2024 GX/Prado Release and Discussion (1 Viewer)

[AsiaLandCruiser]

From a pretty reliable source: the new American land cruiser and GX are the same vehicle but diverge significantly from the softer styled Prado in terms of going more boxy than a 4runner and more off-road focused than the lc300 or the 4runner/Prado twins. A tnga-f platform Japanese G wagon for North America. That's the latest rumors I've read from a pretty reliable source historically.

It's a shared platform between all the body on frame models so saying it's a Prado or lc300 based vehicle is really the same thing. The difference being the STD duty or hd drivetrain and whatever body they fit on top. I'm not sure I see a great market here, but potentially there's room for a USA market SUV that goes further towards the off-road side. And looks like a lc70. Supposedly that's what it'll be. Starting around $50k and topping out about $75-80 where the GX will start. And the land cruiser will be a turbo 4cyl hybrid, and the GX gets the ttv6.

If the volume of the interior and frame of the new Prado will be the same as the land cruiser then I would strongly consider. But if it's the same as the Lexus GX 470 which shares the 4runner than I won't be interested at all.
If by miraculous miracle toyota goes back to the sqaurish body of the 70 series with a 3rd row. The waiting list will be greater than when the Bronco first came out. With Toyota reliability and durability? Epic

 

[stonepa]

Having owned and driven a FJ60 since I bought it new in 1987, I have to say, I would not buy a new one in the 70-series form of a modern land cruiser unless it has some serious updates. Much better steering and brakes, coil springs all around so the ride doesn't break your back, modern rust proofing, and a 6 speed manual transmission would be at the top of my list. I know all of these would be vast improvements and should be included in any modern car. Just remember though, the old days are gone because we have it so much better now.

But keep the overall look (or the exact look) of the FJ60, even the interior. Gorgeous.

 

[onemanarmy]

Having owned and driven a FJ60 since I bought it new in 1987, I have to say, I would not buy a new one in the 70-series form of a modern land cruiser unless it has some serious updates. Much better steering and brakes, coil springs all around so the ride doesn't break your back, modern rust proofing, and a 6 speed manual transmission would be at the top of my list. I know all of these would be vast improvements and should be included in any modern car. Just remember though, the old days are gone because we have it so much better now.

But keep the overall look (or the exact look) of the FJ60, even the interior. Gorgeous.

A new 70 series has all that already.
Coils, AC, better materials all around, proper undercoating and better steel, modern R series manual (much better than H55)
It does NOT have 17 cupholders, heated and cooled seats, 4 screens, 360 cameras, $1500 headlight and taillight housings, automatic everything, and dooshy wheels.
So the idiot masses won't even look at it.
Its sad.

 

[AsiaLandCruiser]

Having owned and driven a FJ60 since I bought it new in 1987, I have to say, I would not buy a new one in the 70-series form of a modern land cruiser unless it has some serious updates. Much better steering and brakes, coil springs all around so the ride doesn't break your back, modern rust proofing, and a 6 speed manual transmission would be at the top of my list. I know all of these would be vast improvements and should be included in any modern car. Just remember though, the old days are gone because we have it so much better now.

But keep the overall look (or the exact look) of the FJ60, even the interior. Gorgeous.

Of course, Toyota would build an entirely new LC if they use 70 series inspiration if they wanted to sell it in the North American market. New chassis, modern suspension, updated console, crawl control, etc. Basically, enough to match up to what the Bronco has. I'm not sure they would want to in the first place but if they did, I would imagine they would sell something that is greater than the 4runner.

 

[onemanarmy]

The 4runner is a cash cow. They are not deviating from that.

 

[Jetboy]

If the volume of the interior and frame of the new Prado will be the same as the land cruiser then I would strongly consider. But if it's the same as the Lexus GX 470 which shares the 4runner than I won't be interested at all.
If by miraculous miracle toyota goes back to the sqaurish body of the 70 series with a 3rd row. The waiting list will be greater than when the Bronco first came out. With Toyota reliability and durability? Epic

If they share the platform and they'll have nearly identical wheelbase it seems likely that they may even share the same frame. But so will the 4runner. I suppose the North America land cruiser could go bigger than the lc300? Seems off, but the 4runner already has more cargo volume and payload than the lx600. So I guess it's possible.

