01 Toyota Prado
DUE June 2024 MODEL Prado PRICE From $80K+
IF WHEELS READER correspondence is anything to go by, the new Prado, due in June, is Australia’s most keenly anticipated new vehicle for 2024. With good reason too. The latest Prado has seriously stepped up.
The ‘250 Series’ Prado rides on a TNGA-F body-on-frame chassis, shared with the LandCruiser 300, Lexus GX and LX, and the Tacoma and Tundra utes. It’s no great surprise, then, that its wheelbase is identical to that of the LandCruiser proper.
Some markets see two separate aesthetic treatments but Toyota Australia has rejected the retro round headlamp front end for a more modern grille and rectangular lights. Under the bonnet expect to find a 48-volt mild-hybrid version of the current 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel with an identical 150kW and 500Nm. It will be matched to a new eight-speed torque-converter automatic, full-time four-wheel-drive, and a starter motor-generator for better fuel economy, quieter startup and smooth initial take-off.
Toyota claims a 50 per cent increase in frame rigidity and a 30 per cent increase in overall rigidity compared to the current Prado, which is based on a HiLux platform. The new Prado will naturally have a full-time all-wheel drive system with a low-range transfer case and a locking centre differential. We also expect the Prado to feature an Everest and MU-X-matching 3500-kilogram capacity – up 500kg over the Prado’s current 3000kg limit.
Measuring 4925mm long, 1980mm wide and 1870mm tall, the new Prado is 100mm longer, 95mm wider and 20mm taller than before. The Prado’s characteristic rear ‘barn door’ makes way for an electric lift-up tailgate similar to the LandCruiser 300.
Inside, it features wireless Apple CarPlay, over-the-air software updates and Connected Services. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster sits ahead of the driver, replacing analogue dials and there’s also a small 4.2-inch multi-information display. As before, there will be seating for five or seven passengers, with a familiar line-up expected where the entry-level GX should have five seats, and all other variants will score seven.
Australian pricing for the new Prado has yet to be revealed, but it’s likely to cost a lot more than the outgoing car’s $62,830 starting price. We predict the entry version will arrive somewhere just north of $80K.
02 Polestar 4
DUE Q3 2024 MODELS LR Range Single Motor, LR Dual Motor PRICE From $81,500
“WITH POLESTAR 4, we have taken a fundamental new approach to SUV coupé design,” said Polestar’s chief executive officer, Thomas Ingenlath. Okay, so the whole idea of an SUV-coupe would normally be enough to make most right-minded people sick in their mouths but, infuriatingly, Polestar might just have brought us the coolest shape of 2024.
Polestar’s fastest ever production car, the Dual Motor Long Range Performance variant is not only capable of a 3.8-second 0-100km/h sprint courtesy of 400kW and 686Nm, but also has support for 200kW DC fast charging. Go for the Dual Motor Long Range and it’ll likely come with a targeted WLTP-rated 560-kilometre driving range.
A Long Range Single Motor model is available, with a 600-kilometre driving range target. It is rear-drive only, with 200kW and 343Nm on tap. A 102kWh lithium-ion battery pack is standard for all long-range Polestar 4 variants. It is currently unclear if Polestar will offer a standard range variant with a smaller battery, similar to the Polestar 2 sedan.
Measuring 4839mm long, 2139mm wide (including mirrors) and 1544mm tall, with a 2999mm wheelbase, the Polestar 4 is approximately 100mm shorter in length, width and wheelbase than a Tesla Model Y.
Inside, the Chinese-built Polestar 4 features a 15-inch Android Automotive infotainment system powered by an automotive-focused Snapdragon system-on-a-chip as well as a 12-speaker, 1400-watt Harmon Kardon audio system.
The 2024 Polestar 4 will commence production in China in November, with a “full-scale” global launch – including Asia Pacific – due early next year. two models have been announced, the Long Range Single Motor (from $81,500) and the Long Range Dual Motor (from $92,150).
03 Lotus Emeya
DUE H2 2024 MODEL Emeya PRICE from c.$250K
Electric sports sedan slayer the 2024 Lotus Emeya is due in the second half of 2024 and it has Porsche’s Taycan in the crosshairs.
The Emeya is Lotus’s third EV, following the Eletre SUV and Evija hypercar, and only its second-ever sedan, the first being the twin-turbo V6 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, from a time when world-beating four-doors were way cooler (1990-1992).
The booted and batteried Lotus – codenamed Type 133 – will produce 675kW and 985Nm in ‘R’ form, which will top a three-tiered range starting from around $250K.
The Emeya will sprint from rest to 100km/h in 2.78 seconds, says Lotus, and run to 256km/h, making it a shade less accelerative than Tesla’s Model S Plaid (and slower than a Lotus Carlton, which topped out at 285km/h) but that’s hardly shabby.
Built on Eletre-shared 800-volt architecture, expect Emeya to offer a range north of
