Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Review

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Are you considering buying a used Toyota Land Cruiser Prado? The answer depends on many things. The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado has come a long way and today, it is very different, or perhaps we should say a better, more comfortable version of the first in its line of production that was first released into the market in 1985.

Now in its fourth generation, this car has become a mark of pride and achievement in many places, but especially Africa, Asia, Middle East, Australia and many other places. What makes it so beloved is that it is built for urban comfort and maneuverability as well as for tough rural and off-road capability.

In this article, we will look at the kind of user experience you should expect from a 2009 Land Cruiser Prado. Old? Not really! You will see why this vehicle, no matter how old it is, does not disappoint even when you put it alongside its more modern tech feature-laden counterparts from Europe and the Americas. In terms of price, it is totally unmatched.

Interior & Comfort

What do you get when you take Prado’s Big Brother the Land Cruiser, and add many urban and technological comforts? You get the Land Cruiser Prado. Although this SUV was built incorporating a number of urban comforts and off-road ability, its interior is not exactly luxurious when compared to a similar car such as the VW Toureg, but it is close.

For the earlier models of the Prado, you are probably looking at leather seats, a wood grain steering wheel and a wood-grain console. Newer Land Cruisers may not have this.

For entertainment, there is a 6-disc DVD/CD changer and 14 speakers. The front seats are heated, and with a tilted, sliding sunroof you can enjoy some fresh air as you go for a drive.

Back Seating Area

The back seating area can accommodate for up to five passengers, making the Prado a choice car for families. It has more space than most common 4WD off-road vehicles in the market, making it ideal as an office car during the week and a family cruiser for weekends.

In addition, there is a roof mounted 9-inch monitor, a full-blown rear seat entertainment system from which passengers can play DVD movies or video games if they hook up a gaming console.

The back seat row can be folded automatically to create more storage space. However, most people do not buy the Prado for this. Rather, they buy it for the ultimate comfort that seven adult passengers can enjoy as they travel.

Driver’s Seating Area

The driver area in the Toyota Land Cruiser is made to make the driver as comfortable as possible. Firstly, the driver seat is 8-way adjustable, meaning you can adjust it to suit your height, posture, knee space, steering wheel reach, and many more.

The seat also stores all of your settings so that you do not have to adjust it again. The dual automatic climate control also gives you a good escape from the hot African weather.

There are many switches scattered around the driver area of the Prado that allow for maximum personalization. The glove compartment is spacious, lockable, and can hold many of your personal items. This car also has heated front seats.

Features & Driveability

The Prado comes with many driver-assist and comfort features. In addition to the roomy and spacious cabin, there are features like cruise control, which lets the driver relax on long road trips while the audio-visual navigation system will ensure you do not get lost.

If you go for the GLX, you will get it in two types of engines – the V6, 4.0-litre petrol engine or the 2.8-litre diesel turbo engine. Later versions also offer turbocharged 3.0-litre diesel engines. The diesel engine is more popular in places like Africa where diesel is considerably cheaper than petrol.

The Prado is a fulltime 4WD vehicle. This however does not hamper its performance and operation on the road. Although this car is made to go anywhere and on any terrain, there can be a lot of body roll on twisty urban roads, requiring you to lower the driving speed considerably. Most people say that the car becomes very intuitive when you are off-road, since it was made to thrive there.

You will get the Prado with a 5 or 6-speed automatic gearbox. It has 18-inch alloy wheels, giving more than enough ground clearance, and power steering.

Practicality

The passenger riding in the cabin with the driver is almost as comfortable as the driver. The passengers in the two back seat rows are also very comfortable. The boot space is a humongous 650kg, which can be increased much further by folding the electronically folding seats. The spare wheel is mounted on the under floor, which is a good thing because opening the boot door could feel too heavy with the spare wheel mounted on the door.

Driveability

As has been reiterated repeatedly in this article, the Prado handles best when it is driven off-road as the twisty turns on the tarmac can give the car too much body roll. Toyota seems to have invested more on driving comfort rather than driving dynamics, because the suspension is a bit soft compared to its rivals. However, for rough roads or for no roads at all, you will not find a better car.

It is very comfortable to drive since it has high ground clearance and thus the driver has better visibility. The memory seat also helps save time as it saves driver settings and needs, while the heated mirrors retract electronically.

Most models of the fourth generation Prado come in 4.0-liter petrol or 2.8 and 3.0 diesel turbocharged engines. The turbo charged diesel engine sells fast, but the petrol one is not bad either.

Driving on the road at low speeds, the Prado handles like a small car. However, when it drives on off-road terrains, it handles like a beast. Thanks to the multi-terrain selection feature, the vehicle intuitively knows how much wheel spin is needed for every kind of terrain. This feature has settings for mud, rock, mogul, loose rock, and sand.

Mostly, the 2009 Prado and later come mostly in automatic transmission, but there are manual choices too. It has reliable shifting 5-speed automatic gearbox and good fuel efficiency of between 8 and 10 km/litre.

Safety, Pricing & Overall Opinion

Safety

Some people say the Prado can keel over if you drive too fast. However, any heavy car with high ground clearance and body roll is bound to do that if you try to negotiate corners at high speed. It has been awarded four stars for driver protection by Used Car Safety Rating (UCSR), and it has been rated for other road users’ protection when there is a crash. We can confidently say that the Prado is one of the safest SUVs around. Safety belts for all passengers, lane departure warning, and emergency braking systems further enhance the safety of this car.

Pricing & Overall Opinion

A used Toyota Prado imported from Japan can cost any amount from around $4,000 depending on the year of manufacture, with some being as old as 20 years. For countries like Kenya, which have a 7-year restriction on secondhand car imports, a 2011 Prado can cost about $20,000 while any newer than that can go up to $30,000 or more.

This car is best suited to older drivers who have families to haul along as they take long weekend road trips and who would like to visit their upcountry homes from time to time where off-road capability comes in handy. An always-in-a-hurry urban driver may not love the Prado because overtaking has to be keenly calculated and at high speed, with the chances of keeling over increasing. If you are a city dweller, buying a smaller, niftier car that can negotiate the twists and turns of urban roads is recommended.

Finally, the Toyota Land Cruiser comes in many models like the CBA–TRJ150W, TA-VZJ121W, Q-LJ78W, LDA-GDJ150W and LDA-GDJ151W to name but only a few. These are not exactly the same vehicle, but they are sisters. Some have 2690 CC, others 2750 CC. Some have 18-inch alloys, some 17-inch alloys. But they are all Land Cruiser Prados from the trusted Toyota make.

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