Toyota Raize Reviews

Recently, a realisation from behind the wheel of the current generation of a widely beloved rear-drive two-door coupe raised a question for me.Are sports cars doomed? The question came as I realised that because of the development of the car I was driving, the 2026 Nissan Z (specifically the Heritage Edition), underneath was essentially a Nissan 350Z that had been given enough surgery to be relevant in two decades later.But the last of the ancient platforms won’t be around for much longer, surely, and the cars built on them are, at least in two cases, some of the most-loved sports cars around.The other is the Ford Mustang, which rides on a platform closely related to one older than you might think.Back to the Z for a moment, because the platform it rides on comes from so far back that I was just getting into primary school when it debuted. The 2002 Nissan 350Z was released when I was in grade 2, about a decade and a half ago, when I was only allowed behind the wheel of one if it was on Need for Speed: Underground 2.Nissan recently celebrated 35 years of its Infiniti sub-brand, which kicked off with the G35 Coupe - a sibling car to the V35 Nissan Skyline - and gave the Front Midship (FM) Platform its flowers.The aim was to get a V6 nestled in just behind the front axle, which resulted in a 52:48 front/rear weight distribution. Slightly more weight over the front was a deliberate choice, according to the engineers.The FM platform would go on to carry the Z33 350Z to cultural relevance in the aforementioned Underground 2 and Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, before the Z34 370Z came along with a heavily updated version of the platform in 2009 and hung around for 12 years. The FM was just about old enough to vote in Australia when the 370Z was discontinued.The RZ34 is already coming up on four years old, and its platform is 20 years older than that.Even though its chassis feels heavy for something carrying a two-door coupe, it’s not alone in the world of heavy hybrid and electric ‘sports cars’, but it retains a level of engagement and trust in the driver that doesn’t rely on tricks and electronics.If Nissan built another platform for the Z, not only would it have possibly sent the company bankrupt, it might have lost some of its magic.Nissan’s FM platform is not alone in this. In fact, even though Ford probably could afford to create a new Mustang platform, you could argue the platform it rides on is even older than the Z’s. Depends who you ask. While Ford says the S550 Mustang is built on a ‘ground-up’ platform developed just for the Mustang in 2015, it’s to some extent based on the existing D2C platform that the Mustang rode on since 2004, itself an evolution of the DEW98 platform used from the late 1990s.While the Mustang’s platform is now different in a few key areas, including the addition of independent rear suspension for the S550 generation onwards, it’s still related to that of the early 2000s.And it’s still quite capable and really, really fun, just like the Nissan Z.I point all of this out because I’m a little worried about what happens to the other, even more affordable sports cars when it’s time for their next generations. Will the Mazda MX-5 or Toyota GR86 (and Subaru BRZ) hold onto their platforms until it’s no longer possible to release a car on them?We’re going to be waiting until after 2030 for a new Nissan Z according to Nissan Americas’ Senior Vice President Chief Product & Planning Officer Ponz Pandikuthira, though given he says the next GT-R will ride on a new platform the FM Platform might also be outta here.A new Ford Mustang won’t be around until a similar time, though Ford CEO Jim Farley has notably said the V8 would stick around “as long as God and the politicians let us”. The platform might need some more work by then if the brand intends to electrify the pony car, though it won’t go full-EV if Ford can avoid it.If you’re anything like me, you’d probably be okay with the next generations of each of these cars riding on a very similar platform to their predecessors.Of course evolution needs to take place, otherwise the Mustang would still have a solid rear axle and the likes of ANCAP would have thoughts about that.The current Mazda MX-5 and Toyota GR86 are two properly affordable sports cars, and if keeping them within reach of most people means a new generation on the same highly acclaimed platforms as before, I’d be all for it.

