Jaco Van Der Merwe

By Jaco Van Der Merwe

Head of Motoring


Land Cruiser: Petrol or diesel? 2021 Motoring Newsmaker No 11

Petrol engine produces 305 kW of power and 650 Nm of torque, with the oil-burner making 225 kW and 700 Nm.


Two-thousand-and-twenty-one was an interesting year for the South African motoring landscape.

Some things changed, like an acceleration towards greener cars, while others stayed the same like Toyota topping the monthly sales charts.

In this series of 2021 Motoring Newsmakers, The Citizen looks back at the top 20 most popular online stories of the year. The series is dominated by South Africa’s most popular body style, bakkies, while the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 was by far the most viewed single model on our website. Other local favourites in the form of hot hatches, fuel efficient hatchbacks, big, mean SUVs, compact SUVs, Mercedes-AMGs and BMW M cars also drew their fair share of attention.

Replacing the Land Cruiser 200, which was powered by a 4.5-litre V8 diesel engine, there is a choice of two powertrains in the LC300. A 3.3-litre V6 turbo diesel option and a 3.5-litre V6 turbocharged petrol mill. The petrol engine produces 305kW/650Nm and the oil-burner 225kW/700Nm.

We know that those numbers mean the Land Cruiser can climb a mountain with three caravans in tow on the way up, but what does it translate to in daily city life? How fast can a 2.5-ton monstrosity be off the line and how big is its thirst?

Road Test Editor Mark Jones took both to run some tests at Gerotek. Click on the link below to read what he had to say.

2021 MOTORING NEWSMAKER NO 11: Toyota Land Cruiser 300: which is better, petrol or diesel?

To see the rest of our 2021 Motoring Newsmakers, click on the links below.

No 12: Kia cans bakkie plans

No 13: Mercedes A35 Sedan the thinking man’s AMG

No 14: Toyota Corolla Cross outsells Polo pair

No 15: BMW X5 M Competition pips Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S

No 16: The Golf GTI for nerds

No 17: Never be late in a Merc GLS 580

No 18: Toyota HiAce 54 years young

No 19: New Ford Ranger revealed

No 20: Toyota Land Cruiser gets stuck the mud

Read more on these topics

2021 Motoring Newsmaker Motoring News Toyota

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