Toyota Prado Kakadu 2021 review | Chasing Cars 

Meanwhile the V6 was over 200kw yet it wasn't a dIeSeL.. Idiots

@@mrkring1526 The 3.5l engine was 200kw for 15 years when Euro’s diesel can produce over 200kw from 3L,

@@EastWood2004 the V6 in the Prado is *not* the 3.5. It's a 4.0 engine. The 3.5 definitely makes more power than the 4.0. Always has.

@@damilolaakanni My bad, you’re right. I had also owned the 4 litre V6 LC120. The Prado diesel engine was 4 cyl 3 litre when German and Korean diesels can produce higher power from 2 or 2.2 litre.

@@EastWood2004 yeah they COULD have produced more power but those korean enginea didn't, and where are those korean cars now? There are still hundreds of thousands of those toyota 3L diesels still going strong even after 500k kms.

Thanks for watching!

No major changes since 2009 on this one.

@@chasingcars in 2009 too , it looked wacky ;)

Yeah toyota interiors are really lame in general. They put no effort into it whatsoever

@@anthonyramdin1037 Yeah. I just bought a 2020 RAV. The infotainment and graphics are truly awful. Worse than the Sportage I traded it for and way way worse than the mid level Forrester I tested just before the RAV. Just like Toyota too to be years behind everyone else in adding Apple car play and Android auto and actually market the fact they've finally added it to their range.

@@sbGOM why did u buy a RAV then?

Agreed. Pleasant to see it in a bright colour.

Coil springs with adaptive dampers and height adjustable rear suspension.

@@chasingcars Thanks for answering so quickly :) So Coil Springs upfront and Air Suspension in the Rear end?....... I only ask as I want to get back to basics (a Coil Sprung 4WD) as I currently have a Land Rover Discovery 4 with Air Suspension and am concerned on needing Repairs or getting Punctures in the Air System when we're "out bush" (anywhere away from the City)

@@DonsShed How many miles you got on your Disco 4? Any issues?

@@sometimesgamer our Disco 4 has only 50,000kms on it.... the only issue I ever had, was the Engine Cover rubbed on the top Coolant hose and had a Coolant leak, that was the only issue in 5years of ownership. An absolutely fantastic car!!!

Fortuner is based off of the hilux meaning same chassis, same body structure except without the tub, similar drive characteristics etc. Prado is totally different from both, it's it's own vehicle. The prado is the cousin of the Land cruiser, basically it's just a smaller, 'cheaper' alternative to the land cruiser

Pretty sure the Pajero Sport has centre and rear diff locks, at least for the last 12 months

The majority of 4wd wagons and utes have a rear diff locks.

All 4wds have a center diff lock and most come with a rear diff lock so prado really isn't a stand out because of lockers. If it had a front locker then it would be a real stand out. It's is just average really. The 4wd electronics make it a stand out

Most new 4wd come with centre diff locks, and lots of gagets. The difference with a prado and with almost all toyotas is the build quality, and the reliability of the overall vehicle. The parts they consist of are of a better quality. The interior parts are better grades of plastics and are much better engineered. Replacement of parts are easier because the layouts are better thought out. Therefore wholly easier to work on and cheaper to repair. Also you can get parts for toyotas practically anywhere. Good luck getting a new alternator for a merc or bmw etc in remote areas. Let alone the cost. People forget the reliability too easily, they worry more if it hasnt got some bit of tech that will break anyway on a few hundred ks of corrugations just because its fancy and oooh look ive bought a bmw for 100k. No worries, ill buy it off you for 10k in three years. After youve had all the repairs done. Theres a reason landcruisers hold their value.

Yeah but I would much rather have this in North America with a diesel engine. It's not about horsepower it's about having all that low end torque that's what you really need and only diesel can deliver that.

@@HiPlains1 To be honest the 4.6L gas V8 isn't that bad for low end torque. It makes 329 lb ft at 3,500 rpm. It's not going to rival a Cummins, but you aren't going to be pulling as much weight behind a relatively light vehicle either. The gas engine is also quite a bit quieter (still love my Cummins).

