2024 Toyota Land Cruiser 250 Prado Review

Here is the brand new Toyota Land Cruiser 250/ Prado. Let’s cut to the chase, it looks awesome. It’s a completely new model with loads of clever off-road technology, and it’ll go on sale worldwide very soon, including in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the USA. In this video, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about it

History

The very first Land Cruiser came out in 1951. That’s 72 years ago. There have been more than 10 generations since then, and Toyota has sold over 11 million Land Cruisers in more than 170 different countries. Some of those cars have been limited to certain regions, like the new Land Cruiser 300 that was revealed back in 2021. That’s a flagship model for markets like the Middle East. It comes with loads of posh features you don’t get in most Toyotas, but you can’t buy one in the USA, Europe, or the UK. This new 250 model will go on sale in all those places because it replaces the smaller Land Cruiser Prado. It shares some of its parts with the range-topping 300 version, but the interior, engines, and the body are all completely different.

Design

Speaking of which, this new Land Cruiser 250 looks nothing like the old model or the bigger 300 version, and I think that is a good thing. I’m not saying the old car looked bad; it’s just a bit forgettable. The new model has a very cool retro design, a bit like the Suzuki Jimny and the Mercedes G-Class. From the side, it’s a bit like a giant box on wheels, but I really like it. It’s supposed to be a proper off-roader, not a posh SUV. The front end is even more square if you can believe that’s possible. It looks like someone drew a grill and some indicators on a Rubik’s Cube. This then continues at the back because this new Land Cruiser looks like it was designed using an Etch Sketch.

First Edition

Toyota is kicking off the new Toyota Land Cruiser 250 generation with a special first-edition model. This has completely different headlights that look even more old-school. You get giant round lamps instead of rectangular lights like you do on the standard car. You can also get some classic two-tone paint jobs to choose from. There’s a light blue option and this sandy yellow. If you fancy one of these, you’ll have to be quick. Toyota is only going to make 3,000 of them per year. If that isn’t retro enough, you could always buy a 70 model instead. This version has been on sale since 1985, but Toyota has confirmed it will release an updated version in Japan that will be on sale alongside the new Land Cruiser 250. The vintage headlights aren’t the only retro thing about this new Land Cruiser.

Chassis

It also comes with an old-fashioned ladder frame chassis. This is actually a good thing for off-roaders because it makes it easier to fit long travel suspension and tougher axles than a conventional monocoque chassis. This is why you still get ladder frame chassis in cars like the Mercedes G-Class, the Suzuki Jimny, and the Jeep Wrangler. Toyota calls this new ladder frame chassis the TNGA-F, and it’s pretty much the same as the one that the Land Cruiser 300 is built on. It’s also similar to what you get in a Lexus LX 600 and the new Lexus GX. This means it’s 50% stiffer than the old Land Cruiser’s chassis. As a result, the suspension can do a better job of keeping all four wheels on the ground when you drive over very uneven terrain.

Interior

You could get the old Land Cruiser with either five or seven seats, and there was a three-door commercial version with two seats and a massive load bay. There’s no three-door version of the new car yet, but Toyota has confirmed you’ll be able to get five or seven seats in the new five-door model.

So, how roomy is it on the inside? Well, the new car is almost eight centimetres shorter than the old car, and it’s also a few centimetres lower. However, this shouldn’t affect passenger or luggage space. That’s because the wheelbase, which is the distance between the front and the rear wheels, is actually six centimetres longer than before at 2.85 meters. And really, it is that wheelbase that determines how much space there is inside a car’s cabin. so this new one should be slightly more spacious than before.

Also, this new Land Cruiser should be a bit easier to drive in town because Toyota has lowered the window frames and moved the dashboard down to give you a better view.

Speaking of the dashboard, you get a large central touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and there’s also a digital driver’s display instead of analogue dials like you got on the previous generation model. Thankfully, Toyota has kept most of the physical controls for the four-wheel drive system, so you should be able to control everything with thick gloves on. You can also get a cool box in the centre console, and there’s a built-in inverter so you should be able to power a range of electrical equipment using a normal household plug.

Engines

The new Toyota Land Cruiser 250 comes with a few engine choices, but not every option will be available in every country. The most basic car gets a 2.7-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine. This produces 163 horsepower and 246 Newton meters of torque, which doesn’t sound like much. You’ll only be able to buy it in a few markets, including Japan and Eastern Europe. There’ll also be a more powerful 2.4-liter turbocharged petrol engine with 281 horsepower and 430 newton meters of torque. This will go on sale in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The entry-level diesel is a four-cylinder 2.8-liter turbocharged engine which produces 204 horsepower and 500 newton meters of torque. This engine is pretty much identical to the one in the old Land Cruiser and the Hilux pickup truck.

This will go on sale across Europe, Japan, and the Middle East. A mild hybrid version of this engine will arrive in Western Europe and Australia a little bit later on. There’ll also be a full-on hybrid model available for the first time, although it’ll only be sold in North America and China. This uses a 2.4-litre petrol engine and an electric motor to produce 330 horsepower and 630-newton meters of torque combined. Every version of the new Land Cruiser comes with four-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic gearbox, though the most basic petrol version gets a six-speed automatic instead.

Performance

Toyota hasn’t confirmed any zero to 60 mile-an-hour stats yet for the new Land Cruiser, but the 2.8-litre diesel model that’s coming to Western Europe should have very similar performance to the old car. Now, that had a decent amount of torque and plenty of pickup at low revs, but it took almost 10 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles an hour, so it felt pretty sluggish when you needed to overtake other cars or join a motorway. Despite this, Toyota says this diesel engine has enough grunt to tow trailers weighing up to three and a half tons, and that’s definitely more important for your typical Land Cruiser driver than drag racing, obviously.

Off-road

It goes without saying that the new Land Cruiser comes with four-wheel drive. You also get high and low-range modes and the locking rear differential like in the old model. But Toyota has also fitted plenty of upgrades to this new 250 version. There’s a new front anti-roll bar that you can completely disconnect using a switch on the dashboard.

This is really handy when you’re off-roading because it lets the wheels on each side of the car move up and down more freely, and this helps them find traction when you drive over deep holes or over large rocks. You’ve been able to get this feature on a Jeep Wrangler for a while, but this is the first time Toyota has fitted it to a Land Cruiser.

The new car also comes with a dedicated off-road electronic brain. This can automatically change all the engine, gearbox, and suspension settings while you’re driving. It’s a little bit like the terrain response system you get in a Land Rover Defender. The new Land Cruiser also comes with a surround-view camera system like the Defender to help you avoid hidden rocks when you’re off-roading. Or, of course, you could use it to spot tall curbs when you park it in town.

Safety and Driver Assistance Features

The new Land Cruiser comes with one very important safety upgrade: it gets electric power steering for the first time. This means Toyota has been able to fit all the driver aids from its other normal cars, including active lane-keeping assist.

Toyota also said this new system will help prevent kickback through the steering wheel. This is where bumps and ruts violently jerk the steering wheel while you’re driving off-road. It tends to happen on very, very rough terrain, and I found out exactly what it feels like when I drove this old Mercedes G-Class. It really, really hurt my finger, to tell you the truth. But you won’t have to worry about this happening to you in this new Land Cruiser.

2024 Land Cruiser Prado price

The new Toyota Land Cruiser 250 will go on sale in Europe and in the UK towards the end of the year, and the first cars will start arriving in early 2024. Toyota hasn’t said how much this new car will cost yet, but you can bet it will set you back more than the old car. So, expect to pay at least £40,000 for an entry-level model, and top first edition cars with all the bells and whistles, well, those could cost more than £65,000.

Source: autochat360