WATCH: All-new Land Cruiser Prado makes dramatic Mzansi debut

Toyota has high hopes for the all-new Land Cruiser Prado that made its first local appearance on Thursday.

The Citizen Motoring got to see the car in the flesh during its first global appearance at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo in October. On show in Japan was the First Edition, which will be a limited run model. This model was inspired by the Land Cruiser 70 and features round LED headlights.

Watch new Prado’s unveiling:

During it’s annual State of the Motor Industry address on Thursday at Kyalami, Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) rolled out the standard model. This SUV was inspired by the Land Cruiser 60 and features rectangular headlights.

After much speculation, TSAM revealed that the familiar 2.8-litre turbodiesel GD-6 engine that serves on the current model will carry over to the new model. This mill also serves on the Toyota Hilux, Fortuner and Quantum.

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Unlike the six speed automatic transmission which this mill is mated to on other products, the Prado will have an eight-speed auto box.

While the current 4.0-litre V6 petrol mill has been continued, it seemed that there might have been a chance of the new 2.4-litre turbo petrol hybrid engine as offered in other markets making its way to Mzansi.

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Familiar mill

“I think one of the things that will be questioned is why it will come with a 2.8-litre engine. But when you drive it mated to the eight-speed automatic, it’s a different vehicle,” says Leon Theron, TSAM’s vice-president marketing and sales.

“But again, it’s back to its roots as a Land Cruiser. It’s got a modular design which is fantastic for when you need to replace parts.

“And it’s got a Land Cruiser 300 platform. For me those are the fundamental changes to this vehicle.

“We biggest concern is that we probably won’t be able to supply enough and that we’ll have a dealer network that will complain again. But we’ll deal with that,” added Theron.

“The Prado will be offered in two models, a TX and VX-R. And then we’ll have a First Edition model of which we’ll only bring a certain amount of into the market.”

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Only arriving in April

Theron said that TSAM has to delay the introduction of the all-new Prado due to circumstances outside out their control.

“We can only launch it in April despite the fact that we originally planned to launch it earlier. But there has been production changes in Japan.

“But I’m happy to wait a bit as we still have old Prado stock to get rid of. This model is going to do well for us.”

Pricing will be announced closer to the Prado launch date.