The finest things in life are under the hood and inside the passenger cabin as you rip through outback, desert, mountain, or urban trails in the new Land Cruiser
Somewhere in Australia a Land Cruiser is sent to car heaven
Toyota New Zealand has just launched the latest generation of its popular Land Cruiser Prado mid-sized SUV.
The Land Cruiser Prado is now available in three grades — GX, VX and VX Limited — each powered by a 3.0 litre common rail turbo diesel engine.
Toyota New Zealand General Manager of Sales and Operations, Steve Prangnell said, “We are offering customers more choice, with an extended model line up and comprehensive option packages. Prado will now appeal to a broader range of customers looking for an extremely capable vehicle for on and off road use”.
All new Prado models have Toyota’s 1KD common-rail diesel engine with variable vane turbo charger, full-time 4WD, front SRS airbags, front side airbags, driver’s knee airbag, full length three row curtain shield airbags, active front headrests, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control, Active Traction Control, Hill-start Assist and Downhill Assist Control (automatic transmission vehicles only), smart entry and start system, second row seatbelt anchorage height adjusters, 3.5mm and USB audio input jacks, Bluetooth handsfree phone capability, reversing camera, parking sensors, engine immobiliser and alarm system and a rear spoiler.
The entry level GX model has 17″ alloy wheels, a rear door mounted spare wheel with hard cover, reverse parking sensors, leather steering wheel, dual zone air conditioning, and a single disc MP3/WMA compatible CD player.
Prado VX adds 18″ alloy wheels, under floor mounted spare wheel, Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), electrochromatic inside rear view mirror, front and side view cameras, front parking sensors, HID headlights with Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS), headlight cleaners, three zone climate control air conditioning, six disc CD changer with nine speakers, front seat heaters, leather seats, power adjustable front seats, Optitron instruments with steering angle display, power adjustable tilt and telescopic steering column, front fog lights, glass hatch in rear door, roof rails, and rear privacy glass.
The top spec VX Limited has additional features over the VX: adaptive variable suspension system and rear active height control, pre-crash safety system, dynamic radar cruise control, leather and woodgrain style steering wheel, 6 disc CD/DVD changer with 14 speakers, satellite navigation system, coolbox, front seat memory system, woodgrain style console, rear seat entertainment system with 9″ screen, and a tilt and slide sunroof.
An off road package is available for VX and VX Limited grades which includes multi-terrain ABS, CRAWL control, multi-terrain select, multi-terrain monitor with additional cameras and a rear electrical differential lock.
The recommended retail price for the GX with manual transmission is $78,490 with $1,500 added for automatic transmission. The VX model is $89,900 with the top-of-the-range VX Limited model priced at $104,990. The off road package is $2,250 for the VX and a no cost option for VX Limited.
Check out some images of the new Toyota Prado in the gallery below.
Toyota New Zealand has just launched the latest generation of its popular Land Cruiser Prado mid-sized SUV.
The Land Cruiser Prado is now available in three grades — GX, VX and VX Limited — each powered by a 3.0 litre common rail turbo diesel engine.
Toyota New Zealand General Manager of Sales and Operations, Steve Prangnell said, “We are offering customers more choice, with an extended model line up and comprehensive option packages. Prado will now appeal to a broader range of customers looking for an Toyota Prado VX rear location on gravelextremely capable vehicle for on and off road use”.
All new Prado models have Toyota’s 1KD common-rail diesel engine with variable vane turbo charger, full-time 4WD, front SRS airbags, front side airbags, driver’s knee airbag, full length three row curtain shield airbags, active front headrests, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control, Active Traction Control, Hill-start Assist and Downhill Assist Control (automatic transmission vehicles only), smart entry and start system, second row seatbelt anchorage height adjusters, 3.5mm and USB audio input jacks, Bluetooth handsfree phone capability, reversing camera, parking sensors, engine immobiliser and alarm system and a rear spoiler.
Prado GX
The entry level GX model has 17″ alloy wheels, a rear door mounted spare wheel with hard cover, reverse parking sensors, leather steering wheel, dual zone air conditioning, and a single disc MP3/WMA compatible CD player.
Prado VX
Toyota Prado VX Ltd front seats and dashPrado VX adds 18″ alloy wheels, under floor mounted spare wheel, Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), electrochromatic inside rear view mirror, front and side view cameras, front parking sensors, HID headlights with Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS), headlight cleaners, three zone climate control air conditioning, six disc CD changer with nine speakers, front seat heaters, leather seats, power adjustable front seats, Optitron instruments with steering angle display, power adjustable tilt and telescopic steering column, front fog lights, glass hatch in rear door, roof rails, and rear privacy glass.
