Toyota Pulls The Plug On The Land Cruiser In India

That piggy bank that you got going for the Land Cruiser LC200? You can now put it down on a 1BHK in Mumbai

• Both models of the Land Cruiser were discontinued due to the upcoming BS6 emission norms.

• Both were brought into the country as CBU imports.

• Land Cruiser Prado used a 3.0-litre diesel engine that made 173PS/410Nm.

• Land Cruiser LC200 used a 4.5-litre V8 that made 265PS and 650Nm.

• New generation Land Cruiser is in the works.

Despite having a strong base in India, Toyota was hardly able to move any units of the Land Cruiser Prado or the Land Cruiser LC200. That is because both these SUVs were analogue warriors in a digital era, never mind their rich heritage. They just could not keep up with similarly priced cars in terms of tech and so when the time came to make them BS6-compliant, Toyota simply decided to discontinue them in India.

Both these SUVs were not cheap. The smaller Land Cruiser Prado went for Rs 96.27 lakh whereas the bigger Land Cruiser LC200 was priced at Rs 1.47 crore (ex-showroom India) -- that is, before they got the boot. Y’know, because they were both CBU imports.

The Prado had a 3.0-litre diesel engine underneath its bonnet that made only 173PS and 410Nm, modest numbers on their own but unacceptable for a massive SUV with a price tag touching a crore. Its elder sibling, the LC200, had a scary 4.5-litre V8 underneath the bonnet, capable of an earth-shattering 650Nm of torque, but, again, the power figure was a disproportionate 265PS. Safe to say, this version of the Land Cruiser was not known for its efficiency.

What these SUVs were known for was their size and their ability to keep going when the tarmac came to an end. And being Toyotas, the safety was top notch. The Prado got seven airbags whereas the bigger LC200 got 10 airbags!

There are rumours that Toyota is working on a new-generation Land Cruiser to take over the mantle from the LC200 -- and that it will be a hybrid -- but it is not clear if it will come to India anytime in the future.