LISTEN: New Land Cruiser Prado is a big deal for Toyota

After all of 14 years, the world finally got to see a new edition of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado this week.

The new Prado was unveiled in the United States on Wednesday, shortly after which Toyota South Africa Motors confirmed its local arrival next year.

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In this week’s edition of the Pitstop podcast, The Citizen Motoring‘s Jaco van der Merwe and Charl Bosch discuss its unveiling. They look at where the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is positioned both locally and internationally.

While many predicted the new Prado will look like a smaller version of the Land Cruiser 300, the Toyota designers surprised many. It will be offered in two frontal designs, each with its own unique styling.

The standard version features rectangular headlights which was inspired by the 60-series Land Cruiser.

A second model called the First Edition was inspired by the 70-series Land Cruiser and has round Led headlights.

Both offerings look the same at the rear.

ALSO READ: Wait over: Say hello to the new Land Cruiser Prado

What’s in a name?

The Prado’s name also won’t be the same all over the world. As the Land Cruiser is not offered in the US, it will be known as the Land Cruiser in America.

It will be known as the Land Cruiser 250 in Japan, with the 250 referring to its internal designation.

It is expected to remain the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in other markets, including South Africa.

ALSO READ: Toyota Land Cruiser 300: Which is better, petrol or diesel?

While the powertrains that will be offered in South Africa are set to be a hotly-debated topic before its local arrival, the engines announced during its global launch might be an indication of what to expect.

Powering the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

They are all four-cylinder mills. This means the current 4.0-litre V6 petrol engine in the current Land Cruiser Prado will not be carried over.

A 2.7-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, a standard and hybridised 2.4-litre blown petrol mill and a 2.8-litre turbodiesel with electrical assistance all formed part of the initial international roll-out.

After from the 4.0-litre V6 model, the current Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is also available in 2.8-litre turbodiesel guise. The mill diesel mill is soon to be hybridised in the Fortuner and Hilux. It’s therefore safe to assume that at least that powertrain should be offered locally.