Toyota Prado upgrade on the way

The Toyota Prado may not command quite the same level of interest as its bigger, tougher new brother – the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series – but a technical update as soon as this year followed by an all-new V6-powered Prado on the horizon should get tongues wagging.

Recent media reports from Japan suggested an all-new Prado would be launched later this year, but our insiders say a new-generation Prado won’t be launched until about 2024, as we reported back in March 2021, and more recently informed us that a 2022 launch date was “premature”.

However, Japanese website Creative311 now says a late-life update for the 14-year-old Toyota stalwart, which remains Australia’s top-selling large SUV, will enter production around August 2022, bringing improvements to the vehicle’s safety systems and powertrain along with minor visual changes.

A spokesperson for Toyota Australia wouldn’t comment on the latest report, stating: “We are continually revising our model line-up, but we currently have no announcements to make about Prado.”

However, that doesn’t mean the latest intel from Japan is completely off the pace.

An inside source with knowledge of Toyota’s plans told carsales that details on the all-new Prado are still hard to come by (except that it will be based on the same TNGA-F platform as the new LC300 and Tundra pick-up), but a ‘technical update’ will occur before the next-gen Prado debuts.

“An update is coming [for Prado] in the next year or so. Technical updates. But it’s unlikely to deliver visual changes,” said our source.

This is code for “yes, there will be new tech” but it’s not clear whether there will be any change to the Prado’s design or powertrain.

It’s unlikely the Prado’s aging (and controversial) 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel (150kW/500Nm) will be tweaked – again – to make it cleaner and more efficient in the face of newer rivals such as the Isuzu M-UX.

However, the insider did caution that we could get a “surprise” around the diesel powertrain, which is still at the centre of a class-action law suit that continues to dog Toyota Australia and the brand’s hard-fought perception of reliability.

The next-generation Toyota Prado due around 2024 is almost certain to bring a new powertrain and if it ditches four-cylinder power the most likely option for Australia is the all-new 3.3-litre turbo-diesel V6 that debuted in the LandCruiser 300 Series.

However, it might ditch the twin-turbo setup for a single turbo, which would drop power and torque from the LC300’s 227kW/700Nm potentially to around the 200kW/600Nm mark.

Either way, it would bring a big performance boost over the existing 2.8-litre turbo-diesel’s 150kW/500Nm outputs, and a slick 10-speed auto to replace the current six-speed unit.

The next Toyota Prado will also be offered with a hybrid powertrain for the first time, but it remains to be seen whether that’s a development of the formidable 325kW/790Nm V6 petrol-electric system found in the US-market’s new Toyota Tundra and Sequoia.

Our insider warned there was a lot of ‘hearsay’ around the new Prado, for which a 2024 release was “safe to assume” and to “err on side of caution for all of it”.

As external factors continue to wreak havoc for car-makers, including components shortages and extreme demand for vehicles like the LandCruiser, waiting lists for which continue to be years not months, traditional vehicle development and manufacturing cycles have been thrown into chaos.

“Timelines for many projects have shifted and changed in the last two years,” said our source. “COVID, semi-conductors… It’s getting harder and harder. There’s no normal anymore.”

However, one thing that is almost certain is some degree of local development for the next Toyota Prado, given Toyota Australia is a ‘centre of excellence’ for the Japanese car-maker’s off-road vehicle evaluation process.

Australia was also a hub for testing and development of the LandCruiser 300 Series, both out in the bush and within its Melbourne-based test facilities.

The Prado has been the nation’s favourite large SUV for 12 of the past 14 years, making Australia a crucial global market for the ‘Son of LandCruiser’.

Pricing for the current Toyota Prado starts at $60,830 for the base GX and tops out at $87,807 for the Kakadu flagship. As per the full-size LandCruiser, expect the next-gen Prado to increase in price, with top-spec models likely to nudge $100,000.

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