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The new LandCruiser is due in Australia in the final quarter of the year and features a V6 diesel engine, advanced driving technologies, improved suspension structure, increased articulation, fresh styling and the latest Toyota Safety Sense electronics.
Toyota says the advanced attributes are combined with greater body rigidity, reduced mass, better weight distribution and a lower centre of gravity.
Under the bonnet, a newly developed 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel engine achieves 227kW (up 13.5 per cent on the previous V8) and torque of 700Nm (a gain of 7.7 per cent). A V6 petrol version will be used in other countries.
Toyota also claims the V6 achieves noticeably lower fuel consumption and emissions, supported by a newly developed 10-speed Direct Shift automatic transmission and a kerb weight reduction across the range of more than 100kg. Towing capacity is maintained at 3.5 tonnes.
In a claimed world first, a new electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (e-KDSS) provides better off-road performance through a larger suspension stroke achieved by effectively disabling the front and rear stabiliser bars.
Other firsts for the Toyota include a new Multi-Terrain Monitor that instantly displays obstacles as viewed from the driver's viewpoint and the adoption of a Multi Terrain Select function that automatically judges the road surface and selects the best driving mode.
In keeping with LandCruiser's off-road heritage, the 300 Series' dimensions including length, width, wheelbase and departure and approach angles are very close to the outgoing model, depending on the variant. Exact dimensions are yet to be released.
The Safety Sense active safety package for LandCruiser incorporates a pre-collision system that helps avoid a collision or reduce damage by detecting pedestrians (daytime and night-time) and cyclists (daytime).
It can also detect oncoming vehicles at intersections and pedestrians crossing the street when the vehicle is turning in either direction.
An emergency steering and crash-avoidance function, which assists with steering and lane-keeping, is triggered when the driver performs a steering manoeuvre to avoid collision.
Pricing and specific model variants will be announced closer to the LandCruiser's arrival in Australia.