Prado VX Limited
The top spec VX Limited has additional features over the VX: adaptive variable suspension system and rear active height control, pre-crash safety system, dynamic radar cruise control, leather and woodgrain style steering wheel, 6 disc CD/DVD changer with 14 Toyota Prado VX Ltd rear seats half downspeakers, satellite navigation system, coolbox, front seat memory system, woodgrain style console, rear seat entertainment system with 9″ screen, and a tilt and slide sunroof.
An off road package is available for VX and VX Limited grades which includes multi-terrain ABS, CRAWL control, multi-terrain select, multi-terrain monitor with additional cameras and a rear electrical differential lock.
Pricing
The recommended retail price for the GX with manual transmission is $78,490 with $1,500 added for automatic transmission. The VX model is $89,900 with the top-of-the-range VX Limited model priced at $104,990. The off road package is $2,250 for the VX and a no cost option for VX Limited.
Check out some images of the new Toyota Prado in the gallery below.
Few vehicles are more Spartan than the Land Rover Defender. While most of the world’s tough-guy off-roaders — Toyota Land Cruiser, Mercedes G-Wagen, Hummer H2 — have become luxury machines, the Defender battles on as the final bastion of bare-bones four wheel driving. Still using a similar body-on-frame design from 1948, the Defender remains hand-assembled. Now it seems Land Rover are finally listening to calls for a luxury version of the Defender.
Two new limited-production editions of the Defender are now available. Named the Fire & Ice editions they come packed with all the features Land Rover could fit in: Recaro buckets, leather and Alcantara trim, diamond-turned alloys, colour-coded head- and tail- lights, glass sunroof panel, running boards and more. The Fire edition comes in a special Vesuvius Orange metallic paint, the Ice edition in Alaska white, both complimented by black accents. All that kit drives the price of the special Land Rover up to €68,400. Just 850 examples of the exclusive Defenders will be made.
When you look at published lists of the most stressful things in your life usually they contain changing jobs, death of a loved one, moving house, divorce/separation, and personal illness. So, I’d say that the past couple of weeks have been fine — just two out of the five for me¦
It was made slightly more tolerable by my fortuitous booking of a gargantuan Toyota Land Cruiser 200 VX Ltd.
I wanted to move some things that I didn’t feel comfortable leaving in the hands of the removals guys, and the Land Cruiser just swallowed them up like a humpback whale taking in a mouthful of krill.
Opening the split folding tailgate revealed a capacious luggage area mildly compromised by seats six and seven, which are folded up against the side of the car. It would have been nice to be able to remove these, but it ended up not being necessary as the second row of seats folds forwards and hooks in place, giving an extra long loading bay that’s also around as wide as a standard station wagon.
I could have actually moved my whole house with the Land Cruiser — just hitched it up to the back and let the 650Nm from the twin-turbo 195kW diesel V8 ease it off its foundations. I write this as oil’s price has come tumbling down to US$110 per barrel — that’s a decline of more than 20% off its high, which means we’re officially in an oil bear market. That’s good news, because some people will always need big cars with torque-laden V8s. Many have boats, horses and other large items that require more than a van; or they need the off-road ability. Not that the Land Cruiser is that thirsty. Toyota quotes 10.3l/100km on the combined cycle; I managed 12.2l/100km.
Favoured by organisations that like to operate in rugged territories (like the UN, which has bought over 12,000 of them over the last few iterations), the Land Cruiser is built tough, but also built very luxuriously.
Not only do you get useful off-road features such as locking differentials, hill descent mode, a ground clearance of 225mm and full-time four-wheel drive with low range 6-speed gearbox, but inside you’ll find quad-zone air conditioning, phone integration, and a satellite navigation system that is extremely intuitive, allowing you to directly type a destination into the touch sensitive screen (no faffing around with a jog wheel and buttons like in a Mercedes-Benz or BMW, for example.)
The touchscreen allows access to all manner of audio functions and setup parameters giving you the ability to finely customise your car to you. One area where I would like to see a reversion back to dials, though, is the air conditioning — it was too difficult to control settings like the fan speed on the touch screen while driving, whereas with a dial it’s a simple twist.
As there’s no getting away from the substantial size, Toyota has included proximity sensors on the front and rear and a reversing camera with direction visualisation (lines that show you where you’re heading, depending on the angle of the steering wheel.)
