Luxo LandCruiser for the Big Lap

Toyota has celebrated its 60th birthday in Australia in a big way – releasing its most expensive and equipment-laden LandCruiser 200 Series ever.

The 3500kg tow-rated Toyota LandCruiser 200 Sahara Horizon is limited to just 400 examples nationally,with pricing at $129,090 plus on-road costs – a circa $6500 premium over the existing Sahara that normally tops the range.

That makes the Sahara Horizon $50,000 more than the entry LandCruiser 200 Series GX trade pack model, and only $6000 less than the equivalent Lexus LX 450d spin-off.

As with those models, the LandCruiser Sahara Horizon is powered by a 4.5-litre twin-turbo diesel V8 that makes 200kW and 650Nm, sending drive to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.

The additional outlay over other LandCruiser variants brings 18-inch alloy wheels, LED lights, side steps, sunroof, power-adjustable heated and ventilated front seats, four-zone climate control, multi-terrain monitor, premium audio and rear seat DVD player, and hard-wired sat-nav. Sadly, there’s no Apple Car Play or Android Auto available.

Cosmetically, the LandCruiser Sahara Horizon is distinguished by a darker grille, headlight and fog light surrounds, leather-accented seats embossed with ‘LandCruiser’ on the headrest, plus a leather-accented heated steering wheel.

On the safety front, the Sahara Horizon gets a pre-collision warning system with pedestrian detection (AEB), radar cruise control, auto-dimming high beam, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert.

Toyota Australia sales and marketing vice president Sean Hanley said the LandCruiser Sahara Horizon helped commemorate 60 years in Australia.

"Toyota's history in Australia started with the original LandCruisers brought into the country to work on the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme back in 1958 and since then, LandCruiser has played a role in the lives of people across the country from the bush to the beach," Hanley said.

What’s more, the Sahara Horizon variant is set to be a swansong of sorts for the 200 Series, which is expected to be replaced by an all-new 300 Series model later this year.

The new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series is expected to debut in August 2020 with a 3.5-litre petrol V6 paired with an electric motor.

The exact type of hybrid system, its battery capacity and which wheels the electric motor will drive are unknown at this stage, and further details on the new model are sketchy.

However, it's been claimed the V6 powertrain will deliver 220kW of power and 356Nm of torque, and that weight reduction and the addition of an electric motor will compensate for the downsized engine’s outputs compared to the current LC200’s diesel and petrol V8s, both of which are still available in other markets.

Indeed it would be inconceivable that the new LandCruiser would deliver only 356Nm of torque, especially when the current model’s 4.5-litre twin-turbo diesel V8 — the only engine remaining in the LC200 in Australia — generates almost double that torque figure (650Nm), along with 200kW of power.

So we expect the hybrid powertrain to be similar to the 650-volt Multi Stage 3.5-litre V6 petrol-electric set-up in the Lexus LC 500h limousine and LC 500h coupe, in which the naturally aspirated engine is rated at 220kW/348Nm and total power output is listed at 264kW. Toyota/Lexus does not state total torque outputs of its hybrid powertrains but the V6 system in the LS/LC 500h is estimated to produce 500Nm.

Whether the turbo-diesel V8 lives on in the next generation remains to be seen. It is currently safe under Australia’s projected emissions plans, however is soon set to be outside the emission guidelines of many other developed countries.

“Whatever we bring out will be capable and I think our loyal owner base will be very pleased,” said Hanley in late 2019 when asked about the next LandCruiser.

“I can tell you whatever we bring out in future will be exciting and capable,” he said.