TOYOTA LAND CRUISER
Off-road legend continues
Toyota's iconic 4x4 moves away from the Fortuner by going upmarket and hoping to give the Land Rover Discovery a tickle Published: 25/09/2009 at 12:00 AM
"Bangkok Post" Newspaper section: MotoringStyling & Packaging
The wraps have come off Toyota's fourth-generation Land Cruiser Prado as seen here in these official pictures. The all-new Prado is a mild evolution of the outgoing model, maintaining the boxy look and aggressive front end to emulate its true off-roading capability
The same goes for the inside which now sees a beefy four-spoke steering wheel and a squared-off centre console bulging out prominently up front.
Cabin has more rugged appearance to suit its SUV concept.
To retain its muddy credentials, the Prado still uses a body-on-frame chassis - claimed to be 11% stiffer than before - and an independent suspension including wishbones up front and multi-link at the rear.
Like before, there will be a choice of either a five- or seven-seat configuration to make the Prado a proper match for the Land Rover Discovery. And to ensure that market share isn't lost to the Mitsubishi Pajero, the Prado will come as a three-door too like before.
Engine & TransmissionToyota has announced two engines for the Prado: 173hp 3.0-litre inline-four turbo-diesel and 249hp 4.0-litre V6 petrol head which are essentially carried over from the third-gen Prado. Both are fitted to five-speed automatic transmission; manual transmission is still on offer for traditionalists.The diesel engine is the same basic D4D unit as used in the Toyota Fortuner, which sees a milder 163hp output. This could mean that the next-generation Fortuner - due in less than three years - could get the Prado's improved engine and uprated gearbox.
The Japanese grapevine suggests that the Prado could come with the Fortuner's 2.7-litre petrol four-pot in the future, although the obese weight - which has not been disclosed but is definitely over two tonnes - of the Prado would be needed to be taken into consideration to deal with such a small motor without forced induction.
Market & PricingAlthough the Prado and Fortuner are basically the same vehicle in nature - mid-size seven-seat SUV with true 4x4 ability - the former will move upmarket and try to give the British-made Disco a tickle. Mitsubishi has also done the same by creating more distance between the Pajero and Triton-based Pajero Sport.
To ensure the Prado can steal some shares from Land Rover, Toyota has equipped it with gimmicks like Multi-Terrain Select (Terrain Response in Land Rover speak) that automatically controls power and braking over different road surfaces, crawl control and steering angle display on the console.
Although the Prado has been imported by Toyota Motor Thailand ever since the second-generation model, it remains to be seen whether the Thai head office will continue to satisfy niche customers. Otherwise, expect the Prado to come via grey channels at around B4m which is on par with the Pajero but a good B2m cheaper than the Discovery.
The Thai grey market also sells the regular Land Cruiser, a full-size SUV tailored to American taste and also rebadged as Lexus LX. The Prado is smaller in size to appeal to European, Asian and Australian palates. It used to be sold in the US as Lexus GX.
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