Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series to return to Japanese showrooms with Prado engine – report

UPDATE, 2 August 2023: The facelifted 2024 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series has been unveiled, with a restyled front fascia and the option of a 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel engine and six-speed automatic. Click here for more details and photos.

The Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series is reportedly about to make a return to Japanese showrooms from later this year – powered by the Prado's 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel rather than the V8 diesel offered in Australia.

Japan's Best Car publication – known for unearthing accurate top-secret information about Toyota – claims the LandCruiser 70 Series will be on sale in its home market of Japan by the end of 2023 after an absence there of almost a decade.

The Japanese media outlet claims the updated model will come with round headlights, with a digital illustration by Best Car (top) imagining what the 70 Series could look like when it makes its return there.

It is unclear what this means for the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series locally.

Orders in Australia are still on an indefinite pause until the factory can clear the backlog of about two years worth of deliveries.

Drive understands Toyota Japan is doing its best to fulfil V8 orders, however it is unclear what will happen to customers in the queue when the 70 Series phases out the V8 – as it has done on other models – and eventually switches to a smaller diesel engine for the Australian market.

The Best Car news story is the latest in a string of reports to come out of Japan which point to the 70 Series adopting the LandCruiser Prado's 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission.

There's no word yet on how long Australia will retain the 151kW/430Nm 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine and five-speed manual transmission currently powering the 70 Series range – and when or if there will be a switch to a detuned version of the turbo-diesel V6 in the new LandCruiser 300 Series or, indeed, a shift to Prado/HiLux 2.8-litre diesel power.

In 2020, a report out of the US from The Drive reported Toyota would be phasing out its range of V8 engines over three years.

MORE: Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series could swap V8 for four-cylinder power

However, in 2021 Toyota Australia senior product manager Rod Ferguson told Drive in there were no plans to discontinue the V8 for the foreseeable future.

Toyota Australia paused new orders for the V8-powered 70 Series in July 2022 with a two-year waiting list, telling Drive in January 2023 it was "trying to fulfil those orders as best we can".

In September 2022, the 70 Series increased its gross vehicle mass (GVM) rating to 3510kg, reclassifying the Toyota as a light truck within the 'mediums goods vehicle' category by the Australian Government – and sidestepping new side impact protection regulations.