LandCruiser 70 Series Engines: 4.5L V8 vs 2.8L Four-Cylinder

You want to know what engine is in a 70 Series, and the answer depends on when it was built. Toyota sold the 4.5 litre V8 turbo diesel here for 17 years and ended production in 2024. Every new 70 Series now runs the 2.8 litre four-cylinder turbo diesel, with an automatic or a manual behind it. Here's what each engine is, the headline figures, and what it means whether you're buying new or looking at a used one.

Confirm the exact specification of any individual vehicle with Toyota or the seller, because outputs and availability vary by build date and configuration. What you have here are the widely published Australian specifications, so treat them as a guide and not a quote.

The two engines

• 2.8L four-cylinder turbo diesel (1GD-FTV). The engine in every new 70 Series, on sale here since 2023 and shared in design with the HiLux and Prado families. It arrived with a 6-speed automatic, and Toyota added a 5-speed manual option for the same engine in 2024.
• 4.5L V8 turbo diesel (1VD-FTV). The long-serving V8, fitted from 2007 and always with a 5-speed manual. Toyota ended wagon, Troopcarrier, Workmate and GX production in September 2024, and the 79 Series GXL cab chassis ran into 2025. This is the engine that built the modern 70 Series reputation, and it is what most 70 Series on the road are running.

Both are turbo diesels driving through a part-time four-wheel-drive system. Buying new, the choice is no longer V8 or four-cylinder, it's which gearbox you want behind the 2.8. Buying used, the V8 is still out there in numbers.

Power, torque and gearbox

On paper the peak power is close to identical. Go with the four-cylinder and you get more torque and an automatic, which a lot of buyers want for towing and stop-start work. The V8 gives you eight cylinders and a manual, and that's exactly why a large part of the 70 Series following won't buy anything else.

Is the Four-Cylinder as Good as the V8?

This is the heart of the debate, and it's now a question about the used market as much as the new one.

The 2.8L four-cylinder brought an automatic gearbox to the 70 Series for the first time and makes more torque than the V8. In traffic and on a tow, the auto does the work for you. Since 2024 you can have it with a manual too.

The 4.5L V8 has decades of proven service behind it, along with the sound and character the 70 Series is known for and a simple, well-understood manual driveline. Long-term owners and remote-area operators rate that track record and they won't move off it.

Neither is a wrong answer. Buy new and the 2.8 is what you get, so the decision is auto or manual. Want the V8 and you're shopping used, where around 171,000 of them are out there from the Australian run.

Common questions