New Toyota Land Cruiser 300 hybrid coming to South Africa

Toyota plans to launch a new hybrid version of the Land Cruiser 300 (LC300) in South Africa.

The LC300 Hybrid was one of several new products recently announced at Toyota South Africa Motors’ (TSAM) annual State of the Motoring Industry (SOMI) event, which detailed the company’s plans for the upcoming year.

A key theme of this year’s event was Toyota’s new “multi-pathway strategy,” placing a renewed emphasis on new-energy vehicles to suit the expanding needs of customers.

Consequently, most of the new vehicles unveiled by TSAM are hybrid or electric, such as the RAV4 hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and the battery-electric bZ4X.

This treatment has also been extended to the carmaker’s flagship SUV, as the LC300 will soon receive a new HEV powertrain.

What we know so far

During the SOMI presentation, Toyota’s representatives noted that the Land Cruiser 300 will be made available with a hybrid drivetrain for the first time in South Africa.

While they touted the car’s improved fuel efficiency as one of the main benefits of the new technology (as you’d expect), it also emphasized that it was a performance hybrid with a high power ceiling.

They added that the hybrid was added in response to customer feedback, as many buyers had expressed interest in new options for the popular SUV.

While the presentation did not confirm the HEV engine specs outright, it did state that the Lexus LX already benefits from the system.

The LX is, of course, the Lexus alternative to the LC300, as the two cars share a platform.

It’s therefore same to assume that Toyota is referring to the powertrain found in the LX 700h units, which takes the form of a monstrous 3.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine assisted by an electric motor.

This produces a hefty 341kW and 790Nm – considerably more than the 305kW and 650Nm currently produced by the petrol LC300 GR-Sport.

On that note, the new HEV will be available on both the mid-range ZX and the top-end GR-Sport trim levels, but not on the entry-level GX-R.

Fuel consumption is noticeably improved, as the LC300 consumer roughly 12.1l/100km while the LX 700h uses 10.0l/100km.

This is still on the high end, but considering that the Land Cruiser is a large, luxury SUV with a starting price tag of R1,550,000, it’s reasonable to say fuel efficiency is less of a priority than it is for other vehicles.

Gear changes will presumably be handled by a 10-speed automatic transmission, which will send power down to all four wheels.

Even though the LC300 and LX have a gross weight of approximately 3.3 tonnes, the HEV’s enormous power reading means the latter can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in a respectable 6.5 seconds, so you can expect similar performance from the Toyota once it receives the new drivetrain.

The rest of the package should remain the same, meaning you’ll still have access to Toyota’s Multi-Select terrain tool with settings for Snow, Dirt, Rock, Mud, and Sand.

It should also come with all of the features found on the standard LC300, such as keyless entry and start, leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats with lumbar support, a leather multifunction steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, and a 12.3-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The GR-Sport units also come with 14 speakers, a DVD player, onboard navigation, a heads-up display, a heated wood-and-leather steering wheel, 360-degree cameras, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, automatic emergency braking, black-and-red upholstery, and exclusive GR badges.

Unfortunately, Toyota has not provided an official release date for the new Land Cruiser 300 HEV, but we imagine it won’t be an especially long wait.

Toyota Land Cruiser 300