With the fourth generation of the Prado, Toyota has offered a staggering 14 variants, with two body styles, two engines, two transmissions, six models and two seating capacities. The really strange thing is there’s a three-door version, which harks back to the old 70 Series Prado, the Bundera – which was the last time Toyota offered a three-door Prado option.

The subject of our test is a five-door GX, which only comes with the 3.0L turbocharged common-rail direct-injection diesel. Ours has the six-speed manual transmission, but you can also get a five-speed auto. The GX is the entry-level model, with GXL, VX and Kakadu models in the five-door range. The three-door models are the SX and ZR.

We towed a Cub camper around the hills of Glenbrook, just west of Sydney, to get a handle on how it performed in steeper country, plus up and down the freeway to get a feel for its road handling ability with and without a trailer. The Cub weighed about 870kg loaded up with the gear we had on board and a full water tank. Intriguingly, the five-door model has a towing capacity of 2500kg, but if you go to the three-door, that capacity goes up to 3000kg.

Power and Torque

Without the trailer coupled up, the Prado still felt fairly spunky. The six-speed transmission is really for offroaders, with the gearing weighted towards lower ratios at the bottom end, rather than higher touring ratios at the top. The engine only puts out 127kW @ 3400rpm, which seems sufficient, but in our test pulling the Cub around, I found the Prado a little sluggish on the really steep sections of road. The 410Nm of torque down low around 1600 to 2800rpm is fantastic, with a wide range, but I felt like that only really came into its own if I shifted the 4WD transfer case into low range.

I guess what I’m saying is that I’d love to see the guys at Toyota squeeze the 76 Series’ 151kW beast of a V8 turbodiesel under the Prado’s bonnet, but maybe it just won’t fit. Of course, there’s a way around this problem. Just move up to the GXL model and get a petrol engine. Then, for only a 30Nm sacrifice in torque you can get 202kW of power, or a 25 per cent increase, for about the same increase in your fuel bill every week. What a conundrum!

Going down those steep sections of road, the Prado’s engine braking seemed to keep the vehicle under control without needing to apply much braking, which is really the best way to measure torque in one of these things in the real world.

Speaking of the real world, if you’re considering the Prado as a touring vehicle, there are a few things worth mentioning in no particular order. The spare tyre already mounted on the rear door is clever, and potentially saves you replacing the rear bar (which on a Prado requires cutting the old bumper in half) to add a wheel carrier. The rear door opens and swings out, which can be an issue with some drawbars, or if you don’t have the camper straight behind the vehicle. Sometimes you just can’t get the door very far open if there’s a stone shield in the way. That’s where split rear doors or, my favourite, tailgate-style doors, are much better.

Suspension

Suspension on the range is independent wishbones with coils on the front, with live axle coils on the rear. We didn’t get to take the Prado over the kind of terrain I’d normally love to subject a vehicle to before signing off on its offroad ability, although I can say there was a fair amount of roll happening before I ever hitched a trailer up. But then the Prado has always been a little boaty in the corners.

I’d go so far as saying that’s probably one of the signature qualities of the marque, lending it the same essential ride character as a Cadillac Eldorado.

And, in a sense, the similarities don’t really end there. Like the Caddy of yore, you can get just about every option known to man in a Prado if you pay enough. Our review model, the GX, is the base model and will set you back a cold $55,990 (plus on-road costs), but for the top of the range Kakadu turbodiesel auto, the price rises up to $88,990.

The Bottom Line

Toyota is adamant that the new Prado isn’t just another mid-level 4WD, at least in terms of what that means to every other manufacturer. Built to ‘LandCruiser’ standards, the Prado is designed to be a smaller 200 series, rather than a bigger Rav4.

And I can understand why you might want to go down the Prado tourer route, initially. Even with every option fitted, it still comes in at around the base price of a LandCruiser, and compared to the 76 wagon, well, there’s no comparison in terms of creature comforts.

The greatest weakness of the Prado, at least in terms of Toyota’s other 4WD offerings, lies in its choice of engines. The petrol looks sexy on paper, but more and more tourers, particularly those towing, are migrating towards diesel. And, as we said earlier, the diesel simply isn’t a pulling machine.

In the end, the 2010 Prado is essentially an extension of what the brand has always been about – armchair comfort in a touring 4WD. The little things are all there – it is a LandCruiser from the inside out, and not a bad towing tourer at that. And as much as I’d love to put my hand over my heart and say something clever like, “Give me a 76 Series or give me nothing,” I’d happily renege on that little white lie and hit the road in a Prado, and so would my wife.

For more information, visit www.toyota.com.au

By Carlisle Rogers, as featured in Camper Trailer Australia, issue 28.