Toyota LandCruiser 70 vs Toyota Prado

Same 2,755cc four-cylinder, same outputs, right down to the decimal. The differences sit around the engine, not inside it. The Prado pairs it with an eight-speed automatic and a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and claims 7.6L/100km. The 70 Series uses a six-speed automatic with no electrical assistance and claims 9.6L/100km. The Prado is also the heavier vehicle, at 2,490kg against 2,360kg to 2,395kg depending on 70 Series body, and it still uses less fuel, because the extra ratios and the assistance do more for consumption than 130kg of kerb weight costs. Read that as the clearest illustration of what four decades of development buys when the hardware underneath is held constant.

Payload is the widest separation on this page. The 70 Series runs a 3,510kg gross vehicle mass against the Prado's 3,100kg, and because it is the simpler, lighter vehicle it turns more of that allowance into usable load. Depending on body it carries around 1,150kg to 1,210kg. The Prado carries about 605kg. Gross combined mass follows the same shape at 7,010kg against 6,600kg, which is the figure that bites when you are towing near capacity and still want water, fuel and recovery gear aboard. The 70 Series takes this one, and it is the single strongest argument for buying one.

The headline rating is identical, at 3,500kg braked and 750kg unbraked. The practical difference is gross combined mass, which caps vehicle and trailer together. The 70 Series allows 7,010kg and the Prado 6,600kg. Put a 3,500kg van behind a Prado and the remaining allowance for people, fuel, water and gear is tighter than most buyers assume, because the payload was only about 605kg before the tow ball took its share. The 70 Series has far more headroom in the identical scenario. Read the tow rating as a tie. Read gross combined mass as the number deciding which one survives a real trip.

This is the sharpest trade-off here. The current 70 Series range holds no ANCAP star rating. ANCAP's Safety Grading programme assessed the 79 Series single and double cab at Silver, 55 per cent, in 2025, which is a grading rather than a star rating and should not be read as one. The Prado holds a full 2024 five-star rating with 85 per cent adult occupant and 89 per cent child occupant protection, plus adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist the 70 Series does not offer at any grade.

Both need servicing every six months or 10,000km, which is short by class standards. On July 2026 capped-price servicing the Prado costs $390 a visit, or $3,900 across five years. The 70 Series costs $545 a visit, or $5,450 over the same period. On fuel the Prado claims 7.6L/100km against 9.6, and the claims understate the gap in use: GoAuto recorded 11.2L/100km from a 76 Series towing 2,000kg over a 2,000km run. The 70 Series holds more, at 130 litres against 110, so it narrows the gap on range even as it widens it on cost. The Prado takes running costs, and it is the cheaper vehicle to buy.

The 70 Series wins on geometry. Running clearance is 290mm to 317mm depending on body against the Prado's 210mm on GX and GXL, and the approach angle is 33 degrees against 31. Both wade 700mm and both run genuine low range. The Prado answers with hardware the 70 Series has never offered, including a locking centre differential, crawl control and hill descent control, though a rear differential lock is standard only on the Altitude. In GXL form the 70 Series gets front and rear lockers as standard, which closes most of that gap. Read the 70 Series as the rock-and-rut pick. Read the Prado as the one for everything else.

The Prado offers five seats on GX and Altitude, seven on VX and Kakadu, and either on the GXL since the five-seat option arrived in 2025. That option exists because the seven-seater's boot is compromised by the 48-volt battery beneath the floor. The 70 Series depends entirely on body: single-cab chassis and the WorkMate Troop Carrier seat two, while the double-cab chassis, the GXL Troop Carrier and both wagons seat five. Its second row is not built for adults over long distances, a point AU reviews return to consistently. The Prado takes seating, and it is not a close contest.

Toyota paused 70 Series production from September 2025 and reopened order books on 6 July 2026. The 2.8-litre engine gained a 20-litre AdBlue tank to meet ADR 80/04, with outputs unchanged at 150kW and 500Nm. Only automatic variants returned; the five-speed manual wagon, Troop Carrier and double cab remain off sale with no timeline given. The most consequential change is the Troop Carrier's fuel capacity dropping from 180 litres to 130 to make room for the AdBlue system, which cuts theoretical range from roughly 1,875km to about 1,354km. If long-range touring was your reason for choosing a Troopy, that reason just got 500km smaller.

For most touring buyers the Prado is the better vehicle and the better value: cheaper to buy, cheaper to service, safer, quieter, more economical, and towing the same 3,500kg. Choose the 70 Series when you have a specific reason. A payload requirement past 600kg is one. A gross combined mass requirement past 6,600kg is another. So is remote-area work where mechanical simplicity and parts availability outrank refinement, or a use case where a two-seat Troop Carrier's cargo bay is the entire point. Those are reasons, not preferences, and if none of them describes you, the Prado is the answer.