The trend under the current design team isn't favorable. The Tundra was a lot of hype for what was a 2017 update just 5 years late. And it got 5 inches longer, but has noticeably less interior room and a smaller bed. Sequoia got smaller and less functional too. Cargo volume dropped from 120cf to 87. That's less than the 4runner. But at least maybe it'll have OEM tow hooks!

 

[AsiaLandCruiser]

If they share the platform and they'll have nearly identical wheelbase it seems likely that they may even share the same frame. But so will the 4runner. I suppose the North America land cruiser could go bigger than the lc300? Seems off, but the 4runner already has more cargo volume and payload than the lx600. So I guess it's possible.

The trend under the current design team isn't favorable. The Tundra was a lot of hype for what was a 2017 update just 5 years late. And it got 5 inches longer, but has noticeably less interior room and a smaller bed. Sequoia got smaller and less functional too. But at least maybe it'll have OEM tow hooks!

I'm not that impressed with the sequoia, I was in the beginning until i found out the turning radius but I believe it's a smart move for them to build it for the mall crawler that camps once a year.
$45-70k seems like it's the magic number for the offroad enthusiast which the 4runner and the tacoma fills as mentioned above.
I'm just thinking how I would like the Land Cruiser Prado to be. When I said 4runner I was talking about the technology and features because it's probably safe to assume they dont want a vehicle competing with the LX570. The chassis should only be from the LC300 to satisfy the land cruiser crowd.

 

[OSS]

This thread is actually more intriguing than any “next Landcruiser” thread prior to the 300.
We knew that there was going to definitely be a replacement for the 200 (but shocked to learn not in the USA) and so figured it would be an ‘upgrade’ in a sense from the 200.

But this new mythical maybe-maybe not new Landcruiser-Lite replacement in the USA a few years from now has everyone baffled and scratching their heads.
Great stuff.

 

[AnyMal]

If it were me shopping, i would honest get the V8 GX while i still can.
With all the 2020 updates it desperately needed. Carplay etc.

 

[on the rocks]

If they share the platform and they'll have nearly identical wheelbase it seems likely that they may even share the same frame. But so will the 4runner. I suppose the North America land cruiser could go bigger than the lc300? Seems off, but the 4runner already has more cargo volume and payload than the lx600. So I guess it's possible.

The trend under the current design team isn't favorable. The Tundra was a lot of hype for what was a 2017 update just 5 years late. And it got 5 inches longer, but has noticeably less interior room and a smaller bed. Sequoia got smaller and less functional too. Cargo volume dropped from 120cf to 87. That's less than the 4runner. But at least maybe it'll have OEM tow hooks!

No way the LC/GX will come back larger than the 300. Unless your talking cargo space. The Sequoya and LX are people/ family haulers with all those seats and electronics your naturally going to lose a lot of cargo space and especially payload. If you watch the videos and believe them, Toyota is downsizing and lightening their SUV/ truck lineup. The official LC300 release video from Toyota even states this.
They all will share the somewhat same platform and parts but that doesn't mean they all will be built different and have a sole purpose. The days of the next gen bigger more bloated generation Toyota is done. Want to believe it or not, this is why they dropped the 300 here and did the shift. This is nothing new, Ford started this already in 2019.
It was reported their sales target for the GX/ LC will be in the 30K a year range. This will NOT be a bronco/ Wrangler fighter, again, its a LC and what is once was. A $50K-$100K vehicle meant to compete with the Land Rover, not a weird small ugly looking FJ thing. The 4R will be a lighter, cheaper version with a pop top to compete with the lower range Bronco/ Wrangler. The LC will never see the 100K-200K sales a year the others see. They will leave that to the 4R of FJ or whatever they call it. However I bet it steals a lot of the 4R crowd and get them a larger number than they think. Unfortunately the FJ was killed off here in 98 and likely never associated with the LC again, but not necessarily a bad thing.

The T4 news is a bit disappointing but it paired with the electric rear axle, it kind of makes sense. Hopefully everyone is way off on the 550 powerplant and it is actually a straight T5 diesel hybrid they did make one at one point and based off the 1HZ so cant be all that bad of a engine.