Another manifestation of the size is the less-than-sporty handling around the city, as is to be expected from a car that weighs over 2700kg. Open road manners, though, are excellent. A couple of medium distance trips left me in no doubt that you can pop a couple of soft drinks in the built-in chiller, plug in your favourite selection of CDs, and ride the wave of torque from Auckland to Wellington, arriving feeling relatively refreshed.
So I’ve established that driving the Land Cruiser is fairly stress-free. Its multitude of features, pleasant cruising attitude, and superior parking assistance would make owning it easy. My own personal stress top 5 includes learning the layout of a brand new supermarket, running late, stationary traffic, people answering their cellphones in meetings, and finding out I’ve run out of deodorant on a hot day. I mean, I may be able to quickly navigate to a new supermarket and use the technology to park with ease, but finding the deodorant in unfamiliar aisles would be an absolute drama!
Click through to the next page to read the full specs of the Toyota Land Cruiser VX Ltd.
Price: from $126,490
Description Multi-terrain Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist (BA), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Active Traction Control (A-TRC), Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) and Downhill Assist Control (DAC)
Front: Power-Assisted Ventilated Disc Brakes
Rear: Power-Assisted Ventilated Disc Brakes
Park Brake: Centre Floor Type Mechanical Parking Brake
Active Traction Control (A-TRC)
Downhill Assist Control (DAC)
Hill-start Assist Control (HAC)
Pedal Type Mechanical Parking Brake
Power assisted ventilated front and rear disc brakes
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)
Multi-terrain Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Brake Assist (BA) and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD)
Front Track 1640 mm
Rear Track 1635 mm
Gross Vehicle Weight 3300 kg
Kerb Weight 2675-2720 kg
Minimum Ground Clearance 225 mm
Overall Height 1905 mm
Overall Length 4950 mm
Overall Width 1970 mm
Tow Capacity Braked 3500 kg
Tow Capacity Unbraked 750 kg
Wheelbase 2850 mm
Engine Model Code 1VD-FTV
Type V Type, 8 Cylinder, 32 Valve, DOHC with Twin Turbo Chargers and Intercooler
Alternator 150 Amps
Battery Voltage 12 Volts
Bore 86.0 mm
Capacity 4461 cc
Compression 16.8 : 1
Configuration V Type
Condition Combined
Emission 273 g/km
Test Australian Design Rule – 81/01
Fuel Tank Capacity 93 Litres
Fuel Type Diesel
Injection Type Common Rail Direct Injection
Location Front, Longitudinal
Maximum Power 195 kW
Maximum Torque 650 Nm
Starter 2.7 kW
Stroke 96.0 mm
Litres per 100km 10.3
Body Coloured Exterior Door Handles
Front and Rear Mudflaps
Front Fog / Driving Lights
Fuel Cap with Tether Anchor
Intermittent Rear Wiper
Multi-reflector Halogen Headlights
Rear Spoiler
Side Door Impact Bars
Touch-up Paint
Washer-Linked Variable Intermittent Wipers
Aluminium Side Steps
Body Coloured Front Bumpers
Body Coloured Rear Bumper with Step
Chrome Plated Electric Exterior Rear View Mirrors
Chrome Plated Front Grille
Electric Luggage Area Exterior Door Handle
Front (2) and Rear (1) Towing Hooks
Front (2) and Rear (4) Parking Sensors
Green Tinted Side Privacy Glass
UV Resistant Glass
Headlight Cleaners
LED High Stop Light
LED Rear Combination Lamps
Radio Antenna Embedded in Left and Right Rear Window Glass
Rear Window Demister
Tinted Laminated Acoustic Windscreen Glass with Top Shade
Towing Hitch Attachment Point with Cover
Under Floor Mounted Spare Wheel Carrier
12-Volt Accessory Power Outlet
2×3-Point ELR Front Seat Belts with Pre-Tensioners & Force Limiters
Adjustable Front Seat Belt Anchors
Automatic Glare-Resistant Electrochromic Interior Rear View Mirror
Centre Differential Lock Switch
Child Proof Rear Door Locks
Child Restraint Tether Anchor and ISO Fixing Points
Cigarette Lighter with Illumination
Clean Air Filter with Pollen Filter
Coolbox
Cruise Control
Dash Light Dimmer
Digital Clock
