Toyota has announced the return of its special-edition LandCruiser Prado Altitude with an ‘out of sight’ spare wheel.

TOYOTA SAYS “strong demand particularly from city-based customers” prompted the brand to recreate the Prado Altitude and hide the spare wheel. On this special-edition Prado, the spare has been moved to the underneath of the vehicle rather than hanging off the tailgate; the new variant also has a glass hatch that lifts up.

Relocating the spare wheel underneath the back of the Prado has meant the secondary fuel tank has been deleted, which is unlikely to upset city owners one bit.

Listing for $65,990 (+ORC) the special-edition model, says Toyota, gets $10,000 of extra equipment for just $5000 more than the automatic GXL diesel model on which it is based. The price is $2530 cheaper than the last Prado Altitude thanks to the removal of import duty on vehicles made in Japan.

Toyota Australia executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said: “Customers in metropolitan areas accounted for a markedly higher proportion of sales for the restyled Prado Altitude than for the regular Prado diesel models,” Mr Cramb said.

“The increase of six per cent reflects the added appeal of the new style among these buyers, and the 900 cars we had on offer were snapped up quickly,” he said.

“As a result, Toyota has upped the order for the latest Prado Altitude by one-third to 1200 cars, providing an opportunity to obtain further feedback on the style and convenience of the Prado Altitude rear design.”

The 2015 version has the same added features as last year’s Altitude. It gets leather-accented seats that are trimmed with contrasting grey inserts and stitching on the bolsters and headrests. Other equipment sourced from the premium VX and luxury Kakadu grades includes a tilt-and-slide moonroof, Blu-Ray rear entertainment system with three wireless headphones and remote control, electro-chromatic rear-view mirror, power front seats and rain-sensing wipers.

It is distinguished by 17-inch alloy wheels that feature a dark-grey finish compared with the bright alloys adopted last year.

The special edition is set off with an Altitude badge and four premium paints: Eclipse Black (which is not offered on any other Prado), Crystal Pearl (from VX and Kakadu), Silver Pearl and Graphite.

Prado Altitude is powered by Toyota’s 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, which is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission. It retains GXL features including reversing camera, rear parking sensors, three-zone climate-controlled air-conditioning, audio controls on the steering wheel, smart entry and start and cruise control. There are seven airbags, vehicle stability and traction control, anti-skid brakes, hill-start assist control and downhill assist control.