A wealth of choice
TOYOTA: NEW OFFERINGS IN 2024 FOR A HUNGRY MARKET Car manufacturer is set to start its offensive as early as next month.
Toyota has provided an official glimpse of what South Africans can look forward to, by revealing key models it will launch in the next few months at its annual State of the Motor Industry conference, held at the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit last week.
Land Cruiser 70 Series
The market offensive will start next month with the debut of the eagerly awaited four-cylinder Land Cruiser 70-series.
Still to be priced, but not expected to replace the venerable 4.5 D-4D V8 or the 4.0-litre petrol V6, the first four-cylinder Land Cruiser on local soil combines the 2.8 GD-6 turbodiesel engine from the Hilux, Fortuner, Quantum and outgoing Land Cruiser Prado with a six-speed automatic gearbox, as opposed to the benteight’s five-speed manual.
Producing the same 150kW/ 500Nm as its siblings, the GD-6 will be available in the 76 station wagon and 79 single and double-cab models, but not the 78 Troop Carrier which soldiers on with the normally aspirated 4.2-litre straight-six turbodiesel also available in the 79.
Hybrid Hilux
March will see the premiere of the first hybrid Hilux, as well as the widened-body GR Sport.
The former, sighted undergoing final testing as the zero vehicle at the Kenyan round of the World Rally Championship last year, the Safari Rally, the Hilux 48V hybrid pairs the 2.8 GD-6 with a 48-volt mild-hybrid, capable of adding an additional 12kW/65Nm.
This means a combined output of 162kW/565Nm, though not permanently, as the added punch only applies for short spells.
Mated exclusively to the sixspeed automatic gearbox, the inclusion of the hybrid system has resulted in a lowered idle speed from 720rpm to 600rpm and the same 3 500kg towing capacity as the regular GD-6.
Claimed to have five percent improved fuel consumption, the 48-volt system will solely be available as an option on the Hilux Raider, Legend, Legend RS and in due course, on the Fortuner.
Hilux GR-S
The GR Sport finally adopts the same Dakar-inspired styling rolled-out in Australia last year, and later tweaked.
Called the GR Sport III, the prominent revisions comprise a restyled grille with a block letter Toyota badge, extended wheel arches, heavy-duty front and rear skidplates, new LED headlights, standard rock sliders and 17-inch alloy wheels, wrapped in all-terrain tyres.
Also fitted with gloss black mirror caps and redesigned bumpers, the GR Sport III’s biggest difference from the current model resides underneath, where apart from new mono-tube shock absorbers, upgraded coil springs and improved brakes, Toyota has increased the front track by 140mm and the rear by 155mm.
The 2.8 GD-6 engine continues without change, meaning 165kW/550Nm fed to rear or all four wheels through a six-speed automatic gearbox.
Land Cruiser Prado
Teased and speculated over a four-year period before finally debuting last August, the allnew Prado will make its debut in April as the second model after the Land Cruiser 300 to ride on the dedicated TNGA-F platform which will underpin the next-generation Fortuner and Hilux.
Incorporating styling from the Land Cruiser 60 and 80-series, the internally designated 250 Prado, known in other markets as the Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota Land Cruiser 250, will be offered in standard and limited-run First Edition guises, the latter having a restricted production run of 3 000 models globally.
The SA-spec Prado will retain the TX and VX-R trim levels, but the 4.0-litre V6 petrol has been dropped entirely with the 2.8 GD-6 carried over as the sole method of propulsion.
bZ4X
Toyota confirmed its much delayed all-electric bZ4X will officially go on sale next year.
Joined by its upscale Lexus twin, the RZ, the bZ4X had to be withheld, in part following a recall shortly after its debut due to the wheels becoming detached as a result of improper hub bolts.
Based on the EV-specific e-TNGA platform, with the bZ4X’s name denoting Beyond Zero, the 4 referencing the availability of four-wheel-drive and the X identifying it as a crossover, both will have a range of 400km and derive motivation from a 71.4-kWh battery pack, powering a 150kW electric motor on the front axle.