Running barely unchanged from its launch in 2009, the ever-enduring Toyota Land Cruiser Prado may be finally getting a refresh this year.
Although Toyota is tight lipped about this subject, it is speculated that this king-of-the-hill SUV is poised to receive the Japanese firm’s new 2.8 litre turbodiesel four-cylinder, replacing the range of ageing engines. The same engine as seen in latest the Hilux and Fortuner, the power output of this oil-burner is expected to be bumped up to 201 hp and 500 Nm of torque.
The sad news is though that the six speed manual gearbox is may be the casualty of this refresh, for the Australian market anyway. With the only gearbox option for this four wheel drive being a six-speed automatic.
However, what you lose with the gearbox, you gain with new tech. The latest generation of Toyota Safety Sense may be coming to this 7 seat off-roader, thus making essential modern safety features like lane keep assist, pedestrian detection, pre-collision system, automatic emergency braking and speed sign detection standard across the range.
The interior of the Land Cruiser too gets an update. No news yet regarding the interior layout or dash design, but the Prado is set to gain a new infotainment system that comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, at the expense of a CD player and an aux input. Top of the range models will also get paddle shifters to compensate for the lack of a manual gearbox option.
As for the exterior of the Land Cruiser, no word yet from the Japanese auto giant regarding a change in design but speculations are pointing to this ladder frame 4×4 receiving a minor facelift when it hits the showrooms of Japan in September.
