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Toyota Prado Long Term Review |
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Last Updated:
09 May 2008 Original September 2005
Welcome to my Toyota Prado Review. This contains in-depth and long term ownership experience, reviews, loads of general information, pictures, technical articles, accessories and lots of opinions on the Toyota Land Cruiser or Landcruiser Prado, Landcruiser Colorado, Lexus GX, just plain Toyota Prado or whatever name its been given around the world. Why car manufacturers STILL do this I don't know. (Ie. give the same cars different names.) Note that this is a long term review - so if you don't find what you're looking for on this time visit again in a few weeks. The site is being written by a current owner.
The following are generally, the model range for the current Prado lineup or 120 Series Land Cruiser. Post Oct-2002 worldwide (March 2003)
There are a number of engines for the Prado: 2003 - current year 1GR-FE Overseas models include 1KD-FTV There are likewise various transmission options. Late 2006 onwards.
I'm not really sure why Toyota cars in general inspire any sort of mass web presence ? Mind you there are lots of clubs... I hope its not because they are anti-personal reviews. Hmm... we shall see. This is a generalist site and I try not to go into technical areas which I am not familiar with or interested. As I always say: learn what you can and ignore what you don't need. This is also a personal site and will inevitably contain comments that you may or may not agree with. That's life on the internet. Nevertheless I have tried to keep it as factual as possible.
Since PL not interested in doing the hard yards with this site I decided to it. Brad's the name and I've actually helped out on a lot of stuff over the years. Much to his disgust I haven't got too many website designing skills in fact I'm pretty crap.
Everything is relative and everyone has an opinion so to make life easy here is the least wordy summary I can think off. If your criteria for the Prado is like mine then the answer is - yes it is recommended. Mind you it's competitors may meet your requirements better, so this conclusion is exclusive of the comparison to the other models. The quality of materials like paint, fit and finish, plastics and so forth are very good quality. However its execution 'looks' dated. The design of the interior is old hat - the world has moved on. Mind you many other car interiors still look like this. Nevertheless it is a comfy place to sit and looks and feels like a quality vehicle. The engine is the key factor to making this car a good thing ! It's a fantastic piece of engineering. It's powerful and economical too. In a world of high petrol prices this engine uses as little as possible. As I said before - a Holden Commodore V6 and Ford Falcon I6 (Popular 4 door sedans in Australia) in the fleet uses about 18 litres per 100k's in inner city commuting with the Prado 15 litres. On the highway where it spends most of its time 9-10 litres per 100ks. Considering the size and weight of the Prado vs the others its low fuel use wins my vote. (On a light throttle I achieved 14 litres in one week in peak city traffic!) Mind you I'm not sure about the diesel version. I understand that it not exactly top spec (in Australia at least) - in today's terms. (Pre-2007 update) The ride quality is excellent especially on dirt roads and just as good as the fore mentioned sedans on normal roads. The handling is OK for a large 4wd at normal speeds and can made to handle reasonably well - for what it is. You just have to understand the characteristics of the 4wd system and cope with body roll and squealing tyres. The other key factor is the transmission. The 5 speed auto is a really good transmission. It works very well with the engine. Considering it has a electronic throttle. I.e.. no cables - I couldn't tell until I examined the pedals. It shifts smoothly and changes gears appropriately. Are there any problems with the Prado? In my
opinion so far so good. Have a read of the long term review
pages on this site. |
 NewsUpdate 2008: Just finished upgrading the Prado's stereo. Check out the new pages! Update 2008: The latest 6 speed Auto in the 200 series has an issue. Apparently it will not change to 6 gear until 120kph. This applies to diesel version. That means that it will be using lots more gas than you'd expect and a HUGE problem. Why? Australia national speed limit is only 110kph. Update: Just updated the site with a quick Prado Vs 200 Series comparison. So will do post a 24 month review shortly! Update: The 2008 all new 200 series Land Cruiser has been revealed. It's been awhile since the last all new model and this one looks like its been designed for a long life too. It's clear where Toyota wants to position the new model, namely very up market. I think its a mistake. They should have the Lexus model cover that and focused on what the traditional focus this particular model was good at. Mind you since they now have various series such as the Prado covering different areas I can understand. We shall see whether it works out. I'll do a write up shortly since new releases are rare in the LandCruiser world. Update: the 2007 spec Prado has been released and
there's a few changes. The GX gets cosmetic updates to make it
more inline with the GXL. Whilst the GXL gets stuff like roof
rails to make it more VX and so forth. Only the Grande models
do not have any cosmetic changes. The updated diesel engine
finally arrives along with the consistent transmissions between the 2
engines.
