Not this year? 2024 Toyota LandCruiser Prado expected next year with smaller engine - report

The next-gen Toyota LandCruiser Prado is still a year away according to new reports from auto media in Japan, as more information about the smaller sibling to the LandCruiser 300 Series comes to light.

Motoring magazine Mag X, in its April 2023 issue, reports the Prado will use the same TNGA-F platform as the LC300 and as the upcoming Toyota HiLux is expected to use.

It also says the Toyota SUV will, in some markets, gain a new engine option.

While Australian Prados currently make use of 150kW/500Nm 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines, Mag X reports that the same 2.4-litre turbo-petrol engine that’s currently used in the Kluger, where it makes 205kW and 430Nm, will be adapted for the Prado.

Set to be called the LandCruiser Prado 250 as expected, and in line with the 150 name it currently uses, the next Prado was expected to debut late this year, though now seems to be 12 months away as Mag X reports it’s due in April 2024.

The new information comes not long after another Japanese magazine, Best Car, reported that the Prado will be shown, but not released, in the coming months.

It’s also expected the Prado will undergo some form of electrification, and if it’s to do so before the brand’s goal of 2030, it might have to happen within the LC250 generation’s lifetime.

That could come in the form of the 2.4-litre Hybrid Max powertrain Toyota has begun rolling out overseas in models like the Crown, though locally a Toyota Australia executive told CarsGuide not to expect to have to wait that long.

“By 2030… we expect to have an electrified version of every model in our local range, excluding performance cars, and we will continue to evaluate all EVs for this market as they’re made available,” said Toyota Australia’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Sean Hanley at the start of 2023.

At another media event in 2022, Hanley more specifically called out the Prado among other models, and said to expect electrification much earlier than Toyota’s self-imposed deadline.

“It makes sense that the LandCruiser, the Prado, the HiLux and other commercial vehicles are going to have to adopt some sort of electrification as we get closer to that point.

“When we say by 2030, I don’t want people to interpret that as 2029 and 2030. On the journey to 2030 we'll start making those arrangements.”