A fleet of new police cars is going to be harder to spot.South Australia Police have revealed six new patrol cars that will be hiding in plain sight.Dubbed shadow patrol cars, the hard-to-see livery will be applied to a range of vehicles including a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, Toyota Kluger and a previous-generation Subaru Outback.The vehicles feature colour matched and subdued police markings that are less visible in the daytime, but reflect at night when they catch the light.Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens said the new subdued police cars were to boost road safety and stop tragedy before it occurs.“With 61 lives already lost on South Australian roads this year, we cannot afford complacency. Every fatality represents a person who did not make it home and families whose lives have been changed forever,” said Commissioner Stevens.South Australia Police said drink and drug driving, along with dangerous road users or behaviours contributed to 67 per cent of the road fatalities this year.He also said the hiding in plain sight nature of the cars will be a deterrence.“If people know police may be on the road in vehicles that are not immediately obvious from a distance, they may think twice before speeding, driving affected by alcohol or drugs, using their phone, or taking risks behind the wheel,” he said.The new vehicles will take part in routine road policing and targeted enforcement operations in metropolitan and rural areas, according to South Australia Police.Each vehicle will be equipped with standard Highway Patrol and road policing equipment, including speed detectors, alcohol and drug testing and safety equipment.South Australia Police said these vehicles will complement, not replace, the high visibility Highway Patrol vehicles currently used in the state.The new fleet of shadow patrol cars has already had an immediate impact. They nabbed a driver on Wednesday in Seaford, who was spotted driving erratically.He was reported for driving while under the influence and fail to comply with breath analysis.He was issued with a 12-month instant loss of licence, and his vehicle was impounded for 28 days.

You may or may not know Australia was the first export market for the world’s best ever selling car.The vehicle in question is the Toyota Corolla and this was the first country to receive exports when 15 examples of the first-gen E10 model were shipped here in November 1966, just a month after it was revealed in Japan.During the 1966 Tokyo Motor Show (October 26 to November 8) Toyota had pulled the covers off the diminutive two-door, 1.1-litre city car which over the next six decades and 12 generations would go on to comprehensively out-sell automotive icons like the Ford Model T, VW Beetle and original Mini.So, yep, the Corolla turns the big six-oh this year and Australia was a VIP guest at its first party.Less than a year after the original E10 series debuted, a four-door sedan and wagon type van joined the initial line-up and the Corolla die was cast, the newcomer quickly building its reputation as an affordable, versatile and economical small car, initially going into bat against the similarly-sized, not to mention similar-looking, Datsun (Datto) 1000 and Subaru 1000.Another Aussie milestone for Corolla was assembly of the E10 in Port Melbourne, the first manufacturing site for the model outside Japan. Toyota Australia went on to build more than 666,000 Corollas across its Port Melbourne, Dandenong and Altona plants.    Only four years later, in 1970, the chubbier E20 Corolla was introduced, retaining the original’s front-engine, rear-wheel drive configuration but with more capacity, power and weight.The alpha-numeric model code convention continued in 1975 with the E30 / E50 ‘rolla, still rear-drive with later versions powered by a 1.3-litre four and the choice of manual shift or ‘ToyoGlide’ three-speed auto. The third-gen E40 / E60 Sprinter variants were JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) and (other) selected export markets only. A more mature E70 Corolla arrived in 1981 with a new coil-spring, five-link rear suspension, but still rear-wheel drive, with a relatively conservative appearance. A clear ‘white goods’ Toyota period.The E80 kicked off the front-wheel drive Corolla era in 1985 and the ground-breaking E90 became a hugely popular small car option in Australia from 1989, bringing more contemporary looks and the availability of 16-valve, twin-cam engines (anyone remember ‘The O2 Advantage’ slogan?), especially the high-performance ‘4A-GE’.The E100 from 1994 looked more like a substantial E90 upgrade