It all began in Australia at least back in 1996. Toyota didn't really have a competitor for the very popular Mitsubishi Pajero or Shogun or Montero. I guess it was described as the 'civilised' mid-size 4WD category the start of the Sport Utility Vehicle or SUV class. I use the term civilised meaning a 4wd that wasn't designed to spend most of its life off road. Mitsubishi had quite a lead in almost every field. It was a Dakar winner many times over in the production and modified classes, it was the best looking 4WD at the time had lots of equipment, handled well and pretty good off road too. All of these things are relative of course. Toyota had much ground to make up in terms of marketing and packaging and design. Anyway lets face it Toyota is one of the most technically advanced and arguably the largest and most successful car manufacturer in the world today. So it didn't take long before the original Prado or 90 series Land Cruiser was released. It was quite funny when I first saw it at a motor show, only because it looked very similar to the Pajero, with only the design flair that Toyota can do. Ie. It was not a good looking thing. Also note that there is a Japan only Prado model that predates the one the rest of the world knows. But in all honestly it seems like the 75 Series Land Cruiser. The current shape was release in late 2002 in some countries and available worldwide by late 2003. The wagon appears to be the only model available world wide. The SWB appears to be only available in Japan and the UK. I presume this for for price purposes. For more historical information Vehicle history.
Cars and transport are all about meeting your requirements. Lets face it - it is rare that you can simply get a car without some sort of justification. The choice of the Prado is no different. Here's my criteria for choosing this type of vehicle: Reliable. Although the Prado is the replacement company car. Peter said he wanted and small 4wd good on fuel and easy to park and fun to drive. Accountant said resale, longevity. Everyone else said big car to carry more crap and comfy and can camp out in. The competitors where many unlike the prior SWB Grand Vitara from the other website. They included the 100 series Land Cruiser, Pajero, Land Rover Discovery, Nissan Patrol, Terracan, Subaru Liberty Outback and so forth. At one stage even the groovy Honda Odyssey was being considered. Unfortunately 4WD was essential due to the nature of services to be provided. High quality interior features and goes well too ! So why not the others: This is all relative too by the way. Listed for the main reasons why they weren't considered. Mitsubishi Pajero: Not as quiet and harder suspension. Not bad value for money though. Still looks awkward after all these years. Dealers we went to where not exactly rushing to sell us anything. Land Cruiser 100 Series : Too expensive and too expensive. The look of the interior didn't live up to its price. Subaru Liberty Outback: Complete let down in the expectations of handling but high quality interior but feels like a Camry - only better handling. Probably because the ads promise so much. Although so many magazine publications promote the dynamic ability of the car when driven in reality - it is good BUT there are much better in the price range. Land Rover Discovery: Too expensive, poor resale, undocumented reliability and parts concerns. Very poor dealer network if your travel as much as we do. But feels nice. If the wipers are faulty what does it say about the rest of the car... Nissan Patrol: Fantastic value but too big and squeeze to fit in the garage. You may think the Prado is big but the Patrol is physically bigger. Hyundai Terracan: Clearly not as refined as the rest needless to say its handling is not up to par. That said it feels like a tradition 4wd of 5 years ago. The dashboard in particular wasn't something to write home about. Although I didn't get to try the new DiD diesel that was to be released at the time. I understand the new model is much better. So the Prado was chosen, it did drive well and quiet, big enough for 4 computers and luggage, when the seat where folded a almost flat floor to sleep on, fast for the 4WD and excellent fuel economy for a large car and wagon. It is also priced comparatively very well. Tough enough to handle anything within reason. There are issues with the car though but you just have to read about them in the other pages.
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