Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series set to reportedly gain HiLux diesel, automatic

Update: Where there's smoke there's fire – the LC70 scores HiLux four-banger.

Toyota revealed a 70 Series update alongside the new Prado, packing the HiLux's 150kW/500Nm 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder and, for the first time ever, a six-speed automatic. Get the full story below.

January 2023: The venerable Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series could halve its cylinder count, according to a new report.

Japanese publication Best Car Web reports the popular workhorse – a mainstay in the Toyota Australia line-up for almost four decades – will return to its home market later this year with a HiLux engine.

It hasn’t been offered in Japan since a limited-run 30th Anniversary edition launched in 2014-15, which featured the same 4.0-litre petrol V6 as the FJ Cruiser – but demand for public and private use, especially in rougher terrain, could see it revived in the nation.

Under the bonnet, the resurrected 70 Series is expected to adopt the 2.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder from the HiLux and LandCruiser Prado, with 150kW and 500Nm and a six-speed automatic transmission.

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'1GD-FTV' 2.8-litre turbo-diesel, as found in the 2023 Toyota HiLux Rogue

This compares to the large 4.5-litre V8 turbo-diesel producing 151kW and 430Nm, as found in Australian examples since 2007. It is exclusively matched with a five-speed manual gearbox.

If true, the switch will follow the long-running Toyota Coaster passenger bus, which shifted to a low-output version of the ‘1GD-FTV’ 2.8-litre turbo-diesel with a six-speed automatic transmission in 2022 to reduce its emissions output.

An automatic version of the LandCruiser 70 Series was last available globally in 1992 when the 'FJ74' and ‘BJ74’ fibre-reinforced plastic versions offered a four-speed unit, matched to a 3.4-litre four-cylinder diesel, a 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated inline-six petrol, or a 4.2-litre inline-six diesel.

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But while the engine and transmission are expected to be borrowed from the HiLux, the 70 Series’ four-wheel drive underpinnings will remain unchanged, likely including its 3500-kilogram braked towing capacity.

The future of the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series is unclear for Australia – but it’s expected to retain the 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8, at least for now.

A stop-sale in place since mid-2022 is expected to last for at least another six months, as supply constraints push estimated delivery times to as long as four years.

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“We’ve paused that car. It’s part of the transparency for the customers. I wouldn’t see that car coming off [pause] for the next six months at least, and maybe beyond that,” said Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, last year.

“If we can improve [70 Series] production then certainly, but until we clear the current order bank, we can’t do that.”

A minor update launched in Australia in late 2022, introducing structural changes – including a 3500-kilogram gross vehicle mass – to sidestep new side-impact regulations, potentially life-saving autonomous emergency braking technology, and minor price rises.