It’s haere rā to the toyota Land Cruiser 70s iconic V8 engine
The Toyota Land Cruiser 70 is now powered by a 2.8l turbo diesel engine. Photos: Liz Dobson
It’s goodbye to the legendary Toyota Land Cruiser 70’s 4.5L V8 engine in New Zealand as the brand confirms it will now be powered by the 2.8L turbo diesel engine pair with an automatic transmission.
Orders for the 70 with the V8 engine closed during April and vehicles are no longer available, says Toyota NZ.
Toyota NZ’s Andrew Davis, Chief Strategic Officer, said the time had come to finally retire the V8-powered Land Cruiser 70.
“We acknowledge it was a legendary powertrain, but we are confident the complete switch to the 1GD 4-cylinder and auto transmission gives a better option for customers. This powertrain will offer better in-use performance with a smoother operation and better ride quality which customers have been quick to praise,” he said.
it will be available in four grades including the LX wagon.
Davis said it will be available in four grades – the LT ute with either a two-door single cab or four-door double cab, the LX double cab ute and the LX wagon.
“The single and double-cab Land Cruiser 70s are incredibly resilient and tough vehicles. While the range has been updated in the past year to carry LED headlights, cruise control, and touchscreens, the core of the vehicle is relatively unchanged with a strong ladder chassis design and build quality and durability second to none. Land Cruiser 70 is literally designed and built to go places and tackle those tough jobs right across New Zealand,” he said.
The Land Cruiser 70 s relatively unchanged with a strong ladder chassis design.
The engine also features in the Hilux, Hiace and Land Cruiser Prado, and has a combined town and country fuel economy of 10.6L/100km and a combined exhaust emissions of 279g/km compared to 316g/km for the V8.
“From a pure numbers point of view, the 1GD-powered Land Cruiser 70 proves itself to be more than capable, with a significant bump in torque, similar power and the same towing capability as the old power unit,” he said.
Output from the 1GD vs the V8 is not compromised, with the four-pot turbo diesel producing 150kW compared to 151kW of the V8. Importantly for a vehicle like the Land Cruiser 70, torque has increased significantly, with 500Nm from the 1GD and 430Nm from the old V8.
