Prado will punch out 201kW and 377Nm, but is likely to be offered only in entry-level models in some countries.

The third powertrain detailed in the leaked schematics is a hybrid codenamed V35A-FTS and based around a 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 sourced from Lexus.

However, carsales understands the hybrid version of 300 Series remains some years off. That said, it should still be available here by 2025, by which time Toyota has promised a hybrid version of every model in its range.

Big LandCruiser markets such as the Middle East and Russia will likely instead get a non-hybrid version of the twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6, which currently lives under the long bonnet of the Lexus LS 500 limousine and pumps out a very handy 310kW and 600Nm.

At the very least, it would give the new LandCruiser 300 Series more mumbo than its petrol V8-powered (298kW/560Nm) arch-rival, the Nissan Patrol, even if the upgraded MISMO version sold in some markets now makes generates 315kW.

There’s also scope for a properly hard-core Toyota LandCruiser GR flagship, which could even bring back V8 firepower in the form of a Lexus-sourced twin-turbo petrol 4.0-litre V8 that could deliver a 450kW and 700Nm punch.

Toyota Australia has also said it’s studying the potential for an Australian-developed LandCruiser Rugged X ‘tough truck’ for off-road enthusiasts. It would be designed at its Melbourne-based conversion centre, which has runs on the board with HiLux Rugged X.

Whichever powertrains come here beyond the initial 3.3-litre turbo-diesel, Toyota Australia’s head of sales and marketing, Sean Hanley, promises the new LandCruiser won’t take a backward step.

“I want to assure all of our loyal customers that we are playing a role right now in the local development of this car, and our Australian customers can be absolutely certain this will be every bit as capable if not more so than the current model, when it comes,” he told carsales previously.

Based on an all-new platform, dubbed TNGA-F, the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser will bring significant upgrades in safety and technology. But Toyota may have some unwanted competition from its Korean competitors as both Hyundai and Kia are plotting LandCruiser rivals in the form of extra-large, highly capable diesel-powered 4WD vehicles in future.

These vehicles will likely be based on the same new ladder frame the Korean brands are developing for their upcoming dual-cab 4x4 ute and, in top-shelf guise, are almost certain to make use of the Hyundai group’s new 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel, which pumps out 204kW/588Nm in the new Genesis GV80 large luxury SUV.

Nevertheless, Toyota is confident its highly-anticipated new 4x4 flagship will appease loyal LandCruiser buyers, when it’s unveiled in coming months.

“LandCruiser is a very important model for us. It helped build the reputation that Toyota has for building trusted vehicles. And it allows for Toyota to bring in the high [sales] numbers that we see today because of that loyalty factor and that reputation,” said Hanley.

“We have one of the largest markets right here in Australia for LandCruiser in the world. Our parent company understands this and has also been working very closely with us to make this model as good as it can be.

“I have no doubt that whatever we launch in LandCruiser, the key to it is, is will it tow my caravan? Will it do the things I want it to do off-road? Will I have the same comfort levels I’ve enjoyed?

“When we launch the new model LandCruiser, they will see that we have considered absolutely what this car stands for in this country,” said Hanley.

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