10 Things We Want From A Hydrogen Toyota Land Cruiser

At the unveiling of the futuristic HiAce, Toyota‘s President of hydrogen factories Mitsumasa Yamagata teased that its hydrogen-fueled engine could be adapted for use in other large vehicles, such as the Land Cruiser SUV.

“There are possibilities to adapt [hydrogen-fuelled engines] into those big vehicles, including LandCruiser,” Mr Yamagata told Drive during an inteview at the HiAce’s unveiling. An exciting prospect, if Toyota decides to develop a hydrogen-powered Land Cruiser in the future, we’ve got some things we’d like to see.

1 Twin-Turbo Power

The HiAce prototype uses a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, more commonly found in the Lexus LX 600 – HotCars’ best SUV of 2022 – and some global versions of the Land Cruiser 300 series. In any other application, the engine is powered by regular unleaded gas, but with a few clever modifications, Toyota found a way to use hydrogen as the V6’s fuel source.

The engine is hooked up to a 10-speed automatic transmission, and fuel is fed from three separate 47-liter hydrogen tanks, which is the same system used in the Toyota Mirai. Given that Toyota has already done the hard work in converting this engine, it would make great sense for them to re-use the tech in a hydrogen-fueled Land Cruiser.

Hydrogen-Fueled Twin-Turbocharged V6 Features

• 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine
• 10-speed automatic transmission
• Three 47-liter hydrogen tanks from the Mirai

2 Enough Power Output For Off-Roading

No doubt the ears of gearheads and driving enthusiasts prick up at the sound of a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, but unfortunately, the output of this engine is somewhat restricted when fueled by hydrogen. In the HiAce, the engine is de-tuned from 409 horsepower to 161, and 479 lb-ft of torque to 262. If utilizing the same powertrain in a hydrogen-fueled Land Cruiser, it’s reasonable to expect Toyota would use the same state of tune.

While it’s a shame to not realize the same output as a gas-powered V6, it’s important to remember that a Land Cruiser would still be perfectly capable around town and on highways with the reduced output. Not to mention, the project would not at all be performance-oriented for Toyota but instead focused on producing a true zero-emissions variant of their flagship SUV.

Toyota Twin-Turbocharged V6 Specs

3 We’d Love To See A Hydrogen V8

Rumors circulated in a Japanese publication called Best Car in February 2022, that Toyota was eyeing up a hydrogen-powered Land Cruiser back then, although there was no talk of a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6. Potentially these rumors were true, but maybe Toyota felt it would be best to launch the all-new 2024 Land Cruiser first, and then use that as a basis, instead of pushing new tech on the previous and dated Land Cruiser platform.

Instead, it was thought that Toyota could use the naturally-aspirated 5.0-liter V8 that is more commonly found in the Lexus RC F and LC 600. The engine, developed in conjunction with long-term partner Yamaha, churns out a healthy 471 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque. We couldn’t guess what the figures would be for hydrogen engines, but the return of a chunky V8 under the hood of a Land Cruiser would be a welcome sight for all.

4 Benchmark-Setting Towing And Payload Capabilities

In the interview about hydrogen technology, President Yamagata said, “This advantage of the technology can be utilized for those vehicles including [those that are used for heavy] towing and [heavy] loading.” We’d love to see a hydrogen-fueled Land Cruiser retain excellent towing and payload figures, even if the power and torque is down from a conventional gas-powered model.

Toyota’s flagship SUV has developed a luxurious presence in recent generations, but the traditional use of the Land Cruiser was as a utilitarian workhorse. A low-powered, back-to-basics but hydrogen-fueled Land Cruiser with impressive towing and payload capacities would therefore tie in well with the nostalgic values of Toyota’s beloved SUV.

2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Towing & Payload Capacities

5 We Want To See A Working Prototype ASAP

Remarkably, it only took Toyota engineers around 12 months to develop the fully functional hydrogen-fueled HiAce prototype. That’s an impressively short timeline for any large-scale project, let alone one that explores alternative fueling methods, such as hydrogen engines.

Engineers stated that the 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 only required new fuel injectors and hydrogen fuel tanks (from the Mirai) to be installed to convert the once 2.8-liter diesel-powered van. This leads us to believe that it really would not take long at all for Toyota to develop a road-ready hydrogen-powered Land Cruiser. With Toyota constantly exploring alternative fuels, with everything from solid-state batteries to hydrogen fuel cells, it’s exciting to imagine what Toyota will have on the horizon.

