- Toyota Land Cruiser 70 is refreshed for 2024, with the automaker updating its utilitarian workhorse that remains the same generation that debuted in 1984.
- The automaker has given the 70 series a mild facelift, one that recalls the debut 70 model, while updating the cabin with modern but not lavish infotainment tech.
- Two diesels will be on the menu in the refreshed 70 Series, including a naturally aspirated V8, but the base unit will be a turbocharged 2.8-liter four-cylinder.
This week Toyota dropped the covers off the new generation of the Land Cruiser Prado, as it’s known in the rest of the world, introducing a new aesthetic to a longtime nameplate in the process.
But our North American Land Cruiser wasn’t the only Land Cruiser Toyota revealed this week.
A new version of the J70 dropped as well, wearing classic old shades. That’s right—we’re talking about the foreign market Land Cruiser 70, in production with few changes since 1984.
This is the narrower, smaller, and boxier version you’ve probably seen on vacation somewhere in South America, or on Bring a Trailer. And it’s still in production, because it still works.
Of course, the 70 has been updated from time to time, with 2007 having seen the latest refresh of this body-on-frame workhorse. But underneath, it’s still the same design that first rolled out of the factory in 1984.
The most noticeable changes are up front, with the 2023 model getting a purely functional, utilitarian facelift complete with round LED headlights. In the process, the 2023 model has actually dialed the styling back from the 2007 facelift, which was probably too modern for its own good, bringing back the fender-mounted side indicators of the original.
The interior has been updated as well, but not too much, with some modern Toyota parts bin items and an infotainment screen added on the instrument panel. The interior retains a functional appearance with plenty of actual buttons remaining.
The size of the infotainment screen has been kept small by today’s standards, at merely 6.7 inches, lest it distract you from admiring the boxy and functional center stack.
Under the hood you’ll find a four-cylinder 2.8-liter turbodiesel paired with a six-speed automatic, good for 201 hp and 368 lb-ft of torque. A manual isn’t offered with this base unit, curiously, but neither is a gasoline engine. In fact, the only other powertrain to report is a 4.5-liter diesel V8, aimed at some export markets, with 202 hp and 316 lb-ft of torque on tap.
Sorry, No J70 Land Cruiser for US Market
That’s right: The V8 has far less torque because it’s naturally aspirated—and horsepower’s thin, too—but a manual transmission would be back on the menu to help make some burly noises in traffic. If you’re into that sort of thing.
Speaking of export markets for the TLC 70, Australia will be a major one, where the J70 has managed to outlive quite a few ute models, offering the option of a four-door cab and an aluminum utility bed in addition to the SUV.
The J70 will be offered as a pickup as well, with an aluminum utility bed.
But the redesigned J70 isn’t headed stateside. This doesn’t foreclose the possibility of owning one here, however, as examples produced up through 1998 are now importable, allowing owners to cosplay as United Nations peacekeepers, or alternatively bearded mercenaries while doing a South African accent gleaned from Neill Blomkamp movies.
As for us, we’d probably cosplay as an Australian park ranger if running errands in a J70 while doing a Crocodile Dundee accent, which is probably easier to do than a South African one.
Should Toyota offer the 70 Series in North America, or would the demand be too niche for such a model, especially with diesels underhood? Let us know what you think.
Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.
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