It's a Ford.. nuff said

Ford Evercrap. Why tarnish your reputation by driving one?

Generally you just need to pay more and wait

Manual transmission has been dropped across the Prado range. Atleast here in Aus. Auto only

Why would you want a manual anyway?

The VX is a nice spec - but the fact it misses out on KDSS would rule it out for me. Without KDSS, the Prado’s ability to take country corners with much speed seriously diminishes. Should be standard range wide.

@@chasingcars you can't upgrade the suspension once you have KDSS, reckon the VX is the sweet spot also, great review, extra oomph is what is enticing me

@@johnturnbull2146 Huh? There are lift kits and suspension upgrades offered for KDSS equipped Prados.

How are you comparing the suspension of a Prado to a 3 series? You may as well be comparing it to a motorbike.

@@larjkok1184 I may not have made it very clear. It was more comfortable in a sports sedan than in an SUV which had suspension which was meant to be extremely comfortable. I totally understand they are two different cars. Considering their previous Prado which rode very well, it was quite a shock.

@@larjkok1184 I do get your point though.

BMW has 4 independent suspensions, makes more comfortable while driving on paved road, but Prado's ridged axial rear suspension makes more ground clearance to make the car won't stuck by rocks or moguls while driving on a gravel road. BMW been designed to drive on a paved road only, but Prado could drive any road.

@@ramo034 I know that my comparison probably wasn’t very valid so that makes sense, but the ride was still very off. After being in many other Prado’s it felt way too stiff compared to them so it was quite likely a once off.

Yes, new equipment. I'll look into whether it can be stabilised further.

There are some shared components - most prominently the engine - but almost everything about the chassis is more sophisticated in the Prado - variable dampers, height-adjustable rear suspension and KDSS in the Kakadu to name a few - and all in all it feels like a better-riding, more insulated, quieter vehicle.

@@chasingcars Thanks :)

The Fortuner is the Hilux SUV equivalent

Bit more computing power behind this one.

Kakadu

3500kg.

@@chasingcars so seems this has been increased. I think it was only 3000kg prior

Actually just checked its only 3000kgs guys. Bigger lamdcruiser is 3.5

It really should have a v6 diesel or even the v8 from the land cruiser.

The 2.8ltr 4cyl diesel in this prado has more torque than the V8 diesel in the 70 series 'cruiser. I'd like to see the 4.7ltr V8 petrol that they get in the equivalent car in the USA?

@@anthonyramdin1037 it has more power than the 3.3 ranger and better on fuel.

It was mentioned that the petroleum engines were discontinued for Australia. If they were still sold, this 2.8 turbodiesel engine would be a mid-range engine. The 2.7 petrol 4 cylinder makes about 160HP, and the 4.0 V6 makes 270HP. I don't know why Toyota made that decision, but I don't think that was a good idea.

Driveaway charges that differ from state to state. The basic price for a Kakadu kicks off at 87k.

Luxury tax + goods & services tax + rego + dealer delivery.....

It's reasonable space for the 3rd row, mainly for small children. Their are other reviews that you have probably seen by now about the 3rd rows, cars guide had a nice review if you haven't checked them out already. Don't buy a 120 series cause the 3rd row is horrible, you have to be below 5ft to fit back there and even then your knees are up in your face! I have one and I'm 6ft so I know! Cheers mate

Prado rides better and is more hushed in the cabin, but it's not a night-and-day difference. I would test drive both.

The Pajero is an outdated bare bones vehicle with hardly any features. The Everest destroys the Prado value wise.

Prado is built for hard offroad being body on frame, unlike pajero sport etc using monocoque frame....

GV80 is a good option to consider.

Or save yourself $30K and get a Skoda Kodiaq RS which still has 7 seats, more power, same torque, drives and handles like a car, excellent build quality and comfort, and plenty of useful family-friendly touches. Or, save $45K and just get the standard Kodiaq.

@@danielkell5617 yeah, that seems like a more sane option. Totally agree

GV80 is a good urban option, but if you are into Overlanding, offroading or long drives through remote areas, you have to get something along the lines of the cruiser. Further adding mods, eg. lift kits, bullbar etc, would not be possible on crossover SUV. That is the reason why it's one of the top-selling across the globe.