Dump all the seats with 2 very foldable/ removable 3rd row seats IF that, dump most the unnecessary heavy electronics and your in the high 5K weight range.... Oh and put in that solid front axle Toyota......

 

[stonepa]

A new 70 series has all that already.
Coils, AC, better materials all around, proper undercoating and better steel, modern R series manual (much better than H55)
It does NOT have 17 cupholders, heated and cooled seats, 4 screens, 360 cameras, $1500 headlight and taillight housings, automatic everything, and dooshy wheels.
So the idiot masses won't even look at it.
Its sad.

I drove a dealer fresh 79 series SW last year in KSA and it had rear leafs / front coils. Maybe the latest 5 door SW has coils?

 

[onemanarmy]

The new 70 pickups have rear leaves, but front coils.
The overall ride quality is vastly improved with the coils up front, and different spring heights and rates can be used to satisfy any number of needs.

 

[on the rocks]

HMMM, maybe that is where the 550 badged GX confusion is stemming from Its not a detuned 3.5 TT
It is a 3.5L.... 5 cylinder turbo hybrid diesel. Fits nicely between a I4 and V6

 

[stonepa]

The new 70 pickups have rear leaves, but front coils.
The overall ride quality is vastly improved with the coils up front, and different spring heights and rates can be used to satisfy any number of needs.

Makes sense. The one I drove was a 3 door so it may have been set up much like a pickup. It did drive nice and I liked the spartan spec.

 

[OGBeno]

No 7x trucks currently available for sale have rear coil springs. They are all coil front, leaf rear.

Unless a conversion has been done.

 

[Jetboy]

No way the LC/GX will come back larger than the 300. Unless your talking cargo space. The Sequoya and LX are people/ family haulers with all those seats and electronics your naturally going to lose a lot of cargo space and especially payload. If you watch the videos and believe them, Toyota is downsizing and lightening their SUV/ truck lineup. The official LC300 release video from Toyota even states this.
They all will share the somewhat same platform and parts but that doesn't mean they all will be built different and have a sole purpose. The days of the next gen bigger more bloated generation Toyota is done. Want to believe it or not, this is why they dropped the 300 here and did the shift. This is nothing new, Ford started this already in 2019.
It was reported their sales target for the GX/ LC will be in the 30K a year range. This will NOT be a bronco/ Wrangler fighter, again, its a LC and what is once was. A $50K-$100K vehicle meant to compete with the Land Rover, not a weird small ugly looking FJ thing. The 4R will be a lighter, cheaper version with a pop top to compete with the lower range Bronco/ Wrangler. The LC will never see the 100K-200K sales a year the others see. They will leave that to the 4R of FJ or whatever they call it. However I bet it steals a lot of the 4R crowd and get them a larger number than they think. Unfortunately the FJ was killed off here in 98 and likely never associated with the LC again, but not necessarily a bad thing.

The T4 news is a bit disappointing but it paired with the electric rear axle, it kind of makes sense. Hopefully everyone is way off on the 550 powerplant and it is actually a straight T5 diesel hybrid they did make one at one point and based off the 1HZ so cant be all that bad of a engine.

Dump all the seats with 2 very foldable/ removable 3rd row seats IF that, dump most the unnecessary heavy electronics and your in the high 5K weight range.... Oh and put in that solid front axle Toyota......

I would say the same thing. But if you told me 20 years ago that a 4Runner would have the most interior cargo space of any Toyota SUV in North America I would have laughed.

It even has nearly identical cargo space with the 3rd row folded as a 3 row 4runner with the 3rd row folded. And the 4Runner isn't big. A full size people mover needs to have some room for your kids and all of their stuff. I'm squarely in that demographic with 2 kids a dog. The Sequoia and Tundra only got smaller on the inside. They both got larger on the outside. It's just a ton of space got sacrificed for styling this time around. It does look great though. So the compromise for styling at least got the styling part right for the Sequoia IMO. I know it isn't very functional and I still kinda want to buy one, so maybe they know me better than I know myself?

And giving credit where it's due - the super easy fit of 37's on the new sequoia and Tundra is great news. Makes setting up for most off-road use a breeze. But that kind of circles me back to the question of what Toyota's going to do with an American Land Cruiser that will be more "offroad" ready than a Sequoia Trail Hunter on 37's. Or a next gen 4Runner that presumably would also be able to just bolt on 37's. Unless it's a solid front axle and comes with a factory winch and steel bumpers, what else can you really squeeze between the two models?

