Toyota LandCruiser Prado 2003 Review

Toyota's marketing guru calls the new LandCruiser Prado a quantum leap forward. Quantum physics deals with the smallest particles, microscopic in size. So, based on that, the Prado is a tiny leap forward. Seems even the biggest marketing budgets can get it wrong!

But not that far off the mark. Even a new V6 engine and changes to the styling, chassis and suspension can't make the Prado more than it is. At best, this second generation LandCruiser Prado is a marginal improvement over the old model.

No doubt Toyota's marketing gurus will bombard us with the myriad of benefits they've shoehorned into the 2003 Prado. Bigger body, more power, more roomy, and it's got DAT, DAC and HAC technology. Wow! Must be good.

It is. Very good. As four-wheel drives go, the Prado is one of the best for the money. And the improvements on the new model are mostly under the skin, out of sight, but definitely front of mind.

First and foremost, check out Prado's new duds. Like it? Me neither. This is the first LandCruiser to be designed and styled outside of Japan; Europe to be exact, because our European cousins are on the hit list this time around, Toyota keen to win its affections Prado's way.

The new body is incrementally bigger than before, 80mm longer, 55mm wider and 10mm shorter. There's an extra 115mm in the wheelbase (between the axles) and 30mm longer axles, which Toyota says improves vehicle stability and handling.

These bigger dimensions have more impact in the cheaper seats, the middle row getting 60mm more legroom, 30mm more shoulder-room and more headroom because of a lower seat height. Not insignificant increases, they are best enjoyed with two or three larger types in situ. The new Prado has seats for eight, as before, though the rearmost three are best for pre-teen kids, as legroom depth is in short supply.

The interior is of an impressively high quality and presents very well. Instrument dials are big and easy to read, and buttons and controls are clearly marked, well placed and easy to use. The driver's seat adjusts for reach, height and rake, and the steering wheel adjusts for tilt. In typical Toyota fashion, there's no shortage of storage cubby holes or cupholders.

The Prado debuts a system Toyota is calling DAT - Driver Assist Technology. This innovative and witty acronym is the package name given to the following Prado electronic driver aids: DAC - Downhill Assist Control is designed to prevent the vehicle slipping sideways on a steep descent by allowing 'feet-off' driving; HAC - Hill start Assist Control manages the brakes and throttle to stop the Prado slipping backwards when a forward gear is engaged; A-TRC - Active traction control; VSC - Vehicle stability control; ABS, EBD - Anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution; and TEMS - electronically controlled, self-levelling rear air suspension.

None of these systems are new to the automotive world. Some are, however, new to the Toyota Prado, like the HAC, DAC and of course the DAT.

Perhaps the headliner of the new Prado story is the bigger V6 engine residing under the bonnet. The new, all-alloy 4.0lt V6 is the first of a modular generation that'll go into other Toyota commercials, and whose technology is also planned for passenger cars, perhaps Camry or Avalon.

In the Prado, this engine produces 179kW of power and 376Nm of torque, an increase of around 36 percent and 24 percent respectively on the old 3.4lt V6, and enough for Toyota to claim best-in-class power figures.

Two other engines are available: a smaller 2.7lt four-cylinder petrol engine, and a 3.0lt turbocharged four-cylinder diesel for oil-burning fans. All engines are available with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

Toyota's offering the Prado in three equipment grades, with prices ranging from $38,990 right through to a hefty $71,990.

The Prado GX kicks off the range. It's available with all three engines hooked to either auto or manual transmission. Standard equipment includes power windows front and rear, power mirrors, CD player and dual front airbags. Air-conditioning is an extra spend, as is anti-lock brakes.

Next is Prado GXL, offered with the V6 petrol and four-cylinder turbodiesel engines only, with either manual or automatic transmissions. Specification enhancements include air conditioning, cruise control, six-stack CD player and anti-lock brakes.

The top-spec Grande, with V6 petrol auto or four-cylinder diesel auto or manual, tops the range. It's impressively equipped and healthily priced. A mere $72k at launch gets all the GXL goodies, plus climate control air-conditioning, cooler box between the front seats, sunroof, satnav, traction control, vehicle stability control, rear air suspension, rear curtain airbags and Toyota's hill holder system - which contrary to what Toyota says, is not a world first.

The LandCruiser Prado is the first Toyota to feature a hill start technology, which stops the vehicle rolling backwards on an ascent. Toyota's mass of computers grabs the brakes and applies the power to keep the vehicle stationary while waiting for you to reapply power. Toyota claimed this as a world first at the Prado launch, something that Subaru would no doubt be interested in, since its vehicles have had a hill holder for close to two decades. And, don't forget Cadillac, which pioneered a hill start system in the 1960s.

Disputed boasts aside, the system works well, even on the steepest, roughest terrain. A mangled little hillock south of Alice Springs called the Widowmaker was the site of the Prado launch, giving us the opportunity to put it through its paces. It climbs hills we could barely walk up, it descends again with little fuss and bother, using the low-range transfer case, of course.

On the faster stuff the Prado showed a good set of manners. Soft, compliant, comfortable, the ride is the better of any other four-wheel drive in its class. Toyota claims the Prado's bigger chassis rails and stiffer body allowed the engineers to back off on the suspension tune a little. Good for ride, but we think they went a little too far.

On the notoriously undulating Northern Territory roads, both bitumen and dirt, the front suspension proved far too soft and uncontrolled, taking too long to settle down from washouts and rises. Where the bigger LandCruiser rides over the elevation change and settles quickly into step, the smaller, slightly lighter Prado keeps on dancing. Annoyingly, and sometimes alarmingly, so.

The steering itself is good, lightly weighted and accurate for a vehicle weighing 2.1 tonnes in top spec, though the high sidewall tyres and soft front suspension do take a little of the shine away.

Engine performance seems pretty strong in the Prado, though we only drove the V6 and turbodiesel variants, and even then it was for less than 200km. We did notice a distinct lack of torque below 1500rpm in both engines, which made hill starts in the manual a clutch-slipping affair. Top speed for the turbodiesel is around 150km/h, and the petrol is electronically limited to 180km/h.

Toyota claims the 4.0lt V6 Prado will return 13.8lt/100km fuel economy, 12.5lt/100km for the four-cylinder petrol, and just 11.1 for the diesel. All V6 and diesel models supplement the standard-fitment 87lt fuel tank with another 93lt tank for a total fuel capacity of 180lt.

Prado's towing capacities remain unchanged at 750kg unbraked and 2500kg braked.

Overall, a wealth of new features have been added to the Prado that make it an even better large four-wheel drive proposition than before. Its off-road credentials have been improved through technology, and its on-road manners, though not perfect, are certainly up with the best.

Is it better than a Pajero, Pathfinder or Discovery? Hard to know without testing all four back-to-back, but even without that we've seen enough to know Prado should certainly be on every large four-wheel drive buyers' shopping list.