6 Larger Hydrogen Tanks Would Make For Impressive Range

The HiAce has a 141-liter tank capacity, which equates to less than 125 miles of range. If it were possible to double this tank size, then a hydrogen-powered Land Cruiser could boast a reasonable 250 miles of range. While this isn’t impressive when compared to gas or diesel Land Cruisers, we have to remember that these are still relatively early days for hydrogen technology, and a large hydrogen-fueled SUV with 250 miles of range would be a huge step forward.

The majority of users could likely be city-based, due to the limited range and current supply concerns surrounding hydrogen as a fuel. Due to this fact, 250 miles would likely be more than adequate for daily use.

7 The Land Cruiser Could Borrow Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Technology From The Mirai

The conversion of an existing engine isn’t the only way in which Toyota could progress with a hydrogen-fueled Land Cruiser. Toyota is already producing a hydrogen car, called the Toyota Mirai, which has been selling successfully since 2022 in its latest guise, as the most popular hydrogen fuel-cell car currently in existence.

The Mirai is only available in California at the moment, as this is the only place that has properly experimented with establishing a practical hydrogen-station network. With the technology already developed and proven to be roadworthy, how hard would it be to convert the technology into the new Land Cruiser platform? The fuel cell produces 182 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque, which is not too dissimilar to the output kicked out from the recently revealed HiAce van.

If you’re after a zero-emissions vehicle with luxury features for around $50,000, then the Toyota Mirai is worth it. However, be warned: a gallon of hydrogen currently costs around $16, so it is considerably more expensive to fuel than gas or diesel cars; the fuel is currently subsidized, but this won’t necessarily always be the case.

2024 Toyota Mirai Motor & Performance Specs

8 The Land Cruiser Could Utilize i-FORCE MAX Hybrid Technology

If we’re honest, we would like to see more performance in a hydrogen-fueled Land Cruiser than what’s been supplied in the HiAce van. Yet for whatever reason, Toyota engineers felt the need to de-tune it. We can only assume this is for safe running parameters of the engine, but that doesn’t mean performance couldn’t be bolstered elsewhere.

High-performance Toyotas, such as the Tundra and Tacoma pickup trucks, use a hybrid drivetrain dubbed i-FORCE MAX. This system places an electric motor between the engine and transmission and provides an additional 48 horsepower. If equipped with the hydrogen-fueled twin-turbo V6, this would boost power from 161 to 209 horsepower – that’s almost a 33% increase.

Key Facts About Toyota’s i-FORCE MAX Hybrid Drivetrain

• The electric motor is located between the gas engine and the 10-speed automatic transmission
• In the Toyota Tundra, the i-FORCE MAX drivetrain develops 437 horsepower and 583 lb-ft
• The electric motor is responsible for generating 48 horsepower

9 Toyota Should Supply Supporting Technology

For a complete package, Toyota really ought to supply some useful tech features inside the cabin too. Some features are pretty simple, such as a clear read-out on the driver’s digital cluster that would display the current tank capacity and remaining range.

Even in California, where the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles is the easiest thanks to hydrogen filling stations, we imagine range anxiety is a very real thing. That’s why we’d love to see a specialist navigation system that displays the closest hydrogen stations, and whether they’re open and available or not.

For the more advanced engineers, regenerative braking would be a great addition to maximize range and power in a hydrogen fuel-cell Land Cruiser. After all, fuel-cell tech is standard on the Mirai, so we see no reason why Toyota couldn’t incorporate it here too.

New Tech Features We’d Love To See

• Digital cluster with tank capacity and range
• Cloud-connected Hydrogen station updates
• Regenerative braking

10 Competitively Priced And Eligible For Tax Credits

We currently have no useful frame of reference as to how much a hydrogen fuel cell Land Cruiser would cost. The price could vary massively depending on whether Toyota chose to utilize a V6, V8, i-FORCE MAX technology, fuel-cell tech, or something else entirely.

However, we do know that the base Land Cruiser is estimated to cost in the mid-$50,000 range, so north of this figure is at least the starting point. It’s also worth noting that the Toyota Mirai is eligible for $7,500 worth of federal tax credit, which, if applicable to a hydrogen-fueled Land Cruiser, would certainly help soften the financial blow.

Key Facts About Toyota Hydrogen-Fueled Cars

Source: Toyota