Toyota this week launched the 250 Series LandCruiser Prado in the UK and Europe, where it is simply badged as the Land Cruiser – as the full-size 300 Series isn’t sold there.
It’s the same SUV as what’s been on sale in Australia for the past few months, however UK buyers get an exclusive variant, the Land Cruiser Commercial.
While Australian buyers are limited to five- and seven-seat layouts – making the Prado one of the best family-oriented off-road tourers on sale – the Commercial variant strips out all seats bar the front pair, converting the second and third rows to a single space for extra storage.
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It’s not the first time Toyota has done this: the second-generation 90 Series was available with its rear seats and windows removed to be sold as a van, while the outgoing 150 Series was also offered in Commercial guise.
Positioned as the flagship in the UK’s Toyota Professional lineup, the new 250 Series Land Cruiser is converted to Commercial trim at the carmaker’s Burnaston production facility in Derbyshire, where the rear seats are removed, steel panel inserts block the side windows behind the B-pillars, and a full-height metal bulkhead is installed.
This results in a load space measuring 1090mm high, 1685mm long and up to 1286mm wide, with a total volume of 2000 litres (VDA measurement). That’s quite a bit more than the respective 1829 litre to 1895 litre capacities of the seven- and five-seat Prados in Australia.
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The Land Cruiser Commercial retains the 3500kg braked towing capacity of the family-oriented Prado, as well as the SUV’s suite of safety systems, such as crawl control, hill assist control and downhill assist control.
Just because it’s now technically a van doesn’t mean it isn’t well-appointed, with standard equipment including front heated seats and a heated steering wheel, a powered tailgate and manually opening hatch, dual-zone climate control, a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and 18-inch wheels.
Powering the Land Cruiser Commercial – and the majority of UK and European-delivered 250 Series models – is a familiar 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and a four-wheel drive system.
While Australian versions of the Prado are exclusively powered by a mild-hybrid version of the engine, this has only just been launched in the UK and Europe, despite the stricter emissions restrictions of the regions. The mild-hybrid engine will be available in the Land Cruiser Commercial at a later date.
Deliveries are due to begin in the UK from August 1, with prices starting from £52,729.17 on-the-road – equivalent to $110,000 in Australia.
If you think that price is steep, the least expensive 250 Series Land Cruiser starts from £77,845 ($162,700) in the UK. By comparison, Australia’s Prado lineup ranges from $72,500 to $99,990, while even the full-size 300 series LandCruiser tops out at $146,910.
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