Toyota’s Revered Workhorse Land Cruiser Is Officially Dead

The Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series has always been a market oddity, albeit one that American 4×4 fans have lusted over for decades. 

The no-nonsense, smaller, boxier, and more heavy-duty blue-collar uncle of the Land Cruiser family was initially introduced in Japan back in 1984 as a replacement for the older 40 series. Soon, it endeared itself in other foreign markets like Australia, South America, and Africa. 

Over the last decade or so, Toyota has hinted it might lead the model out to pasture on multiple occasions, only to reverse course and reboot it, including most recently in 2023. And yet, amidst the worries over its continued viability, the Land Cruiser 70 series of today is remarkably similar to its original design.

This throwback simplicity makes the J70 appealing and also increasingly hard to sell. Having failed to keep pace with many evolving safety and emission standards set by world governments, Toyota can’t legally offer this unique Land Cruiser now in many markets even if it wanted to. At least without a dramatic design overhaul.

SAY GOOD BY TO THE V8

Toyota

That said, Toyota still seems dead set on further simplifying the J70’s production where it can, in addition to complying with new emission requirements in countries where the J70 has thrived for years. 

 That appears to be why the company recently confirmed what at least some in the Australian market must have feared for several years. 

 Two years ago, Toyota paused orders on the 4.5-liter diesel V8 version initially introduced in 2007, which was the only 8-cylinder Land Cruiser 70 option remaining. Now the automaker has officially acknowledged that the 8 cylinder version isn’t coming back. 

 It’s not a choice the company likely took lightly, considering that, according to Toyota, nearly half of the 350,000 Land Cruiser 70 series Australians have bought were powered by the V8. 

 However, the brand deserves credit for handling the transition the right way. Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley has made it clear the company is prioritizing fulfilling as many outstanding backorders for the V8 as it can for customers who’ve languished on waiting lists for years. 

The majority of the final V8 editions of the Land Cruiser 70 series will reach Australian buyers by the end of this year, with remaining orders on the bigger GXL edition winding down sometime later in 2025. 

THE SILVER LINING

Toyota

 In a published statement, the Hanley also noted that while Australia’s updated New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) played a part in the decision to end the V8-powered model, it wasn’t the only factor.

 If there’s a silver lining here, Toyota also confirmed that a new version of the Land Cruiser 70 series is coming, suggesting the model still has a future in Australia at least.

 The new model pairs a five-speed manual transmission to the turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, which notably produces slightly more peak torque than the outgoing V8. And though the gearbox is derived from the V8 versions of the outgoing Land Cruiser 70 series, the tweaked transmission will feature shorter first, second, and third gears for improved getup and a longer fifth gear to improve fuel economy and reduce engine noise at highway cruising speeds. 

 More details like fuel economy and pricing on the new model will be revealed closer to launch. 

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