than a new-generation model but the E110 in 1998 was a clear design departure with a distinctive quad headlight face morphing into a wide-eyed, dual-headlight expression following a facelift.In 2001, the now imported E120 ushered in a sturdier, high-waisted look for the ninth-generation, with sedans, wagons and hatchbacks available. The E140/E150 continued that design theme from 2006 to the E170 sedan and E180 hatch launched here in 2014.The Corolla reached a million Australian sales, in September 2007. And for completists, the E160 (Corolla Axio sedan and Fielder wagon) was never officially sold in Australia. Which brings us to the current 12-generation E210. Launched in 2018 it’s the longest-running Corolla model and has proved a huge success.It’s brought back hot hatch performance with GR and soon-to-arrive GRMN variants and looks set to soldier on until the 13th-generation Corolla arrives later this year, with (surprise, surprise) late October a short odds favourite for launch timing. Speaking of hot hatches, in terms of motorsport the Corolla has done everything from Bathurst (its first success was a Class A victory in 1968) to the World Rally Championship as well as multiple Australian Rally Championships (at the hands of Neal Bates and Coral Taylor) and a multitude of other competition appearances around the globe.It’s recently spawned the Corolla Cross SUV as well as a host of other variants throughout its life (AE86 anyone?). And the Corolla shows no sign of slowing down with efficient hybrid powertrains keeping it relevant with sales numbers continuing to tick over locally.Last year, 18,968 new Corollas found homes in Australia, and with another 6277 sold to the end of May this year it remains the country’s best-selling small car by a comfortable margin.   Toyota has all but confirmed the next-gen Corolla will be available with hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pure electric and possibly hydrogen fuel cell powertrain options.Speaking at the showing of a Corolla Concept at last year’s Japan Mobility Show, Toyota President & CEO Koji Sato said despite the new powertrain options, the Corolla must remain a car for “everyone”. “Whether it's a battery EV, plug-in hybrid, hybrid, or internal combustion engine vehicle - whatever the power source - let's make good-looking cars that everyone will want to drive,” Sato-san said. Hear, hear to that. But facing more challenges than ever before in its 60 years, the 13th-generation Toyota Corolla will possibly be the most important for the world’s biggest carmaker. Bring on the birthday party.

Toyota's LandCruiser family looks ready to grow in Australia, with the brand confirming new models are under study that would expand the lineup beyond the 300 Series, Prado and 70 Series in our market.The comments appear to confirm reports Toyota is working on at least two new LandCruiser models – a new ute and an SUV, both with electric options – which are expected to launch from next year.And one or both appear on the table in Australia, with Toyota here confirming they are studying the opportunity and believe there is room for new LandCruiser models in our market."We're studying it, and we think that there is probably room for this. It's about the right product at the right time," says Ray Munday, Senior Manager Product Planning and Pricing at Toyota Australia.It would mark a significant departure from all we've known and expect from the LandCruiser badge, with both rumoured models to be reportedly based on a monocoque (or car-based) platform, meaning they will have an urban focus, rather than an off-road one.It has been reported that the ute version will take its cues from the EPU concept first revealed at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show. The SUV version – expected to take its inspiration from the LandCruiser SE concept also revealed in Tokyo – is reportedly designed as a "sports SUV" – a far cry from the rugged off-roaders that currently wear the LandCruiser badge.Both are reportedly being developed with electric and petrol-hybrid options.One model that is almost certain to not appear in Australia is the LandCruiser FJ, with Toyota pouring cold water on the idea of launching that product in our market."The FJ has an older engine, it doesn't meet our requirements, (and) doesn't come available in the powertrains that we're after, so no plan on that," says Toyota Australia VP of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, John Pappas.That engine is the brand's 120kW and 246Nm 2.7-litre petrol engine, which has recently been axed from entry-level Toyota HiLux variants in Australia.

