Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

Overview

Alongside the mammoth flagship, the Land Cruiser, Toyota did give us a lesser intimidating and comparatively more modern Land Cruiser Prado a few years ago to the world. The Land Cruiser Prado is currently in its fourth-gene, and with every generation passing, it has become bigger and more premium than the outgoing one. The Land Cruiser Prado is currently on sale in the Philippines in three different variants and three color options – White Pearl Crystal Shine, Attitude Black Mica, and Blackish Ageha Glass Flake.

Interior & Features

The old-school appeal of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado strengthens even further as soon as you step inside the cabin. The overall layout feels premium and built-to-last but has a dated design to it.

The steering wheel as well as instrument console look very simple and lack any innovative feature to make it a stand out feature in the cabin. The symmetrical centre console is a far cry from other modern Toyotas, with the overload of trapezoidal theme for the upper central AC vents, touchscreen infotainment system and the buttons for automatic climate control. The good usage of leather, faux wood, and top quality plastic in dual tone black and beige theme uplifts the interior ambience of the Land Cruiser Prado.

Exterior

In isolation, the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado has a massive stance to it, which makes it looks bulky and muscular – easily an impressive proposition for those who love to have a B.I.G. sized vehicle to massage their ego. However, take a close inspection, and you will find that the vehicle appeals too old school now in front of other modern European SUVs.

The Land Cruiser Prado gets a wide chrome grille with vertical slats in the middle, giving it an intimidating stance at the front. The upper portion of the grille extends towards the outer edges above the headlamps, with the latter getting projector units as well as daytime running LEDs within them.

The side profile of the Land Cruiser Prado looks blocky – all thanks to squared wheel arches and plain looking large glass areas. The large 18-inch alloy wheels, high ground clearance, and side steps make the Land Cruiser Prado brutish. The rear of the SUV has a sober appeal thanks to simple looking vertical tail lamps, large housing for the license plate, and skid plates.

Ride & Handling

The Land Cruiser Prado is equipped with double wishbone independent suspension at the front and 4-link type suspension at the rear, with both of them getting Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System. The overall suspension translates into a soft and plush ride quality on the move, however, the tall and bulky stance do filter in a bit of body roll when cornered hard. The large 18-inch wheels feel apt for the job, and so do the ventilated disc brake setup at both the ends for decent stopping power.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

Toyota offers the Land Cruiser Prado in three powertrain options – two diesel and one petrol. The 3.0-litre four-cylinder diesel mated to both the options of a 5-speed automatic and a 6-speed manual gearbox. It is powerful enough to produce a peak power output of 163 PS and a peak torque output of 410Nm. On the other hand, the 4.0-litre V6 petrol engine is mated to only a 6-speed automatic and produces a maximum power output of 275 PS and peak torque output of 381 Nm.

Braking & Safety

Another area where the Land Cruiser Prado feels slightly dated is the limited list of safety features on board. The Land Cruiser Prado packs in only the basics such as seven airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, Hill Start Assist, and Hill Descent Control.

Verdict

The dimensions and stance of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado are envious enough to make it the king of tarmac. However, it is the lack of modernity in overall design and lack of modern day features which make it quite an old-school vehicle to deal with. The butch stance, however, is very well complemented by a powerful set of engines and a good balance of ride quality and handling.