Prado all play with zero work

The revised Prado's cabin has been redesigned to allow passengers to ride in greater comfort. Photo / Supplied

Toyota's fourth-generation Prado, on sale in November, picks up smart traction management electronics similar to those on top Land Rovers and some other premium SUVs.

Multi-terrain Select automatically controls power and braking to give Prado the best shot at getting through potentially difficult off-road surfaces after the formed road has ended, such as mud, rocks, sand and snow. All the driver has to do is dial in the most suitable mode.

And a Crawl Control feature lets the driver set up the vehicle to tackle extreme conditions, without having to use the throttle or brake pedal. Crawl Control also helps the driver free a vehicle stuck in mud or sand.

Meanwhile, a monitor feeds images from around the vehicle captured by four cameras to provide information about the immediate surroundings. Such is progress: in earlier days, the driver might have had to actually roll down the window and look out, or seek guidance from someone outside.

A new Steering Angle Display shows the position of the vehicle's wheels and its predicted path, helping the driver plot a route. It's often hard in such conditions as mud to know exactly where the wheels are pointing.

Toyota's popular mid-size SUV has grown in size and gets a wide range of other convenience, safety and mechanical goodies.

Although Toyota is calling it a fourth-generation model, information so far released in Australia and the UK suggest it's more of a facelift than a true new model.

As is its practice, Toyota New Zealand is giving nothing away before the official launch, so some of the features available overseas may not have been ticked for our market.

Powering the Prado are an improved 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel and 4.0-litre petrol V6 engines.

A shorter-wheelbase three-door will be sold in Australia as a niche model, but may not find its way across the Tasman where the market for such SUVs is small. Toyota says it is looking at potential for the model. Toyota has previously shunned new three-doors, but has done quite well with them as part of its Signature used-import programme. Alternatively, Toyota could follow Mitsubishi, which offered its three door Pajero in New Zealand new on a firm-order basis.

The latest five-door body is 80mm longer, 10mm wider, 15mm lower and takes much of its design inspiration from the larger Landcruiser 200 series. But it retains a few familiar Prado elements such as the vertical-bar grille and side-swinging tailgate.

Side mirrors now house LED turn signals, the tail lights also have LEDs, and headlights include projector low-beams.

Prado's more spacious cabin accommodates up to seven in three rows. The second row has a sliding range of 135mm and a 40:20:40 configuration, with reclining seatbacks. A walk-in, slide-and-tilt arrangement gives easier access to the third row.

The two third-row seats are full-size with integral headrests. They fold flat into the loadspace floor when not needed. The footwell floor has been lowered by almost 40mm to provide a more comfortable seating position and leg room is more than double that in the outgoing model.

Ride height is said to be down by 15mm to 190mm for better aerodynamics, reducing the drag figure to a reasonably sleek 0.35 from 0.37Cd. Rigidity of the increasingly rare body-on-frame construction has been increased by 11 per cent and insulating frame-to-body mounts absorb engine, drivetrain and road noise. They also improve ride comfort.

According to Australia's GoAuto, which has inspected an early version of the vehicle, the chassis appears to be similar to the current Prado's.

The front independent double wishbone and rear four-link lateral rod suspension has been revised to provide better comfort and steering feel.

Top versions have an electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) first seen on the Landcruiser 200. This adjusts the front and rear anti-roll bars to optimise on- and off-road performance.

Expect some models to have Toyota's Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) with Roll Posture Control, which lets the driver tune ride characteristics with a choice of three damper settings.

Electronically controlled rear air suspension works with the AVS, providing auto-levelling and variable height control. The air suspension also helps absorb high frequency vibrations and reduce road-generated NVH.

The sample vehicle was fitted with 18-inch alloy wheels, a first for Prado and a size that will probably be standard on top models. Seventeen-inch wheels are likely on lower-spec models.

Prado's 128kW 3.0-litre D-4D diesel engine has been improved to achieve a combined fuel consumption figure of less than 9.0 litres per 100km, down from the current 9.3 litres per 100km. Although no figures have been given, the V6's fuel consumption should also be better.

Current five-speed auto and manual transmissions carry over with minor strength improvements.

Safety features are improved and include seven airbags, stability control and traction control. These will probably be standard across the New Zealand range. All but the entry-level model are likely to have a reversing camera.

Prado has been a consistent good seller for Toyota here. Almost 9000 have been sold new since 1996.