I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I have had the opportunity to test and review all sorts of weird and wonderful metal. But this one might be a first for me.I can’t recall ever testing a vehicle that’s not actually intended to be bought by you, the CarsGuide reader. But so it is with the new Toyota HiLux BEV. You can have one if you really want one, but even Toyota concedes that its first all-electric ute isn’t really designed for the public buyer.Instead, it’s for mine sites, which Toyota has been studying for two years to deliver an electrified HiLux fit for a very particular purpose.Which is why, on paper, the numbers aren’t overly impressive. The Hilux is offered in two grades and three styles – the SR cab-chassis ($74,990), the SR double-cab pickup ($76,490) and the more luxurious SR5 double-cab pickup ($82,990), all prices before on-road costs – and all share the same powertrain componentry.That means dual-motor power, fed from a 59.2kWh lithium-ion battery. Range, then, is just 245km in the cab-chassis, and 315km in the pick-up. Critically, though, Toyota is quoting the more lenient NEDC figure there. In line with the more realistic WLTP protocol (which is the industry standard in Australia), those numbers would likely be less than 200km and around 270km, respectively.That is… not a lot of range for an EV. But remember that particular purpose I mentioned? Toyota tells me the average open-cut mine site is about 40 square kilometres, and workers there need an electric ute to only cover relatively short distances before it is docked to recharge (150kW DC, 10kW AC).They also, Toyota says, need their electric utes to do ute-like things, which is why this electric HiLux can still very much go off-road. There are two motors on board here, one front and one rear, delivering a total 144kW. Toyota doesn’t quote a combined torque figure, though each motor is capable of producing more than 200Nm.It’s fed to all four wheels through a single-speed transmission, and Toyota has debuted a six-mode multi-terrain select system, with Auto, Dirt, Sand, Mud, Mogul and Snow modes.We tested the electric HiLux off-road, on a not-overly-challenging course to be fair, and the plug-in Toyota handled it all with ease and felt like it had more to give.It will also tow a 2.0-tonne braked trailer and the payload figures are around 725kg for the pickup versions and 855kg for the cab chassis – though we tested neither, and suspect your battery charge will drop like a bowling ball off a balcony when you ask the HiLux to carry or tow.The electric HiLux also looks a lot like a diesel HiLux. It is, and feels like, a retrofit, rather than a bespoke EV model, which they tell me is kind of the point. The minesites want the HiLux, they just don’t want the emissions. The big differences outside are, wait for it, the charging flap, the filled-in grille and aero-friendly wheel designs. Inside, there’s a new shift-by-wire gear selector, which has been moved closer to the driver. You still benefit from the tech overhaul given to the rest of the new HiLux range, which means twin 12.3 inch screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There are some strange-feeling shortcuts at this price point, though. Your circa-$75K SR model gets fabric seats with manual adjustment, for example, and you’ll need to spend more like $83K to get a wireless phone charger included.Anyway, that visual familiarity extends to the drive experience as well. Yes, acceleration is smoother, quieter and more constant without stepping through gear shifts, and that all feels very EV. But the behavior of the HiLux feels very familiar, in that it still has that kind of jittery unladen ride that is pretty common in dual cab utes. I thought the extra battery weight would settle the ride down a little bit, especially because it's down low and quite heavy, and should act a bit like having a load in the tray. But it still feels plenty bouncy on the road, and especially in the passenger seat, which somehow feels the ride more than the driver.That's not a big criticism. It's symptomatic of virtually all dual-cab utes. Electric or otherwise, as it turns out.On the road, the power on offer is ample. It feels quite punchy off the line, and while it's not one of those EVs that throws you back in your seat, the power is instantaneous and constant, and smooths-out the acceleration. We pushed towards and beyond 100km/h a couple of times and the power didn’t die off it just kept smoothly climbing to triple digits. All of which I fear might end up being something of an irrelevant point, because as I've said, you are unlikely to buy this. Toyota says that private sales are going to make up about five per cent of the BEV's total haul. The rest are going to mine sites and the like, which is why so much of this vehicle has been tailored to work there, rather than in civilian life.But those who do opt for the electric version are going to find themselves with the smoothest and perkiest Hilux, possibly of all time and also the quietest.It bodes well for electrified utes of the future, if only they can extend their range out to something a bit more usable.

