New cars coming to take down Toyota LandCruiser: 2026 Denza B8, Nissan Patrol and Mitsubishi Pajero are leading the pack of new age 4WDs headed our way

The Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series is preparing for an all in brawl.

The big, bad and brawny SUV is king off the road, but it is about to have a lot of new competitors that’ll bring luxe interiors, potent performance wearing new and iconic names.

One new entrant has already landed in showrooms while two more big names are expected in the next two years.

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Nissan Patrol

The LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol have been in a Rocky and Apollo Creed-style slugfest for decades.

Now a new version of the Patrol, dubbed Y63, has been revealed and is due in Australia towards the end of next year.

The bruising off-roader switches out its V8 engine for a potent 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6, which makes 317kW and 700Nm.

Those outputs trump the LandCruiser’s 3.3-litre diesel twin-turbo motor that pumps out 227kW and 700Nm.

Nissan has also assured us it will be 24 per cent more efficient than the outgoing V8, which puts its usage about 11L/100km that will ease some of the pain at the bowser.

It'll be swimming in new tech and have proper off-road ability.

Mitsubishi Pajero

2026 Mitsubishi Pajero digital render. (Thanos Pappas)

The return of the Pajero completes the big three of Japanese 4WDs, which dominated Australian regions for so long.

The new Pajero hasn’t been confirmed yet by Mitsubishi but big blocky 4WD test vehicles have been spotted around the world, including in western Victoria by CarsGuide.

The new vehicle will replace the now defunct Pajero Sport off-roader, and it is believed it'll drop the Sport name and be simply called Pajero.

There are still a lot of unknowns, but it is believed to be based on the current Triton ute, which means a rugged ladder frame and diesel grunt.

Expect it to use a version of 2.4-litre bi-turbo-diesel engine, but it could make more than the 150kW and 470Nm in the Australian-specification Triton.

The door has been left open for the new Pajero to use an SUV-like monocoque platform like the Pajero’s of old, but it is more likely to be based on the Triton.

It is expected to be revealed this year with Australian sales to follow not long after.

Denza B8

This one delivers the biggest curveball to the big three Japanese 4WDs.

Denza, which is a sub-brand of BYD, has just launched the B8 and slightly smaller B5 off-roaders in Australia.

Denza Australia’s COO Mark Harland told CarsGuide people are trading in a range of vehicles including LandCruisers and Prados as they switch to the new Chinese entrant.

The B8 has a lot going for it.

It uses a plug-in hybrid set-up that combines a turbo-petrol 2.0-litre engine with twin electric motors for a total 425kW and 760Nm.

Denza claims that is good enough to propel it from a standstill to 100km in 4.8 seconds.

It is fitted with a circa-37kWh Lithium-Ferro-Phosphate (LFP) battery, which delivers a claimed EV-only driving range of 100km.

It is also cheaper than the LandCruiser, starting at $91,000, before on-road costs.

The B8 has a braked trailer towing capacity of 3500kg and a wading depth of 890mm. The base seven-seat version only gets a rear diff lock, while the more expensive six-seater variant features a front and rear diff lock set-up. Wading depth is 890mm.