Went to Toyota dealer to suss out the new Prado.
Priced up the GXL, and was a little surprised at the higher price of the GXL (quoted around 67k for D4D auto), but it is offset by some nice standard new features (reversing camera, traction/stability/descent control, 3 zone climate control, keyless entry and starting, roof rails etc)
Styling is a let down, looks much bulkier but not much bigger inside, dashboard and console looks old fashioned and fuel capacity down to 150L. Better economy at 8.5l/100km though.
Anyone else got any thoughts?
Top of the line, the kakadu, is $97,000. to get a 4wd pack installed is an extra $8,000 (whatever a 4wd pack is!?). toyota dealership tried to demonstrate its capabilities by trying to get it up an embankment and all that happened was that it dug itself 4 thirty inch holes. my 97 model hilux would have walked up this embankment. could have been the idiot driving too. i do think they look nice though and they do come with electric everything.Originally Posted by Monza
Monza, have a read of the 150 Series section at www.pradopoint.com
Most of your questions will be answered.
Hi Monza....
My thoughts are below:
I owned a prado gxl in 2004, bought it for 51500 with rust protection and that came with an add on kit that was being offered for free at the time.. Great car.
I went for a test drive today....I cant justify the nearly extra 20k! At that cost, you are not far away from a 200 series.
Its still a good car, not 20k better over the last model.
At the moment sales are going great for toyota with the government grant and the new release......maybe the price will come down in time.
picking up my SX 3 door today
SX is the GXL level with the only other version being the ZR which is Grande spec
the 3door has 500kg higher towing capacity than the LWB 2500kg
also be aware that there are no accessories at ARB and the like for them for a couple of months, Hayman Reese didn't even know the SWB had a 3T tow rating and didn't have plans for a 3T towbar, I insisted they should start looking into it as there will be plenty looking for them if the sales figures are anything to go by, 3 month wait now to get a 3 door
If You Can't Run With The Dogs....... Stay On The Porch
Nice, Kevaclone - was there a reason you chose the Prado over the 200 series?
The prado isn't all that much cheaper (if looking at a petrol 200).
The 3 door is certainly going to get some interest from the grey nomad crowd wanting to tow their big vans.
Is the 4cyl 3L engine enough to safely tow those vans??? Surely if they dont mind a small drop in technology a slightly older diesel landcruiser wouldnt be a bad choice?
they are doing it quite fine with Patrols/ Hiluxes/Navaras/BT-50s and Prados
the Prado 3L had 410Nm of torque
thats almost double the output of the 1Hz diesel and plenty of those towed big vans about for years
and the 3 door is just on 2 tonnes, around 300kgs lighter than the 5 door wagon
If You Can't Run With The Dogs....... Stay On The Porch
the thought of a SWB towing big weights still makes me shudder. Especially with the grey nomads.
i agree whith sleepy long wheel base is a safer option
hilly
SWB and 3 tonnes spells trouble
wheelbase is similar to the early Landy Discoveries and Rangies
SWB is 2455mm and the LWB is 2790mm so it's only 350mm shorter(14 inches)
it has a shorter overhang at the rear and the towbar is closer to the rear axle so it shouldn't be too bad at all
If You Can't Run With The Dogs....... Stay On The Porch
Took the 155 SX up the beach a week ago
from the No.1 track up to Leasha track and back at high tide(yeah yeah I didn't bother checking the tide before we left, last minute decision to go)#
First time I've driven something with traction control on sand
decided to not disengage it to see what happens
Damn noisy is all I can say, it activated more with the centre diff locked
forgot how to disengage it completely so left it on
only real problem is when you hit a soft patch with some speed to get across the TC if activated will kill some speed
The auto was quite good but, after about 10 minutes of medium slog through the softest sand the Auto high temp light comes on. I think towing a trailer would mean travelling in low range at a much lower speed
I was able to maintain an easy 60-70kph and half throttle for most of the way, dropping to around 40 in the really soft stuff nth of the freshwater track
Oh and I had the tyres at their normal road pressure of 37psi
The soft suspension was only a let down on the freshwater track between the day use and lake sections where it bottomed out a couple of times if you went any faster than a fast walking pace. Other than that it was quite comfortable and the side to side action following wheel tracks on the beach was no worse than my 100 series
If You Can't Run With The Dogs....... Stay On The Porch
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