Some of the world’s biggest carmakers, engineering and petrol companies are joining forces to save petrol-powered cars.BMW and Toyota are running a pilot program with Spanish petrochemical company Repsol and German industrial giant Bosch to see if they can make 100 per cent renewable petrol work in the real world.The six-month long experiment will use about 20 BMW and Toyota vehicles powered by Repsol’s 100 per cent renewable petrol, dubbed Nexa 95.Bosch will be tracking the refuelling data to validate the experiment’s success.Nexa 95 is produced with European Union compliant feedstocks, which have to meet strict renewable targets.A feedstock is a raw material that is used to make the fuel, and Nexa 95 is derived from agricultural and forestry residues, used cooking oils and other sustainable organic waste.It isn’t carbon neutral but reduces net CO2 emissions by more than 70 per cent compared to conventional petrol-powered vehicles.It is fully compatible with petrol vehicles without the need for any modifications and can be delivered via the existing refuelling infrastructure, with the fuel already available in a number of Spanish petrol stations.The program is trying to work out if vehicles running on this fuel can be deployed at scale to help decarbonise transport.Electric vehicle sales are growing in Australia and in many other countries, but the majority of sales in Europe, the US, Australia and many other places still use petrol as their primary fuel source.A switch to a renewable fuel source could dramatically cut emissions without forcing drivers to switch to expensive battery-powered electric vehicles.Toyota Europe executive Pascal Ruch said this fuel could make a meaningful contribution to decarbonisation today, and can be applied to older vehicles.“We believe renewable fuels can play a key role alongside electrification in reducing CO₂ emissions,” said Ruch.“It is becoming clear that there is a growing risk that 100 per cent zero-emission vehicles by 2035 may not be fully achieved. In such a scenario, renewable fuels can help bridge the gap to deliver carbon neutrality, especially when combined with hybrid and plug-in hybrid technologies,” he said.BMW and Toyota are two companies striving to find an alternative to battery-powered electric cars.The two have also teamed up in developing hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCEV), which are a different type of electric car.FCEVs turn hydrogen into electricity, which then powers an electric motor. Water is the only tailpipe emission.

Toyota has issued an urgent recall for its Tundra ute in Australia.It concerns a specific issue with 1199 local examples of the full-size pick-up manufactured between 1 May 2023 and 19 December 2024.These vehicles are equipped with a potentially faulty towing converter relay responsible for controlling vehicle and trailer rear lamps.Toyota said a wire within this relay may not be sufficiently insulated, which exposes the terminal pin, leading to the cabin back panel, which is a vital electrical component, shorting in some instances. This causes the brake lights to become inoperative and for the brake override warning message to be displayed."Inoperative stop lights may cause other drivers to be unaware when an involved vehicle is braking, increasing the risk of a collision which may result in injury or death," the brand's notice read.The car will also not turn on again once it has been turned off as part of the smart start system that prevents the car from being driven if the brake lights are not functioning. There is an emergency start procedure that can be used. Toyota said this issue does not affect other models within its lineup. A spokesperson for Toyota Australia said there have been three reported incidents of the issue occurring.The brand will contact affected owners to book a dealer appointment and rectify the issue for free.The procedure of reworking the terminal pin and re-insulating the wire to the main wire harness will take roughly an hour, according to Toyota. The hybrid Tundra competes with other full-size pick-ups like the Ford F-150 and the Ram 1500 for sales in Australia. It has experienced a solid sales increase in 2026, but remains a comparatively low-volume model for Toyota. 

