Hybrid will not always mean efficient as Toyota turns the petrol-electric technology towards boosting performance in large models like the LandCruiser 300 Series.
Toyota Australia, having established its fuel-saving series-parallel hybrid vehicles, will now diversify the electric technology to showcase its performance applications.
While the hybrid systems found in the Corolla, Camry, Kluger, RAV4, and others fall into the Efficiency Hybrid bucket, designed to lower fuel consumption, there will now also be the Performance Hybrid moniker that uses electrification to increase outputs of the petrol engine.
The first Performance Hybrid has already arrived in the form of the Tundra pick-up, but a second model, the LandCruiser Hybrid, will arrive in showrooms from March next year.
Differentiating the two are the ways the technology works.
Efficiency Hybrids feature petrol engine sizes ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 litres, with the series-parallel arrangement meaning the electric motor – or electric motors – can operate independently of the petrol engine to supplement performance and better optimise engine efficiency.
The result is improved fuel efficiency, with the likes of the Yaris able to claim a combined consumption figure of 3.3 litres per 100km, which compares against the now-discontinued non-hybrid Yaris’ 4.9L/100km figure.
The Performance Hybrid meanwhile, can use its single electric motor in conjunction with the petrol engine to put more power and torque to the wheels, and is so far being used in off-road and towing applications.
The Tundra features a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 developing 290kW/650Nm, but augmented with a 36kW electric motor, total system output numbers climb to 326kW/790Nm.
The 2026 Toyota LandCruiser Hybrid will utilise the same sized engine and single electric motor arrangement, but it is still to be confirmed whether Australian cars will reach the 341kW output offered in Middle Eastern versions.
According to Toyota, this Performance Hybrid set-up is crucial to maintaining the segment-standard 3500kg and 4500kg braked towing capacity in LandCruiser and Tundra respectively, while also increasing outputs when compared to the 227kW/700Nm 3.3-litre turbo-diesel featured in the former.
However, while the Performance Hybrid is expected to yield carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption improvements, these changes are likely to be smaller than an Efficiency Hybrid model.
Toyota is yet to confirm these numbers for the 2026 LandCruiser Hybrid, while the figures are unavailable on the Tundra due to its over 3500kg gross vehicle mass (GVM) that classes it as a ‘heavy vehicle’ in Australia.
In the Middle East, the LandCruiser Hybrid claims a 9.2L/100km figure, while Drive’s real-world testing of the Tundra revealed a 14L/100km consumption number – 1L/100km thirstier than a petrol V8-powered Chevrolet Silverado.
Final figures for the LandCruiser Hybrid will be locked in closer to the vehicle’s on-sale date next year.
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
