Toyota's new 2010 Land Cruiser Prado is an able urban crawler as well as a potent off-roader. Varad More gets behind the wheel of this monster that completes Toyota's SUV portfolio in India
Toyota's revered Land Cruiser brand of off-road vehicles has been religiously serving for over five decades across various markets. What makes the Land Cruiser series so successful the world over are its supremely engineered mechanicals and its ability to conquer harsh terrain with conviction and of course, Toyota's legendary reliability. But while the big brawny Land Cruiser V8 is an earth-shattering monster, its younger sibling, the Land Cruiser Prado is more of a gentle giant easily tamable for urban use along with being highly competent for some severe off-roading.
Earlier generation Prado's plain Jane looks have been trashed for a complete refurbished design with flowy yet belligerent lines and protruding front and rear fenders on the new 2010 Land Cruiser Prado highlighting the new-found vigour that was so largely missing in its predecessor. Based on a design language that Toyota calls as 'Intelligent & Modern', the car endorses the don't-mess-with-me stance of an SUV from outside but packs in incredible amount of space and spoiling interiors. The beige coloured leather interiors with bits of wood-like trim on the inside is very contemporary and modern-day, complimenting Prado's new looks and presenting the car with an upmarket feel unlike its predecessor that lacked stylish interiors.
The new Prado is a lot about smart-packaging and high-tech gadgetry for improved comfort and convenience of the occupants. For instance, the world?s first flush-with-floor mechanism of the third-row seats is automatically actuated by a simple touch of a button which makes the rear bench cleverly fold down for flat storage space. The driver and the co-passenger are blessed with exceptional amount of space for movement and even with the seats pulled back all the way - there is enough legroom for the middle bench to be comfortably seated. Toyota has made sure that even under full occupancy - none of the occupants feel cramped.
Addition to the now-common features in this segment like keyless entry system, steering-wheel mounted controls, cruise control, is the new auto-leveling projector headlights with washer, 3-zone Automatic climate control and a more advanced Park Assist system with front and rear sensors as well as a rear camera for added convenience. Equipment wise the Prado will give most of its competitors a good run for their money as minor improvements and small yet significant features go a long way in enriching the overall ownership experience.
Built to traverse through the urban jungle with just as much flair and ease as it will conquer the wild and harsh terrain, the new Prado is powered by Toyota's all-new D-4D 3.0 litre Common Rail Direct Injection turbocharged diesel motor that is currently serving the Fortuner. Albeit, under the hood of Land Cruiser Prado the diesel powerplant is differently tuned and configured to suit the Prado's bigger dimensions and a 2400kg kerb weight. The motor pumps out 173PS of power and 410Nm of torque, which is adequate for cruising around the city and occasional highway bouts but the engine feels sluggish and strained to haul this behemoth with urgency as was proved in our tests where the car took 18 seconds to reach 100km/h from a standstill. However for off-roading, the full-time 4x4 drive coupled with decent power and torque presents the Prado with enough strength to seize arduous surfaces and take on inclines.