Digital Type Heater Controls
Door Ajar Warning
Door Scuff Plates
Driver’s Footrest
Engine Immobiliser & Alarm System
Front and rear door operated interior room lights
Front Ashtray
Front Headrests with Height and Angle Adjustment
Front Personal Lights
Front Seat Back Pockets
Fuel Level Warning Light
Gear Shift Position Indicator on Gear Lever and Instrument Panel
Illuminated Entry System
Key Reminder Warning
Leather Door Trim
Leather Seat Material
Lockable Glovebox with Light
Optitron Instrument Panel
Outside Temperature Display
Power Windows with One Touch Auto Up/Down, Anti-Jam Safety Function
Rear Coat Hooks
Rear Personal Lights
Remote Fuel Lid Release
Shift Lock System
Tachometer
4 Spoke Leather and Wood-style Steering Wheel with Audio, Display and Bluetooth Controls
40/20/40 Split Folding Second Row Seats with Slide, Recline and Tumble Functions
50/50 Split Folding Third Row Seats with Recline, Fold and Space-Up Functions
Adjustable Second Row Outer Seatbelt Anchors
Auto Off Headlights
Card Holder
Downhill Assist Control (DAC) Activation Button
ECT 2nd Start Button
EMV (Electronic Multi-Vision) Display with DVD Satellite Navigation System, Bluetooth Telephone Capability, Audio Controls, Climate Controls, and Reversing Camera
Front (2), Rear (2) and Third Row (4) Cup Holders
Front (4), Second (4) and Third (2) Row Assist Grips
Front and Rear Door Armrests
Front and Rear Door Courtesy Lights
Front and Rear Door Pockets with Bottle Holders
Front and Rear Four-Zone Climate Control Air Conditioning with Independent Temperature Controls
Power Adjustable Front Seats with Slide, Recline, Tilt and Height Functions with Driver’s Lumbar Support
Front Sunvisors with Illuminated Vanity Mirrors, Cover and Sub Visors
Fuel Sediment Warning Light and Buzzer
Leather and Wood-style Gear Lever
Luggage Area Cargo Hooks (4)
Manual Idling Control Button for Improved Heating Performance
Multi-Information Display (with Twin Trip Meters, Gear Lever Position, Driving Range, Average Speed, Distance Travelled, Current and Average Fuel Consumption and Warning Functions)
Park Assist On/Off Button
Pioneer AM/FM Radio and 6 Disc In-Dash MP3/WMA CD/DVD Player with 9 Speakers
Rear Console Box with Cup Holders (2)
Rear Seat Centre Arm Rest
Roll-Sensing Curtain Shield Airbag (RSCA) On/Off Button
Second and Third Row Headrests with Height Adjustment for Second Row and Inner Third Row Seats
Silver Interior Door Handles
Smart Key System with Remote Central Door Locking & Answer Back Function
Smart Start System
Power Tilt and Telescopic Steering Column with Automatic Retract Function
VSC/A-TRC On/Off Switch
3×3-Point ALR/ELR Second Row Seat Belts with Outer Pre-Tensioners
3×3-Point ALR/ELR Third Row Seat Belts
Driver and Front Passenger Seat Belt Warning Lights and Buzzer
Driver and Passenger Front, Knee and Side Airbags, 2nd Row Side and Full Length Curtain Shield Airbags
Description Engine Speed Sensitive Power-Assisted Rack and Pinion Steering
Minimum Turning Circle 11.8 m
Steering Ratio 16.7
Turns lock to lock 3.14
Tilt and Telescopic Steering Column
Front Fully Independent Double Wishbone Coil Spring with Stabiliser Bar
Rear 4-line Coil Rigid Suspension with Lateral Rod and Stabiliser Bar
Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS)
Description 6-Speed Super ECT (Electronically Controlled Transmission) with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Shift Control and Sequential Manual Mode
Type 6AT
Drive Type Full-Time 4WD
Diff Type Torsen Centre LSD (Torque sensing Limited Slip Differential)
Gear 1 Ratio 3.333
Gear 2 Ratio 1.960
Gear 3 Ratio 1.353
Gear 4 Ratio 1.000
Gear 5 Ratio 0.728
Gear 6 Ratio 0.588
Reverse Ratio 3.061
Final Ratio 3.909
Shift Type Auto
Rotary Switch Type for High/Low and Momentary Switch for Free/Lock
Description 8J x 17″ Alloy Wheels
Tyre Size 285/65 R17 steel belted radial ply tyres
Wheel Type Yokohama Geolander G94
Full Size Alloy Spare Wheel
Words and photos Darren Cottingham
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