New Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, Land Cruiser 70 revealed

Agencies | Washington                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Toyota has taken the wraps off not one but two Land Cruiser SUVs – the all-new (and smaller) Land Cruiser 250 for the North American market, and the heavily updated retro-styled Land Cruiser 70.

The Land Cruiser 250 will be sold as the “Land Cruiser Prado” in other markets globally with slight differences in the trim and powertrain line-ups. With the all-new Land Cruiser 250, Toyota has reintroduced the Land Cruiser brand in the North American market (United States domestic market - USDM) after the bigger Land Cruiser 200 was discontinued a few years ago.

The much larger Land Cruiser 300, which is sold in India and other markets, never went on sale in North America. The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado has received a full model change after nearly 14 years.

It now sits on a modular TNGA-F architecture and is based on the recently showcased Lexus GX SUV. The new SUV is squarely aimed at the Ford Bronco, the Land Rover Defender and the Jeep Wrangler, and has a design influence that mimics cues from almost all generations of past Land Cruiser.

It gets a chunky two-box silhouette that nods to its “ability to withstand harsh conditions”, the model again majors on practicality, durability and dependability. Toyota says the new Land Cruiser Prado gets better all-terrain ability, with increased wheel articulation, an upgraded Multi-Terrain Monitor interface and improvements to the off-road driving modes among the headline upgrades that will boost its standing in this area.

It also gets a disconnecting front anti-roll bar, which can be disengaged via a switch on the dashboard to allow for maximum wheel articulation on especially challenging off-road courses.

The new Land Cruiser Prado will go on sale in the European, Japanese, Middle Eastern and Australian markets with the same 2.8-litre diesel engine that powers the Fortuner SUV in India.

This engine, mated to an 8-speed automatic, will get a 48V MHEV mild-hybrid powertrain by 2025. Toyota recently announced that it is testing an MHEV-equipped Hilux mated to the same 2.8-litre diesel engine.