Which Toyota Land Cruiser 300 is better: diesel or petrol?

We compare the petrol and diesel motors available with the new Land Cruiser 300 range to find out which is better.

Toyota launched its highly anticipated flagship SUV, the Land Cruiser 300, in the third quarter of 2021. As one would expect from a Land Cruiser the new 300 range is large, luxurious and capable. Speaking of its size, the entry-trim GX-R measures 4 980 mm long and 1 980 mm wide, while the LC300 3.3D ZX comes in at 5 005 mm long with the same width.

The flared wheel arches on the GR Sport derivatives result in a width of 1 990 mm while all the derivatives measure 1 945 mm tall. While we can go on and on about all the standard specifications such as the LED daytime, head- and fog-lamps, in this article, we will be focussing on the two powertrains on offer to find out which is the best. But remember that before you search for new or used Toyota Land Cruiser 300 models on AutoTrader that you can sell your car quickly and easily with our Instant Offer here.

Warranty & Service

Having a vehicle with a good warranty and service plan in place is key. Customers can rest easy knowing that whether you go for the petrol or diesel model, Toyota warrants the vehicle for 3-years or 100 000 km, whichever occurs first. Also in place across all models in the range is a 9-services / 90 000 km service plan with intervals set for either 10 000 km or every 12 months, whichever comes first. Customers can also optionally purchase longer warranty or service plans with their Toyota Land Cruiser 300.

Powertrains

For the Land Cruiser 300 range, Toyota is offering customers a choice of two engines, one petrol and one diesel. Let us compare them side by side to see which is better.

*This table was completed with information sourced from www.duoporta.co.za

Verdict

With vehicles such as the Toyota Land Cruiser 300, metrics such as the top speed and acceleration doesn’t really matter, as that is not the key focus of the model. However, while we have a top speed figure of 210 km/h for both the diesel and petrol derivatives, we suspect that the petrol variant might just reach that speed quicker with its high power figure of 305 kW.

While the difference of 50 Nm in torque is marginal in daily use, in scenarios where you need that extra little push to crest that dune or hill, it will come in handy and could be the difference between moving on or finding an alternate route. Where there is a big difference, is between the fuel consumption figures. As expected the diesel manages to use less fuel, 3.2 L / 100 km in fact.

This means that instead of the 909 kilometres that you could expect from the petrol, the diesel claims to return 1 236 km from the 110-litres of fuel. The diesel also produces less CO2 emissions which is much better for the environment. While we expect both to perform really well in everyday situations and on more gruelling off-road trails, the added torque, better frugality and fewer emissions of the diesel motor is why we would go that route when choosing a new Toyota Land Cruiser 300.

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