Drag race: Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series 4cyl v LandCruiser 70 Series V8 v HiLux

Is there really no replacement for displacement?

The updated Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series recently launched in Australia and is now controversially offered with a four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and a six-speed automatic transmission.

To see how quick this new four-cylinder and six-speed auto combination in the LandCruiser 79 Series, we put it up against some rivals from within Toyota’s own stable.

Driving the Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series GXL Wagon with the venerable 1VD-FTV 4.5-litre turbo-diesel engine and five-speed manual is Paul Maric.

Lined up next to him is the Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series GX single-cab chassis with the new 1GD-FTV 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine and six-speed automatic, driven by James Wong.

Lastly as a bit of a wildcard is the Toyota HiLux SR5 dual-cab pickup driven by myself. It’s powered a version of the same four-cylinder turbo-diesel as the LandCruiser 70 Series.

How does the V8-powered LandCruiser fare against the two four-cylinder utes? You’ll need to watch the full video above to see who won.

Here’s how they compare on paper:

We also conducted runs with weight added to the LandCruiser 79 Series 4-cyl and HiLux to make them equal to the LandCruiser 76 V8.

Here’s how they fared in individual performance testing, with the same driver behind the wheel.

BUY: Toyota HiLux
BUY: Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series

MORE: Everything Toyota HiLux
MORE: Everything Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series