TOYOTA PRADO GX

$62,500 DRIVE-AWAY 18.5 POINTS

VALUE

The GX auto starts at $61,500 drive-away. Add $2600 for seven seats. It’s far from a bare bones proposition, with full safety tech (see below) and built-in navigation with eight-inch touchscreen. The list goes on. As with the Fortuner, warranty is three years/100,000km, with the same short service intervals and the total for the first six services coming to $1440.

DESIGN

The Prado has lost its “elephant ears” headlights, switching to a more conventional design. Toyota also trimmed the bumper for higher off-road clearance. Inside is a larger touchscreen and better quality seat fabrics. As a five-seater, the Prado has huge cargo space and more room in the second row than in the Fortuner. Turning circle is almost identical to the Fortuner’s – and each is surprisingly easy to manoeuvre in car parks.

ENGINE

The 2.8-litre sounds quieter in the Prado because there’s more insulation. A version of the Prado is sold as a Lexus in the US, and the extra refinement is evident. With twin tanks (87L and 63L versus 80L in the Fortuner), you can in theory get 1500km-plus between refills on the open road and 1000km around town.

SAFETY

Seven airbags and a strong body structure earned the Prado five stars when this generation went on sale in 2011. To keep current with the latest safety standards, all new Prados (except manuals) come with automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, lane departure warning and radar cruise control.

DRIVING

The Prado is a genuine heavy duty 4WD that’s often assigned to family duties. It’s more refined than the Fortuner but, as it’s tall and rides on all-terrain tyres, it also needs caution in roundabouts and tight turns. Be patient and enjoy its solid blend of comfort and go-anywhere ability. Special mention goes to the awesome low and high-beam headlights.