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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

There Is Plenty Of Room In A Prado GXL ….. Tony Coen

Motoring Tips Guide To The Toyota Prado GXL

I thought that my Landcruiser was a large vehicle until I recently drove the new Toyota Prado constant four-wheel-drive. Being a big person I appreciate having room to move while in the driving position and I was not disappointed with the spaciousness of the GXL model I had for the weekend. The 3 litre Turbo Diesel Prado will become a very popular vehicle in my opinion because I was very impressed after driving it for just 3 days in Australia’s tough outback.

The 5 door GXL model Prado is reasonably pricey at just under $62,000 (Aussie dollars) which is considerably cheaper than the VX and the Kakadu models. But the price is reasonable when you consider the reliability of the previous models of Prado and take into account the safety features like the 7 airbags, the stability control, the reversing sensors and the rear camera that all help to make this one excellent vehicle to drive.

The 3 litre diesel engine has twin balance shafts that ensures silky smooth running and produces 127kW and 410 Nm while using only 8.8 litres of fuel for every 100 km. Despite weighing in at 2,300kg I found no trouble in getting the same consumption figures over the weekend. I particularly liked the 6 speed manual gearbox that gave me the best use of the engines full torque that is reached just below the 1,700 rpm level.

Considering the size of this vehicle the steering is very responsive and the turning circle was very tight. Built on a full chassis the Prado offers excellent ground clearance at above 220mm and the coil spring suspension in each corner helps to keep the wheels on the ground in the rough stuff. On sand this was a delight to drive and I tested out the electronic diff lock and changed into low range with just the flick of a switch.

The interior reminded me of a much more expensive vehicle and having the third row of seats, that folds flat when not in use, would certainly be of benefit to most families. The audio system is impressive and you can connect your iPod directly and I particularly loved the keyless start and keyless central locking.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 10:34 pm and is filed under expert motoring advice, motoring advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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