Toyota LandCruiser returning to the US as restyled Prado – report

The Toyota LandCruiser badge may be due to return to US showrooms next year on the next-generation Toyota Prado, according to new reporting out of Japan and the US.

Industry journal Automotive News – through respected Japan-based journalist Hans Greimel – reports the next Prado due next year may be sold in the US simply as the ‘LandCruiser‘.

It would mark a return of the LandCruiser name to the US after it was axed by Toyota in 2021 with the end of production of the full-size, V8-powered 200 Series.

The new LandCruiser 300 Series on sale in Australia is not offered in North America – and instead its Lexus LX luxury twin is the only version of the 300 Series platform marketed in the US.

Toyota has elected to fill the seven-seat, off-road, ladder-frame SUV space in its line-up with the Sequoia, which is to the full-size Toyota Tundra pick-up what the Ford Everest SUV is to the Ford Ranger ute in Australia.

The US currently gets the Toyota Prado in the form of its luxury twin, the Lexus GX – a new generation of which is due to be unveiled tomorrow morning, Australian time.

Teaser images have previewed a far boxier appearance than today’s GX and Prado, with inspiration taken from the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes-Benz G-Class, according to Toyota insiders.

Drive has reported the new Lexus GX is due to offer a choice of a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 from the LX, or a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid from the new Toyota Tacoma pick-up in the US.

Previous reports about plans for a US-market Toyota Prado have pointed to the fitment of the 2.4-litre hybrid system.

The Prado is expected to inherit the Lexus GX’s boxy appearance when it is unveiled later this year, or early next year, based on arrival timing published in reputable Japanese magazines.

For more details on everything we know so far about the new Toyota Prado and Lexus GX, click the links below:

MORE: 2024 Lexus GX: New Toyota Prado’s luxury sibling teased, likely for Australia
MORE: 2024 Lexus GX imagined: Hybrid four-cylinder, turbo-petrol V6 power coming
MORE: 2024 Toyota LandCruiser Prado to debut later this year – report
MORE: Next Toyota Prado could get turbo petrol hybrid power for the US – report (published December 2022)

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