The Toyota Land Cruiser brand might return to the U.S. in 2024 after being taken off the market with the end of the 200 Series. The Lexus GX-like Prado is considered our Land Cruiser instead of the 300 Series, which is used worldwide. “A person familiar with the plan,” told Automotive News that Toyota is “considering” making the Land Cruiser Prado, which is smaller and less expensive than the 300 Series but has most of the same capabilities. But it will be called the Land Cruiser, which Toyota does in many European countries. It could go on sale as early as 2024, putting it above the 4Runner but below the next-generation Lexus GX in the off-road market. The new GX, which will be shown off Thursday night, is expected to improve off-road performance and refinement, making it Toyota’s best off-road car in the United States. Toyota’s next-generation body-on-frame trucks and SUVs, like the 300 Series Land Cruiser, Tundra, Sequoia, and the new 2024 Tacoma, are all built on the TNGA-F platform. The next 4Runner is expected to have bones like these. Compared to the Lexus GX, our “Prado” isn’t as fancy and might even be rougher. The Tundra, Sequoia, and Tacoma all have hybrid engines now, and the new GX will likely do the same. A Japanese site told AN that the GX would have a 2.4-liter hybrid four-cylinder engine, at least for the Japanese market. It sounds like the 2.4-liter hybrid turbo-four found in the new Tacoma so it could be the same engine. (It will probably also power the new 4Runner, competing with Tacoma in the SUV market.) If the Prado isn’t made much better than the 4Runner or cheaper than the GX, it could hurt Toyota’s sales of off-road SUVs. Still, the top Tacoma TRD Pro could be better than other medium off-road trucks in some ways, so there may still be room for a Prado or something like it. Toyota’s all-terrain method with the new Tacoma may work out after all.