@@jag5695 yeah. I don’t live on the country side, so probably that’s why I don’t think like that.

It isn’t ridiculous, they’re both eight seat SUVs. Some people tow and off-road in the Prado. Others don’t, and they’d be better served by the Palisade

The key is Prado has proven reliability / durability and it looks the part plus this model has KDSS, the Palisade has no durability history and is a soft roader, and if your buying a soft roader like the Palisade, you might be better off with a Kia Carnival. It’s a serious question many buying any SUV aren’t asking themselves but probably should

It wouldn't handle 200kw, they'd be getting wrapped around trees

The car dates to 2009. I expect to see an electric park brake on the new generation, which will arrive sometime in the next few years.

Electronic parking brakes are shit.

maybe because yours are imported by 3rd party dealers directly from JP and not by a local authorized Toyota principle

@@saltymonke3682 Even at that. Vehicles like Audi, Mercedes, BMW come in English not considering who imported

@@shedrackmwendwa7846 no, still depends on where do you import it. Audi, MB and BMW have US factories. In fact almost all MB SUV is made in US, similar to BMW. Therefore they have English as default language. While Land Cruiser is only made in Aichi, Japan.

@@saltymonke3682 Okay, I get your point, but I still think Toyota is global, should have English Options if not default

@@shedrackmwendwa7846 not so simple, because some models won't be sold everywhere. LC for example, won't be sold in NA and Europe, but Lx does. Why does it matter? Left and Right hand drive. Russian and most of ME are driving on the right, while the only English speaking countries with LC is NZ and Australia (or Malaysia but they prefer Malay/Bahasa, technically SG too, but no one drives it there.) All of them are driving on the left (right hand drive). So if you want to import it to the left hand side driver, your option is limited with Russian or ME version (except KSA). Therefore your default language is either Japanese or Arabs or Russian.

Newer isn’t always better. Have you seen the interior of the new Mercedes S class it looks like it was designed for a rave party by a the SBS pizza cast.

@@tronicit S class and this prado is a totally different class and category. I love toyota but the interior is still outdated inside.

@@tronicit Yeah, the S class looks brilliant!

Because we're owned by a large insurance company and don't accept any advertising from car manufacturers - unlike most other car review websites. Yes, we accept the vehicle for a week-long loan, but if they didn't provide it for testing, we'd get the car another way without any trouble.

@@chasingcars thanks for the reply..clears my doubt..cheers

At least you can buy the Prado. Here in the US the only option we have is the awful Predator faced Lexus that costs a lot more.

You say that like it’s a bad thing? 😜😂😂👍🇦🇺

A six would be good

There's a 4.0 V6 available in other markets. It's rare, but it exists. Otherwise you get a 2.7 4 cylinder engine (not the one in this model, it's basically the same gasoline engine as the Tacoma). It's not as powerful as the V6, obviously.

We aim to please.

Can I ask you Please to name a few Please? Regards.

KDSS helps, but yes, it's no athlete. If I didn't need off-roading capability but wanted eight seats I'd look at the Palisade.

if don't need tow rating and off-roading just pass Prado, highlander is better

In Italy we Say: grazie al cazzo.

It's a 4wd not a suv numpty

I don't think people looking for the type of vehicles in this segment are easily fooled by the flashiness of the new Defender. Even if the new Defender wasn't shooting itself in its foot with all the reliability issues, the Prado would still easily outsell it by a mile.

Land Rover call the Check Engine Light on the Defender a Courtesy Lamp.

its even more expensive in my country Croatia, and we have like 2 times smaller wages than in australia car taxes are literally theft here

@@gjmob Hahahah GOLD!

@@dwade3202 So they don't exactly sell by the thousands I'm guessing. Being in Europe can you not simply go and buy it in a country where it is cheaper? (or just get a stolen one in Albania 🤫)

Not many people!

Lol I havent seen a DVD for at least 15 years. Then again this car doesnt seem to have any modern features apart from a modern-car price