Car news today: 2025 marks “no more open-ended” customer orders for popular Toyota models, and we compare Prado old versus new, and more – 14 November 2024
Olek Novak
Journalist
Every important car news story breaking today, in one convenient read
Thanks for joining us this Thursday 14 November 2024. Notably in car news today: Toyota Australia to cap customer orders on popular models to 12 months moving forward, and we compare the similarities and differences between Toyota Land Cruiser Prado old and new.
2025 Prado marks “no more open-ended” customer orders for popular Toyotas
Toyota has announced “whole new way of doing business” in customer order allocations for its most popular models in a move designed to eliminate “open-ended” orders and excessively long wait times.
Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s vice president for sales and marketing, detailed the changes at the launch of the new Land Cruiser Prado today: “Each month we are advising each of our Toyota dealers of exactly how many cars they will receive for the following 12 months. [It’s] quite different to anything we’ve previously done. So, should a dealer reach their rolling 12-month allocation in any given month … and you now know what the total production is, the likelihood is they’re going to hit a ceiling pretty quick. [The dealer will then] not be able to place another order on our system until further allocation is confirmed. The change point is there will be a wait time between one and 12 months at some point [for all models].”
The move is a reaction to another strong year for the brand that has in recent times struggled to meet the demand for key models such as the RAV4 and Land Cruiser 70 Series, with wait times for the latter blowing out to multiple years.
Hanley confirmed that around 27,000 examples of new Prado have been allocated for the first 12 months of sale, with dealers having already taken more than 17,000 orders as of today.
Should you upgrade to the new Prado 250 from the Prado 150?
Thinking of upgrading from your current Toyota Land Cruiser Prado to the new-gen, 2025 Prado 250-series? Here’s four points you should consider in comparison.
Pricing is up: the outgoing, entry GX started at $62,830 plus on-road costs, but the new 2025 GX starts at $72,500 plus on-road costs.
Standard features: Being a new generation, the 2025 Prado gets bigger 18-inch alloy wheels, larger 7-inch cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, LED lighting all around and 12 cupholders.
Powertrains: this is where things get close. Both the outgoing and new Prados both use a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine with 150kW/500Nm. The new Prado is likely to be slightly more efficient due to having a new mild-hybrid, 48-volt system and battery.
Safety: the outgoing Prado had seven airbags, the new one has nine airbags. The 250-series adds an extended suite of Toyota Safety Sense and trailer sway control, as well as multi-terrain monitors (on higher grades).
Rugged looking 2026 Honda Passport revealed, off the cards for Australia
Honda USA has revealed its upcoming fourth-generation Passport rugged off-roader, an SUV that could do well if launched in Australia.
Powered by a 3.5-litre naturally-aspirated V6 engine that produces 209kW and 355Nm, the Passport uses a 10-speed automatic transmission and a torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system.
Honda has revealed the fourth-generation of its Passport SUV
Off the assembly line in Alabama, USA, the Passport will feature standard 18-inch alloy wheels, multiple off-road drive modes, a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch centre touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and wireless charging.
It’ll go on sale in 2025 in the US market starting from around USD$45,000, or the equivalent of $70,000 Australian dollars.
First Mercedes-AMG GT 43 coupe with turbo-four power revealed
Mercedes-AMG has revealed its turbo four-cylinder-powered GT 43 coupe, the first two-door GT variant to use a four-cylinder engine.
Producing 310kW of power, this engine is shared with the AMG A45 S and also uses an electrically-assisted turbocharger.
Mercedes-AMG has revealed its turbo four-cylinder GT 43 coupe
Standard equipment includes 19-inch alloy wheels, AMG sport suspension, AMG Performance exhaust, Nappa leather upholstery, 12.3-inch driver display and 11.9-inch central touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and, for the track fans, a built-in race pace app.
At this point in time, Australian pricing and launch timings are still unconfirmed, but expect to hear more shortly.
2025 McLaren 750S reviewed
Chasing Cars contributor Daniel Gardner’s written review of the 2025 McLaren 750S was published, including his thoughts and first impressions on track in McLaren’s latest supercar.
Gardner found the newest McLaren family member to improve on the outgoing 720S, have extraordinary acceleration and cornering speed, and that its dynamically uncompromised even in drop-top Spider form.
Daniel Gardner’s review of the 2025 McLaren 750S is now live
However, Gardner found there to be a couple of downsides such as the $69K upcharge for its convertible version and its appetite for tyres… at least on the track.
While Gardner did not get to experience the McLaren 750S on the public road, he still recommended it, stating that: “With time and patience, the 750S has a huge amount to be discovered and much to learn, and that will appeal to an owner who wants to invest in its extraordinary ability over time”.
