Toyota LandCruiser 300 Performance Hybrid revealed for Australia

Toyota Australia (TMCA) has given us a first look at the Performance Hybrid version of the popular LandCruiser 300 Series – along with a brief taste of its performance both on- and off-road. 

While you’ll have to wait until next week before we can tell you how it drives, we can fill you in on more details of the new variants set to go on sale early in 2026 – with the actual timing yet to be revealed.

The Performance Hybrid powertrain marks the return of petrol power to the LC300 range, but it will only be offered in the high-spec GR Sport and Sahara ZX models, both limited to two-row seating for five passengers. TMCA has confirmed there will be a price premium for the petrol-hybrid LandCruiser but hasn’t revealed how much, saying only that more details will come closer to the 2026 launch. For reference, the Sahara ZX and GR Sport currently list for $146,910 and $146,160 (+ORC) respectively – so the hybrid versions won’t be cheap.

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Toyota didn’t have to look far for a hybrid powertrain to slot into the 300, adapting it from the Tundra full-size pick-up, where it’s the only engine offered. Both the Tundra and LC300 share the TNGA-F chassis platform, so the adaptation process should have been relatively straightforward.

The hybrid powertrain is led by a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine producing a claimed 326kW and 790Nm, paired with an electric motor mounted between the ICE and a conventional 10-speed automatic transmission. Drive is fed through the LandCruiser’s standard full-time dual-range transfer case, rather than the part-time system used in the Tundra.

The Hybrid variants retain all of the LandCruiser’s off-road attributes which, in the case of the GR Sport, means front and rear locking diffs, KDSS, MTS and Crawl Control.

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Externally and internally, the hybrids are almost identical to their diesel-powered counterparts, the only difference being a slightly raised cargo-floor height to accommodate the battery mounted underneath.

Toyota calls this system its Performance Hybrid, distinguishing it from the Efficiency Hybrids found in most of its passenger-car range. The Performance Hybrid combines petrol and electric powerplants via a clutch that manages switching between power sources depending on load and driver input, with the petrol engine always operating at speeds above 30km/h. Below that, the system can run on electric power alone.

With its tuning centred more on performance than fuel efficiency, the system delivers strong acceleration, responsive power and plenty of torque for towing. Official fuel-consumption figures for the Performance Hybrid 300 are yet to be released.

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While this is the first application of the Performance Hybrid for Toyota in Australia, the company is quick to remind us it has long been a hybrid pioneer here, with five generations of technology under its belt since the first Prius launched 28 years ago. In that time, TMCA has sold more than 500,000 hybrid vehicles locally, and today nine models in its line-up are exclusively hybrid-powered. Hybrids now account for almost half of Toyota’s total sales in Australia.

The Performance Hybrid LandCruiser 300s are set to go on sale in the first half of 2026, but check back here next week to read about how it went on our short drive of the GR Sport hybrid model.