Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 3.0 VX-L

The Land Cruiser Prado is a big car, and in this 3.0l diesel VX-L guise, is somewhat like driving an elephant. It lumbers along, soaking up the terrain and getting you where you want to go in relative luxury and comfort - but poke it with a stick, and its liable to stomp on you.

The Prado in VX-L trim is just magnificent. There’s luxury all around, with leather everywhere, ambient interior lighting, extensive driver assistance packages, and an awesome audio system connected to the 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system. On these fronts, the Prado easily takes on the likes of Land Rover’s Evoque, Jeep’s Cherokee and Mitsubishi’s Pajero, and outshines (or at least matches) them all.

The drive is something else. Although its lumbering nature doesn’t lend itself to the city very well, it handles rush hour traffic just fine. Its sheer size does make it a chore to maneuver in parking areas, and it’s not really in a hurry to get anywhere, but get you there it will, and in total comfort.

Changes up front include a new bumper, new headlights and grille, a shaped bonnet that improves forward visibility, and some new side elements. Along the sides, there’s a stylish set of 18-inch alloys, and round the back, new stacked C-shaped LED taillights and a new bumper with a styled insert. The combined effect of the facelift makes the Prado’s styling a lot more palatable, without hiding its origins.

As we mentioned before, the interior is pretty plush: the cream leather is beautiful but may not be the best trim for an active off-road lifestyle. As you can see here, it shows scuff marks and dirt pretty easily. It is a full size seven seater, with the third row of seats boasting a powered folding operation.

There’s also plenty of tech in the cabin, from the interactive 8-inch multimedia display to the 4.3-inch TFT display in the binnacle, surrounded by a host of gauges and information relaying pods. The infotainment screen also displays images from the surround-view cameras – a useful feature when driving on difficult terrain. There’s also a powered cool box in the centre console, and the luggage area is fitted with a 220v outlet.

As for off-road driving aids, the Prado VX-L has a comprehensive control panel on the centre console which manages just about every aspect of your off-road adventure: there are locking centre- and rear differentials, low range, crawl control, and an active traction control system which allows even the most amateur of off-roader explorers to traverse any obstacles they may encounter.

The VX-L is fitted with a 3.0 diesel engine which delivers 120kW and 400Nm of torque in this application – essentially still the same 3.0 D4-D unit which has been powering the Prado (and a multitude of Hiluxes) for the past decade. It may be big and heavy, and has quite a bit of lag on take-off, but the powerplant is torquey and if you aren’t paying attention, this behemoth will comfortably pass the speed limit.

The popularity of the SUV worldwide is undeniable, and when you need a luxury SUV that is also incredibly capable off-road, and which comes in below R 1 000 000, it’s easy to make a choice like the Prado.

The Land Cruiser Prado 3.0D VX-L retails at R 969 600 and comes with Toyota’s 5 year or 90 000km service plan and 3-year or 100 000km warranty.