Sooner or later, there will indeed be an all-new Toyota Land Cruiser. While Land Crushers tend to arrive on timescales that, in automotive terms, seem geologic, a new one is inevitable; the 200 Series that currently roams the roads is simply too old-fashioned to carry on much longer. From what we’ve heard, though, its replacement might pack some changes that will raise brows among traditionalists; while its expected return to from as a burly SUV with less focus on luxury will likely be appreciated by many, the transition from raw V8 power to a twin-turbo V6 (possibly with hybrid assistance) might be seen as a bit heretical by some die-hard overlanders and off-roaders.
Not all of the Land Cruiser’s rivals, though, will be following suit. The mighty Nissan Patrol (known here in the United States as the Armada), for one, seems very likely keep on carrying the eight-cylinder torch for at least another generation.
“I love it,” Nissan Australia head honcho Stephen Lester recently told Australia’s CarsGuide when asked about the 5.6-liter V8 currently found under the hood of the Patrol / Armada (as well as the Nissan Titan). “It certainly answers a question a lot of consumers are asking.”
Lester did allow for the fact that times are changing and powertrain technology is advancing. “We’ve seen more advancement in the past 10 years than we have in the last 50,” he said. “It would be remiss not to think that the great engineers we’ve got can’t marry the technology — whether it be hybrid, electrification or whatever — into another power plant that could do as good or a better job.”
Still, he said, “there are no plans in the imminent time period.”
That could mean the Patrol / Armada will turn out to be refuges for former Land Cruiser buyers who just can’t bring themselves to go hybrid (or fall out of love with the future 300 Series for some other reason). After all, the Nissan and Toyota have a fair amount in common. Like the Land Cruiser, the Patrol is a giant body-on-frame SUV made by a Japanese carmaker. Like the Land Cruiser, it has a long history as a tough, reliable ride that’s stood up to harsh terrain all over the planet. And like the Land Cruiser, it’s popular in markets like the Middle East and Australia (the version seen above is a facelifted version that went on sale in other markets last year, though mechanically identical to the Armada sold here).
Plus, with the next all-new version of the Nissan Patrol expected to arrive after the new Land Cruiser, Nissan could have a chance to gauge how customers react to Toyota’s iconic off-roader before finalizing their own. One thing seems clear, though: neither of these models looks likely to break their long streak of delivering off-road capability.