Toyota Australia officially axes the V8 70 Series LandCruiser – but are you really surprised?

That's right, the V8 LandCruiser is in the bin, and it's 4-cylinders or nothing if you want a 70-Series LandCruiser.

Toyota has recently announced that the iconic 70 Series LandCruiser range, will be exclusively powered by the 1GD 2.8L 4-cylinder motor. That’s right, the V8 LandCruiser is in the bin, and it’s 4-cylinders or nothing if you want a 70-Series. But are you really surprised?

What’s the story?

Since the day I attended the launch of the 2024 70 Series LandCruiser, Toyota has stressed that the order books were closed for the 4.5L V8 single turbo diesel motor that previously found its way between the chassis rails of the 70 Series ‘Cruiser. And they wouldn’t indicate when or if orders would resume. This, to me, was the death of the V8. As much as nobody wanted to say it out loud, we all knew it would be true.

Why the 4-cylinder?

From a business point of view, turfing the V8, for the 4-banger, makes total sense. This means Toyota uses essentially the same engine across a range of 4×4 platforms. Think HiLux, Prado, Fortuner and now 70 Series. It’s only the 300 Series LandCruiser that isn’t using the 1GD. The other elephant in the room, is the fact the 4.5L V8 diesel would struggle to meet upcoming stringent emissions regulations. So, sadly, it had to be put out to pasture along side the 1HZ…

What’s the 4-Cylinder 70 Series like to drive?

If you would like to see a full review of the 2024 70 Series LandCruiser, you can watch my review video from the recent(ish) launch event below. I left impressed with the 2.8L-powered LandCruiser, but think the automatic gearbox has lots to do with it.

What Toyota has to say

Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing & Franchise Operations Sean Hanley had this to say on the topic.

“Bidding farewell to the V8 marks the end of one chapter and the start of another for the go-anywhere 70 Series – a vehicle that’s renowned for its ruggedness, reliability and simply getting the job done,” Mr Hanley said.

“We continue to work closely with our production team to receive the maximum possible V8 allocation so that we can fulfil as many local customer V8 orders as possible.”

“Both here and in Japan, Toyota was determined to return the loyalty of our customers by devoting significant resources into ensuring the 70 Series remains a vital part of our line-up for years to come.

“The only alternative was to walk away from this model – and that was not an option.”

Manual gearbox now available

The other update, and one that will be popular with the 70 Series crowd, is Toyota is now offering it with a manual gearbox. It will be available from October production on all models in the 70 Series range.

Toyota tells us that compared with the V8’s H150F five-speed, the four-cylinder’s H153F manual has unique gear ratios and additional components to suit its high torque and tough customer usage.

They also say it has been calibrated with shorter first, second and third gears to aid off-the-line performance. A triple synchronisation mechanism has been added to the first gear to promote smoother changes. A longer fifth gear should help improve fuel economy as well as reduce engine noise at highway speeds. A flywheel compatible with a 12-inch clutch has been newly adopted, with the aim of offering higher engagement and maximum power to the road. Manual variants are also equipped with a dust seal to the rear end plate to prevent foreign matter entering the release bearing.

Mr Hanley also had this to say about the new manual gearbox found in the 70 Series LandCruiser behind the 4-cylinder motor.

“Australian customers, including farmers, miners, remote-area workers and off-road enthusiasts, can continue to rely on the 70 Series to cover the most inhospitable terrain and complete the toughest jobs – just as they’ve done for the past 40 years.”