Toyota Prado upgraded

Toyota has given its Land Cruiser Prado a fresh new look inside and out plus a safety equipment boost and bigger tow rating for 2018 reports Ross Mckay. Serious off-road capability in a large SUV, while its occupants can travel in comfort with plenty of interior space, is a hall-mark of the seven-seater Prado. Maximum braked tow capacity is now 3,000 kg, up 500kg from 2500kg. New Prado also gets a suite of safety technology bundled within Toyota Safety Sense, which includes the Pre-crash Safety System with Autonomous Emergency Braking for vehicles and pedestrians; Lane Departure Alert with Vehicle Sway Warning; Automatic High Beam and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control. The front of the Prado has had a complete makeover, to create a look that is more consistent between it and big brother, the Land Cruiser 200. The daytime running lights on the Prado GX now have LED operation like the other variants, while on the VX and VX Limited the front fog lights and high beam now have LED operation. For 2018, the GX has newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels with angular cut out spokes, while the paint finish on the 18-inch alloy wheels fitted to the VX and VX Limited has been revised with a brighter finish. There are two new exterior colours – Peacock Black and Avant Garde Bronze in the eight-colour range. Inside, the dashboard, instrument binnacle and switchgear have all been re-designed. The audio display screen for all models increases from seven to eight inches and the GX gains a 4.2-inch colour multi information display. A Torsen limited-slip rear differential is now fitted to the top of the range VX Limited, replacing the electronically lockable rear differential. All three Prado models come with the same 2.8 litre turbo diesel engine with 450 Nm of torque. As it has in the Hilux line-up, the V6 petrol engine has been discontinued. The engine is mated to a selectable hi/lo ratio 4WD transmission giving the Prado a best combined fuel consumption of 8 litres/100 kilometres. The drive mode selector for the VX Limited now has five settings: Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport S and Sport S+. New Land Cruiser Prado pricing for 2018 is: Land Cruiser Prado 2.8 GX $79,490 Land Cruiser Prado 2.8 VX $88,990 Land Cruiser Prado 2.8 VX Ltd $99,990