Toyota Prado hybrid could be here in 2024

A high-performance petrol-electric hybrid version of the new 2024 Toyota Prado 250 Series will go on sale in Australia as soon as this year.

The eagerly-anticipated new Toyota Prado will be released in mid-2024 with a mild-hybrid version of the 150kW/500Nm 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel familiar from the current 150 Series.

But the push is on for the new ‘i-FORCE MAX’ 243kW/630Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid that was originally slated for China and North America, where the Prado will be known simply as the LandCruiser.

And it looks like that push has succeeded. Toyota Australia sales, marketing and franchise operations chief Sean Hanley told carsales it can be expected on sale here “sooner rather than later”.

“We don’t have a [launch] date, we are just investigating the potential of whether that powertrain would be suitable for our market.

“It’s part of our overall decarbonisation and multi-pathway strategy. It would be an outstandingly good attribute for our product line-up.

“Speculatively, we would like to do it sooner rather than later, but we don’t have a date.”

The bad news is it won’t do a whole lot to dent what’s expected to be an overwhelming level of demand for the new Prado because hybrid powertrain supply is a global bottleneck for Toyota.

“Hybrids are in incredibly high demand globally,” said Hanley.

The hybrid will likely be more expensive than the diesel, although pricing has yet to be announced for the five-variant Prado 250 range

However, between the diesel and the hybrid there’s little doubt the redesigned Prado will continue its predecessor’s dominance of the large SUV segment.

There are likely to be substantial waiting lists for the 250 Series, as per other popular Toyota models like the RAV4 Hybrid and the LandCruiser 70 Series V8.

“Whatever it is [Prado supply] it won’t be enough,” Hanley said.

“There are going to be thousands of people lined up to buy [Prado],” said Hanley.

The 250 Series’ hybrid system has already been seen in the HiLux-sized US-spec Toyota Tacoma ute and is expected to eventually become available here in the Prado’s luxury sibling, the new Lexus GX, which also arrives Down Under around mid-year.

The system includes a 35kW electric motor integrated within its eight-speed automatic transmission and a 1.87kWh NiMH battery pack to charge it.

It is a performance-oriented system that would deliver class-leading power and torque numbers to the Prado. The claimed combined North American fuel consumption 23mpg, which translates to 10.2L/100km and 236g CO2/km.

The current diesel Prado 150's diesel engine averages 7.9L/100km and emissions of 228g CO2/km. Fuel figures for the Prado 250 have yet to be announced.

Fuel consumption and emissions has become a critical focus for Toyota Australia as the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard looms with substantial fines for high-emissions vehicles such as large diesel SUVs and utes.

“Ironically on one hand we are talking NVES and on the other hand someone asked how many Prados are we going to sell and I said ‘whatever we get it won’t be enough’,” Hanley reflected.

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