With its luxury appointments and on-road manners, the 2019 Toyota Land Cruiser might seem to have nothing in common with the rugged, no-nonsense Land Cruisers Toyota built for decades starting in the 1950s. But today's Land Cruiser is nearly unassailable once the pavement ends, maintaining the original version's go-anywhere reputation.
Pros Very capable off-road Comfortable ride and capable handling for a big SUV Commanding view of the road ahead
Cons Second- and third-row seats are clumsy and lack space Poor fuel economy even by large SUV standards Limited smartphone connectivity
The 2019 Toyota Land Cruiser’s go-anywhere capability makes it a cult favorite, but most buyers are better suited to rivals.
Pros The myth, the truck, the legend Will climb over anything Ample power Comfortable inrterior Soft ride
Cons Guzzles fuel Very expensive Guzzles fuel Not well-suited to suburbia Did we mention that it guzzles fuel?
With its rugged body-on-frame construction, heavy duty hardware and new-age technology that enable it to crawl over obstacles, the Prado is not for pretenders. To be fair, the Prado is far from rudimentary. It feels solid on the road at highway speeds and around town, although you quickly learn to take roundabouts a little more gingerly because of the tendency for big, tall and heavy 4WDs like this to lean in corners. The new engine is a worthwhile freshen-up for the Prado but doesn't suddenly transform the vehicle.
Likes New diesel engine is more refined Long range due to better economy and 150L tanks Genuine off-road ability
Dislikes Towing capacity unchanged at 2500kg The price is high, especially on top end models Interior design starting to look a little dated
Cast an eye over the SUV market and you’ll see very few truly off-road capable vehicles. One of them is the Toyota LandCruiser Prado, and here we’ve got the most capable Prado of all, the top-shelf Kakadu.The LandCruiser Prado Kakadu is a very good off-the-shelf off-roader, with its blend of both tradi-tional and modern off-road equipment. With decent all-terrain or mud-terrain tyres (which nearly all standard SUVs would need) we reckon the Kakadu could go just about anywhere.
Likes Rear axle articulation KDSS system Crawl control
Dislikes Lack of power and torque Over-bonnet vision No height-adjustable front suspension