TOYOTA PRADO KAKADU
POWERTRAIN & PERFORMANCE
THE current generation of Prado has had a few engine options over its almost 20 years of service, but in 2021 it is powered exclusively by the 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel that was upgraded in 2020 to put out 150kw and 500Nm of grunt. It needed this upgrade as the original iteration of the 1GD-FTV 2.8 engine was desperately lacking performance or inspiration.
Now the engine is well-suited to the Prado’s size and use, even if it can’t match the Land Rover six-cylinder engine for outputs or refinement. Prado’s Aisin six-speed automatic transmission has always been a good thing, and this drive hasn’t changed our opinion of it in any way.
ON-ROAD RIDE & HANDLING
COMPARED to the Land Rover’s monocoque chassis and independent suspension, the Prado’s ladder-frame chassis and live rear axle are positively old-school designs and they very much determine the way the Toyota wagon drives. The Prado is a more traditional 4x4 wagon and feels more commercial in the way it handles and rides.
The suspension is soft and comfortable, but wallows and pitches and is less controlled than the more modern design that underpins the Defender. In this top-of-the-prado-range Kakadu model, the suspension has variable dampeners which are height adjustable on the rear.
The rear axle might articualte well of road but on road, the old-school Prado still sways and lurches more than the Defender, and the Land Rover gives nothing away in wheel travel.
The body-on-frame design of the Toyota might not be great for dynamics but it does isolate the cabin well from road NVH, making the Kakadu a quiet and smooth place to cruise in.
OFF-ROAD
THE Prado shows its age and origins off-road as well as on. Sure, the live rear axle gives decent wheel travel at the back end, but the calibration of the electronic traction control (ETC) is slow and lets the car down once that wheel travel runs out and the tyres lose grip. This is different to newer Toyota 4x4s such as the Hilux, Fortuner and LC300, where the ETC calibration is fast acting and spot on; so we expect a lot more of the next generation Prado.
The Prado struggled on our set hill climb on the first attempt, relying only on the electronic traction control, but it made its way up with the rear diff lock engaged. Out of interest, we engaged the Crawl Control on its second of four speeds and the Prado inched its way up the hill easily. The descent was also much more controlled using the Crawl Control.
Crawl Control is like cruise control for off-road, in that it controls the speed via brakes and throttle input with the driver not using the brake and accelerator pedals at all. The milliseconds of throttle input gets drive to the wheels, with grip and more finesse than your right boot to get the car over obstacles. The system is a little noisy as the actuators cut in and out, but we’ve found the newer Crawl Control system in the LC300 has been made smoother and quieter with a larger pressure accumulator. Again, something else to look for in the nextgen Prado.
CABIN & ACCOMMODATION
WITH its cream leather, lightwoodgrain interior trim, large glass sunroof and a dashboard loaded with silver switches and buttons, the Kakadu certainly looks like a top-spec model, as opposed to the more functional and basic look of the Defender. There’s even a refrigerated centre console to keep your drinks chilled, a premium JBL sound system and individual Blu-ray players on the seat-backs to keep the kids entertained on trips. Both the front and second row of seats are heated,
THE 2.8 LITRE FOUR CYLINDER DIESEL WAS UPGRADED IN 2020 TO PUT OUT 150KW AND 500NM