 

[Jetboy]

No 7x trucks currently available for sale have rear coil springs. They are all coil front, leaf rear.

Unless a conversion has been done.

It seems reasonable to assume a move to the GA-F platform would include coil rear for the LC70 right? I don't know if there's a plan to move the LC70 over to the new platform though. I recall the 2020 SWB LC70 concept had a pretty unusual rear suspension setup - it's coil springs with a 3 link rather than the typical 5 links. It looked like a near production ready concept. Maybe that's the future of the LC7x? Basically a just a duplicate of the front end setup on the back.

 

[OGBeno]

It seems reasonable to assume a move to the GA-F platform would include coil rear for the LC70 right? I don't know if there's a plan to move the LC70 over to the new platform though. I recall the 2020 SWB LC70 concept had a pretty unusual rear suspension setup - it's coil springs with a 3 link rather than the typical 5 links. It looked like a near production ready concept. Maybe that's the future of the LC7x? Basically a just a duplicate of the front end setup on the back.

Quite possibly.

I am not privy to current design considerations on the future of the 7x series.

Whether thy move it to the -F platform is questionable since it's the only remaining truck platform that still incorporates a SFA. That might not lend itself to modularity under the TNGA-F platform premises (with the rest of the truck that are IFS).

That said, this is Toyota and TAB we are talking about, they can pretty much create anything they want when it comes to design, prototype and implementation. The future of the 7x will be definitely the outlier moving forwards.

 

[on the rocks]

I would say the same thing. But if you told me 20 years ago that a 4Runner would have the most interior cargo space of any Toyota SUV in North America I would have laughed.

Exactly, they were trying to keep up with the big boys and upsizing everyone to get bigger and better. They lost their identity and now are re-aligning it.

You fit right in their target as a family and the new LC and what it once was. Family of 4 and a dog with great cargo space. Maybe pushing it by one.... This is why I got an 80 in the 90's over a Wrangler and couldn't quite afford the Defender and I'm sure many did the same in the 80's. You wont get that in a Wrangler, a Bronco and I'm betting the 25' 4R. This didn't work for the 300 here because a family of 4.5 cant afford a 6 figure LUX UTE. Add in the big V8 that burns gas and kills payload. 100's of lbs of unnecessary electronics for the normal soccer mom... They lost their LC fan base and hopefully have the answer now.

Keep in mind, they started the TNGA platform for a reason and it all started with the Prius.... Plenty of roof for the new LC/ GX in the family... Look where the biggest gap is in this chart!
I'm sure they hear the want for the solid axle but don't seem to be interested for some reason. They probably just done want to hear people bitch their LC 300 rides much better on the highway!

 

[Jetboy]

Exactly, they were trying to keep up with the big boys and upsizing everyone to get bigger and better. They lost their identity and now are re-aligning it.

You fit right in their target as a family and the new LC and what it once was. Family of 4 and a dog with great cargo space. Maybe pushing it by one.... This is why I got an 80 in the 90's over a Wrangler and couldn't quite afford the Defender and I'm sure many did the same in the 80's. You wont get that in a Wrangler, a Bronco and I'm betting the 25' 4R. This didn't work for the 300 here because a family of 4.5 cant afford a 6 figure LUX UTE. Add in the big V8 that burns gas and kills payload. 100's of lbs of unnecessary electronics for the normal soccer mom... They lost their LC fan base and hopefully have the answer now.

Keep in mind, they started the TNGA platform for a reason and it all started with the Prius.... Plenty of roof for the new LC/ GX in the family... Look where the biggest gap is in this chart!
I'm sure they hear the want for the solid axle but don't seem to be interested for some reason. They probably just done want to hear people bitch their LC 300 rides much better on the highway!

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The LC300 doesn't have to be a 6 figure vehicle. It's starts in low $50's in many markets. Base price in Japan is $46,500 USD. I'm sure it would sell at least in some volume as an alternative to the 4Runner if offered in lower trim options. And it's already a product ready to sell.

It's funny to see a Supra on that roadmap. Not sure Magna has adopted the TNGA platform.