Toyota reveals the much-awaited 300-Series Land Cruiser, to replace 13-year old 200-Series
It’s been 13 years since Toyota last gave the popular Land Cruiser a new generation. After 3 facelifts giving it various aesthetic upgrades, the Land Cruiser is all-new again with the much-awaited reveal of the 300-series, also known as the LC 300.
With the nameplate first introduced in 1951, the all-new Toyota Land Cruiser 300 was revealed through a virtual event for the Middle Eastern markets where it is a very popular model, just in time for the model’s 70th anniversary year.
The Land Cruiser 300 rides on a new GA-F platform, Toyota’s body-on frame platform based on the TNGA platform. The latest model also merges the different technologies and design characteristics from previous generations, protecting the essence of the nameplate.
While we are already familiar with what the Land Cruiser 300 looks on the outside due to several spy shots and leaked photos, we finally get a clearer look. It’s quite obvious that Toyota decided to give the LC 300 more of an evolution rather than a revolutionary redesign. Dominating the front fascia is a large grille with new headlights on its sides. The headlights are also connected by a U-shaped lower grille giving it a more macho appearance. The sides and rear look similar to that of the outgoing model but gets a more squared-off look for a more rugged appearance.
Inside, the Land Cruiser 300 is a huge upgrade over the 200-series. It gets a large floating infotainment touchscreen unit but well integrated with the rest of the center stack. The steering wheel is also now a three-spoke wheel as opposed to the four-spoke design of previous Land Cruisers. Three-row seating is still available and the 3rd row appears to finally be the kind that folds flat into the floor unlike on previous generations.
Under the hood of the Land Cruiser 300 are two V6 engines, one petrol and one diesel. Yes, there are no more V8 options just like on the outgoing 200-series. The first option is a 3.5 L twin-turbo V6 petrol that produces 409 hp and 649 Nm of torque. The second option is a new 3.3 L twin-turbo diesel V6 that produces 304 hp and a whopping 700 Nm of torque. The latter option is what could most likely make it to our market. Both powertrain options are paired to 10-speed automatic transmissions.
As it should be, a four-wheel drive system is standard on all Land Cruiser 300’s regardless of the variant. Improvements made to improve the Land Cruiser’s performance include weight reduction of 200 kg, lower center-of-gravity, and an improved suspension structure. It also maintains the 200-series’ length, width, and height, as well as departure and approach angles to optimize off-road performance.
The all-new Toyota Land Cruiser 300 is expected to be introduced in world markets within the next few months. As for a Philippine launch, it was already announced to be within this year and given that the Land Cruiser nameplate is a very popular model in the country, it could be very soon as well.
