Small but potent engine, for future ToyotaPrado.

The waiting list for Toyota’s Land Cruiser 300 is huge. But for some luxury 4×4 buyers, the best choice remains Prado.

Known as the ‘junior’ Land Cruiser, Toyota’s Prado is due for replacement in 2022, with South African market availability scheduled for 2023.

But what is to be expected of the fifth-generation Prado? True to its junior Land Cruiser reputation, it will be built on a shortened version of the Toyota TNGA platform, which is widely used across the new range of SUVs and bakkies such as LC300 and Toyota Tundra. That bodes well for retaining the Prado’s durability, with enhanced refinement and high-speed stability.

The more pressing issue regards powertrain. Toyota can no longer resist the shift to increased electrification.

Although Prado’s global demand is quite diverse, with low market penetration in places without strict emissions control (Europe, the Middle East and United States), the pressure to electrify is real.

The latest industry rumours from Japan, see a new 2.4-litre petrol engine being the lead choice for fifth-generation Prado.

Paired with an electric motor to form a hybrid powertrain, the new Prado 2.4-litre petrol should be good for a peak system output of 294 kW. That’s an impressive number, capable of matching most of Land Rover’s most potent Defenders.

The individual bits of Toyota’s new Prado hybrid powertrain see the 2.4-litre petrol engine (undoubtedly turbocharged), boosting 184 kW. An electric motor adds 110 kW.

And diesel? A detuned version of the new Land Cruiser 300’s 3.3-litre V6 should be deployed in markets where Prado owners prefer diesel or where emissions regulations allow.

Although the Prado’s 3.3-litre V6 turbodiesel will be less powerful than Land Cruiser 300 (to prevent sales cannibalization), it will offer a significant step-up, from the current 2.8-litre engine’s 150 kW.

The fifth-generation Prado should be a bit lighter too. Not by that much, though. The weight saving of that smaller 2.4-litre engine will be undone by the mass of an electric motor and batteries, for the hybrid system.

Reduced brake dive and a better overall centre of gravity should be notable benefits of the Prado hybrid’s smaller engine.

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