Toyota Land Cruiser Prado test drive: ice, snow and warm feelings

They adore him, dream about him, want him. Adore those who are lucky enough to become its owners, dream of those who have not yet been lucky. They want both. He is perfect? He is rewarded, copied, cloned, compared with him and trying to catch up. Is he a standard?

Maybe. But that the bestseller of the segment is for sure: during the year, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado was sold in the amount of 15,146 copies and with a share of 18% confirmed its status as the undisputed leader among SUVs of foreign brands of the current car market. He is the most willing to buy. Why? Test answers.

We explore Prado's talents on the complex off-road site: a piece of icy concrete, natural obstructions and artificial barriers. But first, let's take a closer look: how does the current “number one foreign SUV” differ from the previous one.

Outwardly, Prado has changed insignificantly, retained brand recognition. The main thing inside is that it has acquired the latest off-road assistance systems, but at the same time has not lost the main attributes of a real SUV: a frame structure, permanent all-wheel drive and differential locks. Enriched with modern options, approaching the equipment of the flagship Land Cruiser 200, but retaining the usual level of accessibility for its fans.

EXTERIOR

The refreshed exterior is not only pleasing to the eye, but also quite utilitarian. Decoration for the sake of decoration is not acceptable in Toyota, everything should have a meaning. Which one? For example, the bevelled lower part of the front bumper with raised corners has optimized the SUV's geometric cross-country ability. And the new shape of the front fenders allows you to better feel the dimensions. And the location of vulnerable elements, including headlights and air vents, is not for the sake of visual appeal – everything is optimized for safe overcoming of fords and maneuvering on difficult terrain.

As a result, in addition to an attractive appearance, the new Prado has very, very convincing characteristics of geometric cross-country ability: an impressive ground clearance of 215 mm, solid entry and exit angles of 31 and 25 degrees. And, despite the fact that the Prado has become 60 mm longer, the SUV has not lost any cross-country ability or maneuverability: the ramp angle is 22 degrees, the turning circle is 5.8 m.

INTERIOR

In terms of interior design, materials used and quality of workmanship, the new Land Cruiser Prado has risen to a premium level. The soft sidewalls of the center console are covered with leather with stitching – it is pleasant not only to the eye, but also to the knees, as we soon saw.

The design and functionality of the steering wheel is unified with the Land Cruiser 200. The dashboard and center console have been completely redesigned. At the center of the new Optitron four-dial panel is a 4.2-inch color multifunction display.

In the interior, a fundamentally new architecture for the arrangement of controls for systems and options has become, as they say, more ergonomic. For maximum convenience, comfort switches, transmission options and driving assistants are grouped on the center console by function, making it easier to find and more convenient to use.

And the new shape of the upper part of the console has improved visibility. He is great in every way! And the mirrors are informative, and the landing is high. Even, perhaps, – more than high – dominant. And places above your head with the width of the palm (with a height of 187 cm and not the highest position of the chair).

The salon is spacious. I sit down behind myself on the second row with the same palm, but already in front of my knees.

The back of the rear seat steers along the slope – on the tracks it is more convenient to reclining, on bumps it is better to be more vertical. And we have the second number in the program just bumps.

We press the button to start the engine and proceed to practical exercises.

ICE

To begin with, the first number of our test program is acceleration-deceleration and high-speed maneuvering on ice. Acceleration in the version with a 2.8-liter diesel 177-horsepower engine with 450 N.m and 6-speed automatic transmission is confident, reasonably dynamic. Up to a hundred can in 13.9 s. An SUV doesn’t need to be faster, but on ice it’s unnecessary. That is, they didn’t catch up to a hundred, but they didn’t overtake the restrictive line either – they braked in time – before touching the snowdrift with the bumper. Stops Land Cruiser Prado reliably and straightforwardly. Maybe on the ice a little and loudly – under the intriguing fraction of adaptive ABS, but precisely and confidently.

The “snake” turns out to be quite normative and fast – the SUV steers easily (hydraulic power steering), rolls not noticeably. We have a 5-seater top version with air suspension at the rear and springs at the front and a KDSS body stabilization system. The suspension is adaptive adjustable, with five operating modes, each of which has its own package of characteristics for the operation of shock absorbers, transmission, and steering. On a slippery surface we tried Sport, before leaving for the fields we activated Normal.

SNOW

Where the ice melted on concrete ends, something begins that is unsuitable for overcoming even by a tractor: hillocks, pits, mounds, crevices, a frozen stream, icy puddles, powdered with snow, as if smooth bald spots on a wavy landscape…

It is clear that where the tractor cannot pass, the track cannot be broken for off-road vehicles, even if they are as omnipotent as Toyota. Therefore, the test ring was drawn not even a ring at all, but an intricately curved loop in all planes with insidious sharp turns, slippery slopes, slides that are critical from the point of view of geometric patency.

But even this was not enough for the organizers of the test. Rare straight sections of the track were asymmetrically dug with pits, organizing an obstacle of the “elephant step” type. The excavated soil immediately, on the track, froze with tubercles, impossible to overcome by hopeless non-road vehicles. The natural folds of the earth's surface, on which it was supposed to be hung, were made more relief. They trimmed slides and ditches under short overhangs…

The “elephant” path was on “autopilot”. Toyota Land Cruiser Prado has a Crawl Control off-road assistance system, when activated, the machine “presses the pedals” itself, which needs to be slowed down, and where it needs to be gasped. For the sake of maintaining the set speed of movement. The one who pretended to be the driver can only control the direction. And try not to pay attention to the moaning of the rear passenger, who, it turns out, is not very comfortable driving through the pits under the rattle of the ABS. And driving is quite normal – the beating of the wheels about the bulge of the soil on the steering wheel is practically not transmitted.

There is also an off-road Multi Terrain Select system, by selecting the “Bumps and Potholes” mode, you can continue to conquer the wasteland, having finally left the man-made imitation of what is happening in the jungle. Snow is definitely not happening there, but we would have to run over it. Depending on the selected mode, an active traction control system is configured accordingly, simulating cross-wheel blocking.

And with real non-imitated differential locks, Prado is all right – both with the center and rear. And all-wheel drive is permanent, and a lowering, and a frame, and…

In general, the real SUV Toyota Land Cruiser Prado overcomes the real winter off-road within the geometric cross-country ability without much thought. It can let the driver relax with the same Crawl Control or assistants “uphill”, “downhill”. And it can also deliver true pleasure, not clouded by electronics, from the “manual” passage of obstructions.

FOR DESSERT

For the dessert of the test, we prepared a flat snowy meadow with iron off-road simulators at the exit from the track. And loose in a couple of tens of centimeters of snow and metal structures did not cause any difficulties.

The all-round visibility system with the “transparent hood” mode, identical to the “big brother” Land Cruiser 200, which is the components of the “safe” Toyota Safety Sense package with a premium package of systems, “comfortable” options with seat ventilation…

But the “winter” package was used. It has remote heating of our diesel engine, heating of the steering wheel, mirrors, windshield, washer nozzles, front and rear seats, ceiling air ducts for a 3-zone climate system plus an additional heater…

The current version of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado evokes a very warm attitude towards itself. There is nothing surprising in the fact that he is one of the most desired cars in our country.