Exclusive: Petrol V8 engine axed for Toyota Land Cruiser 200 Series 2020!

Toyota's iconic 200 Series LandCruiser will no longer be offered with a petrol V8 engine, with a 2020 model year update shifting the entire lineup to diesel only. 

It means the end of the road for one of Toyota's most iconic car-engine combinations, with the 4.6-litre V8 to be permanently scrapped as of now.

Toyota's giant donk produced 227kW at 5500rpm and 439Nm at 3400rpm, which proved plenty to push the 2740kg LandCruiser around. 

But no longer, with its popularity thought to be the culprit - the big petrol engine makes up around five per cent of LandCruiser sales in Australia.

Toyota's LandCruiser has managed some 8461 sales so far this year, which represents a 1.4 per cent increase on this time in 2018. On those numbers, less than 500 sales would have been petrol powered.

The good news for petrol fans is that it's not too late; while CarsGuide understands no more petrol V8 engines will be ordered, there is existing stock in the dealer network. So if you have a hankering for petrol power, get shopping. 

The 2020 lineup will still climb from GX to GXL, then VX and finally Sahara, but all will now be powered by Toyota's 4.5-litre twin-turbo diesel engine, good for 200kW and 650Nm. 

As reported last week, while reports in the USA have surfaced suggesting the LandCruiser will be removed from sale in 2022, owing to its falling popularity in that country.

But CarsGuide has been assured the LandCruiser, in its new diesel-format, is safe in Australia.  

"The LandCruiser has a lot of history, and remains a strong seller. It will continue as normal for our market," a spokesperson told us last week.