Test drive of the new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
In the twelfth year, the SUV became more powerful, faster and a little more fashionable. But how much does he need all this?
Let's immediately agree that this is not any restyling. The Japanese abandoned the purposeful improvements of the elderly "pradik", and all the updates that will be discussed here are made rather out of savings. There are essentially two of them, updates: the engine and the multimedia system. And both are installed in the car only because they appeared on other Toyota models - there is simply no point in producing old and new versions in parallel, if you can focus only on the freshest. At the same time, exactly those things that "rubbed" the owners the most have been improved. That is to say, win-win.
Moreover, the modified engine promises not just a win, but a real jackpot. The 1-liter four-cylinder 2,8GD-FTV turbodiesel is now the same as in the fresh Hilux and Fortuner: with a more powerful turbine, larger intercooler and increased pressure in the fuel rail. This means that the power has increased from 177 horsepower to 200, and the torque - from 450 to 500 Nm. The difference does not seem to be gigantic, but the passport acceleration is now declared at the level of 9,9 seconds to a hundred - and it was 12,7. Almost three seconds, fantastic!
Alas, it was she. In direct comparison, it turns out that the new Prado outperforms the old one and a half seconds maximum: the best measurement results were 11,7 seconds versus 13,5. That is, the pre-styling car loses to the "passport" acceptable eight tenths, but the updated one - almost two. It's a lot. And you may chuckle in bewilderment: what is the point of counting these crumbs in the context of a huge frame SUV? Then let's do this: a noticeable difference appears only after 100 kilometers per hour, which in itself is great and will greatly help when overtaking. But in the city, Prado drives almost the same way as it drove.
Almost - because he makes it quieter and more civilized. The engine now has a balancer shaft, which significantly reduced noise and vibration: at idle speed, the old version trembles and rumbles like a tractor, and the new one ... No, it also rumbles, but not so loudly and roughly. And even when accelerating to the floor, the modified engine makes everything easier and calmer - it feels like pulling the two-ton Prado carcass is no longer a test for him, but a routine. In other words, if we leave out the fairy tales about super-overclocking, everything happened exactly as the customers wanted: faster, quieter, softer.
Well, and I would not do a super-event from the replacement of the multimedia system either. Instead of the old complex, which even Toyota representatives did not spare biting expressions, the current system from Camry and RAV4 is now installed - with a nine-inch display and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Yes, the resolution is better here, the logic is more built, but the interface is still gray and unattractive, and the delays when switching menu items can still take a couple of seconds. In general, this is something like replacing a convex CRT TV with a flat one, but also CRT. In 2020.
Has it all become more expensive? Of course. Prado scored about $ 1 -577 $ to the official price tag: the base version for a diesel engine Comfort now costs $ 1 the top seven-seater Black Onyx (the former Luxe Safety with new bumper covers) - at $ 972 And this does not include ... No , not discounts, but surcharges for additional equipment, for which they will try to promote you at any dealer of almost any brand. Crisis, 46, times are like this. But if this dynamics continues, three years later, when the new generation Prado comes out, you can sell the old one for almost more than you bought it. Investment!
