More power for new Toyota LandCruiser Prado? HiLux upgrades unlock access to serious grunt for iconic off-roader

The soon-to-be-updated LandCruiser Prado could welcome a serious power boost, with Toyota dialling up the grunt on the engine in the beefy HiLux GR-S, unlocking access to extra power for the same-engined Prado.

While HiLux's engine hasn't changed, the upgraded GR-S ute – just revealed for South Africa – pumps out a considerable 165kW and 550Nm from its 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine, up from the 150kW and 500Nm of the regular HiLux.

And the HiLux's gain could well spill over to the updated Prado, with Toyota's ageing off-roader tipped to get an update around the middle of this year, ahead of an all-new model arriving in 2023 - or even 2024.

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Both the Prado and HiLux share the same diesel engine, and when the HiLux's outputs were upgraded in 2021, so were the Prado's.

Exactly what Toyota will be updating on the "partially improved" Prado remains a mystery, but dialling up the grunt would immediately give them some key headlines for the new model.

According to Toyota, it's what customers demand of the HiLux, and so it would stand to reason that those same demands would be made of an updated Prado.

“Its power outputs of 165kW and 550Nm of torque is the one feature that really stands out. More power is exactly what the customers want,” Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors, says of the HiLux GR-S.

The bad news? Toyota is yet to confirm the GR-S model for Australia. In fact, it's one of several GR Sport models revealed globally, but the first to receive a power boost.

In Thailand, for example, the new HiLux GR Sport dials up the performance and responsiveness, but not the power, with a focus both on on-road performance and on adventure. Toyota fitted new monotube shock absorbers and new front springs, promising the "dedicated suspension enhancements deliver an even more rewarding driving experience, with increased control, responsiveness and grip feel."