Why Does Toyota Offer A Petrol Variant?

Four decades later the Toyota Prado arrived in Australia in its second generation, a slightly smaller version of the LandCruiser. Now in its fourth generation, the best-selling large SUV has just been treated to a facelift. Revised styling and redesigned interiors herald new driving aids, retuned suspension and improved safety. 55,990, and price increases further up the range are small. The three-door, which was a slow seller, has been dropped. A bold new five-column grille dominates the frontal styling rework, taking attention away from the new headlights and deeper bumper. Seven airbags and a rear-view camera remain worthy safety inclusions in the five-star ANCAP-rated wagon. Toyota LandCruiser Prado GX and GXL variants offer silver highlights and piano black trim, while the upmarket VX and Kakadu (above) bring leather accents and woodgrain-look trim that looks both very Japanese and dated. 2K - benefit from better third-row access thanks to a rear seat that now folds forward at a greater angle.

555) is by far the buyers鈥?pick - 70 per cent of people choose it. 1455) turbo diesel Kakadu flagship - it gets a rear Blu-ray player, for example, which is far too good for the kids. The 20 per cent who buy the base GX includes a large proportion of commercial buyers. 2700-costlier auto is almost as small. Why does Toyota offer a petrol variant? Because when the Japanese maker sells almost 15,000 LandCruiser Prados each year (more than any vehicle in its segment), five percent of which amounts to more than 700 cars. 1000 extra for the torquey, economical turbo diesel, you鈥檇 have to be seriously anti-diesel not to consider it. Both the 4.0-litre petrol V6 (above), with 202kW of power and 381Nm of torque, and the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder, with 127kW and 410Nm, are carry-over engines. Look more closely at the figures and you鈥檒l see why it鈥檚 the diesel that does it for most buyers.

While the torque figures are similar, the diesel offers its peak from a lazy 1600rpm - 2800 less revs than in the petrol. Meanwhile, the diesel is easier on the juice, at 8.5-8.8L/100km (manual-auto), compared with 11.5L/100km for the auto petrol. Australia is the world鈥檚 third-largest market for the Toyota LandCruiser Prado, and the development of the LandCruiser remains inextricably linked to our wide, brown land, starting with the 450,000 durability and reliability testing kilometres carried out Down Under. Also, the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) found on up-spec variants was invented and developed by Western Australia鈥檚 Kinetic Suspension Technology. The system can decouple the anti-roll bars, allowing increased wheel travel. 16m new National Industrial Skills Training Centre in Wodonga, Victoria, provided a sample of the LandCruiser Prado鈥檚 significant skill-set. The front camera鈥檚 ability to tell the driver, via an on-screen graphic, where the front wheels are pointed proved invaluable when the LandCruiser Prado鈥檚 oversized grille was pointed at the sky.

The crawl control system took the throttle and brake work out of climbs and descents, leaving a relaxed driver to merely steer. And the full-chassis 4脳4鈥檚 long-travel independent front and live axle rear suspensions, with KDSS, helped keep all four on the dirt over a particularly challenging sequence of moguls. Suspension revisions aimed at improving the LandCruiser Prado鈥檚 on-road manners also formed part of the facelift. Roll-stiffness was increased in an effort to reduce body roll, the hydraulic power steering was recalibrated, and the tuning of the stability control and traction control systems was improved. On tarmac, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado remains understeer-biased. There鈥檚 a feeling of reluctance to turn-in that results from a small amount of lost motion either side of straight ahead, and a slight sense of unwillingness from the chassis as it鈥檚 coaxed into corners. However, once you鈥檙e used to it and turn in earlier (or dial on more steering lock) the Prado鈥檚 an agreeable tourer on open country roads.