Toyota has warned Australian customers to think about cyber security before they buy their next car.As a new generation of connected cars enter the market capable of recording not just vehicle data but also biometrics, as many are laden with cameras looking both outside and inside, Toyota Australia boss John Pappas said the time has come for buyers to be more conscious of who has their data and where it ends up.“ I think customers should really, really be aware,” Pappas told CarsGuide. “They really need to be aware of their data management. It's like anything when we go and buy anything, these days. We've really got to be aware of how the brand is managing our data.”While not specifically calling out Chinese car brands, Pappas’ comments come at a time when Chinese brands are now amongst the most popular in the country and cyber security experts continue to warn about the potential dangers from China’s national security laws.“ I'm not sure what other brands are doing and that's not for me to comment on, but what's important to Toyota is that we treat the safety... From a safety point of view, we treat software like we treat hardware.”According to Alastair McGibbons, former head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the problem isn't the car makers but rather the differences between data protection in different countries around the world, specifically China.“The trouble is, of course, that by its nature, that connectivity means that you could be taking a whole range of things - audio, visual, location, details from a connected telephone, et cetera - out of the vehicle and into the manufacturer,” McGibbons said.“And that’s particularly problematic for Chinese-headquartered companies because of the national security laws there, right? No one's really suggesting that the companies themselves are problematic, but certainly the national intelligence law in China means that the agencies of the CCP could direct that data be extracted and used by them.”Pappas made it clear the data Toyota takes from Australian-delivered vehicles is stored on data servers based in Australia, however he added there are data back-ups in Singapore and the USA. “This is actually all about protecting our customers from a privacy point-of-view and we consider this paramount to our safety philosophy,” Pappas said.“So we say hardware equals software when it comes to quality and safety for our customers, and that's how we've got very strong governance when it comes to our data. And governing the data and the privacy for the customer.“The only features in the vehicle that are by default when you get onboarded through the dealer are the crash notification, the paramount safety features and the SOS feature. They're really by default activated. When you look across our offering, our connected offerings and things like that and even driving recorder or they're encrypted in the vehicle. So they're not transmitted in any way. So for us we don't know what other brands and other manufacturers do in this space, but for us it's all about making sure that we can protect our customer safety and that includes the data governance.”McGibbons said he hopes Pappas’ comments spark a discussion around creating an Australian standard for data protection, in the same way there are regulations around other vehicle components, in particular safety.

As Lord Acton told us way back in 1887, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But Lord Acton never drove the new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series Performance Hybrid. Remarkably, despite the company’s litany of sports cars over the years - Supra, MR-2, Celica, etc - this new off-road SUV can lay claim to the title of ‘the most powerful Toyota production car’ ever offered in Australia.That’s thanks to its new powertrain, which is lifted from the US-built Tundra ‘pick-up’ (aka super-sized ute), combining a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine with an electric motor mounted between it and the 10-speed automatic transmission.But unlike the rest of Toyota’s hybrid range that focuses on efficiency, this 'i-Force Max' powertrain (as it is known in the Tundra) is biased towards performance - and a lot of it. The new LandCruiser makes 341kW of power and 790Nm of torque, which is an extra 114kW and 90Nm on top of the already very capable 3.3-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine in the LC300.It’s obviously a lot of performance, but the LandCruiser is a lot of SUV, so while Toyota calls it a ‘performance’ vehicle, don’t expect to be blowing the doors of a Porsche Cayenne or Ferrari Purosangue. Instead, it offers a punchy amount of torque that helps get the big beast moving with relative ease. But during on- and off-road drives there weren’t any moments where this new powertrain stood out as hugely different and better than the already impressive turbo-diesel option. Officially, Toyota says this new engine helps to tow more easily but we weren’t able to test that, so we’ll reserve judgement. They also said the addition of the electric motor improved low-speed behaviour off-road - and this we did get to test.In news that will shock nobody, the Toyota LandCruiser performed well off-road, with the addition of a new, more powerful engine not suddenly turning it into a tarmac-only soft-roader. But to say the electric motor makes it dramatically different, and indeed superior, off-road is a hard call to make without back-to-back testing on more challenging off-road terrain.The catch with this potential improved off-road and towing performance is the performance hybrid powertrain comes with a not-insignificantly smaller fuel tank than its diesel sibling - a 98-litre tank, instead of the 110L one in the diesel.Combined with higher fuel economy - 10.0L/100km vs 8.9L/100km - it means the theoretical range of the performance hybrid is 980km compared to over 1235km from the diesel. For those looking at an LC300 for a long-distance adventure vehicle, losing a potential 255km of range on each tank is not a small matter and swings the needle in favour of the diesel.You’re also paying upfront for the extra performance, with this new model more expensive than its diesel alternatives. For starters, the performance hybrid powertrain is only available with the high-spec Sahara ZX and GR Sport variants, which start at $156,740 and $155,990 (before on-road costs) respectively, a more than $8000 premium over the diesel.Obviously both are well equipped with alloy wheels (18-inch on the GR Sport and 20s on the Sahara ZX), leather-accented seats, heated and ventilated front seats, a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen paired with a 14-speaker JBL sound system. The only major specification difference for the Sahara ZX (aside from wheels and some styling) is the inclusion of a dual rear-seat entertainment system. For comparison, Denza B8 plug-in hybrid starts at $91,000, and offers 425kW and 760Nm from its plug-in hybrid powertrain. Like the LC300 it can tow up to 3500kg but unlike the Toyota, the Denza’s bigger battery allows for up to 115km of electric-only driving and has better on-paper fuel economy. It’s certainly a vehicle worth cross-shopping if you’re looking at an LC300, but ultimately there are some major differences between the pair.In terms of design and practicality there isn’t a lot to say about the new performance hybrid variants compared to the rest of the LC300 line-up, as it’s still a relatively new vehicle by Toyota standards, having only launched in 2021.The only design difference between the petrol and diesel models is the lower bumper treatments (front and rear) on the Sahara ZX, but the GR Sport is visually identical regardless of which engine you choose.Inside the new options look the same, with a fantastic array of physical buttons, dials and knobs (as well as the 12.3-inch touchscreen) to easily adjust things even on bumpy, tricky roads - and very much in keeping with the practical ethos of the LandCruiser.However, the biggest difference between the diesel and petrol is the boot. Thankfully there is no repeat of the hybrid Prado’s high boot floor and plastic riser solution to housing the hybrid’s battery under the rear floor. Neither of the petrol models are available with a seven-seat option and the floor is slightly higher than the diesel model, but not dramatically so.But despite Toyota’s best efforts to package the battery up tightly space is still lost, 216 litres to be precise, with the hybrid boot measuring 910L compared to 1126L in the diesel.

Toyota in Australia has laid out its vision for its GR performance brand, assuring the range will grow as it looks to tap "performance hybrids" as the power source that will propel it into the future.The seeds have already been sown with the bonkers GR GT, which pairs a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with a hybrid system for total system outputs of more than 478kW and 850Nm. Its top speed is in excess of 300km/h.The GR GT is expected to launch in 2027, but will also form the blueprint for Toyota's other GR models, with hybridisation coming to next-gen models."Efficiency hybrid is about matching existing performance, but has a significant improvement in fuel consumption. Performance hybrid is saying we take an existing ICE powertrain, and then the way to get a lot more power with effectively the same fuel efficiency is electrification on top. GR GT is an example," says Ray Munday, the Senior Manager Product Planning and Pricing at Toyota in Australia."A large, powerful ICE engine plus electrification is where we see looking forward."The concept of performance hybrids electrifying the future of GR ties neatly with reports out of Japan that the brand will launch a new hybrid engine in its Yaris GR and Corolla GR hatchbacks, with Best Car reporting the plan has been in place since 2024.At a 'multi-pathway workshop' that year, Toyota reportedly unveiled a petrol-electric engine that would redefine the brand's performance cars. The 2.0-litre turbo-hybrid set-up will reportedly produce 294kW and 500Nm, an uplift over the current GR Yaris’ 221kW and 400Nm."The GR side of the business is extremely exciting," says Toyota Australia VP of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas. "Going forward into the future, GR is going to play a bigger role across the family of Toyota Motor Corporation. We haven't determined how that looks or feels, and what that's all going to mean for what products and all the rest of it going forward. But it is very exciting in terms of what the company's planning to do with GR."While he wouldn't be drawn on details, Mr Pappas confirmed that meant the lineup would grow beyond the GR Yaris and GR Corolla in Australia as the performance sub-brand takes on new importance."Going forward globally, we've obviously articulated the role of GR about performance and really learning from motor sport and performance testing. So we're very excited by that here. And we're working out how that's going to look for Australia."