- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 7 seats
- Engine
2.8DT, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
150kW, 500Nm
- Fuel
Diesel 7.9L/100KM
- Manufacturer
4XD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
5 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2011)
2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu review
Australia's favourite large SUV for the last 10 years is only getting older, but that doesn't seem to have slowed its success. How does the Toyota Prado stack up in 2022?
- Comfy long-distance tourer
- Spacious first and second-row seating
- Strong value for money (especially next to a 300 Series LandCruiser)
- Looking and feeling old, both inside and on the road
- Engine could do with more grunt
- Safety tech is not up to scratch
2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu
In automotive terms, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado has been around for two lifetimes.
This generation first launched way back in 2009, but over the years has had styling, mechanical, and technology updates to keep it fresh. Age has in no way slowed its success, however, with the Prado holding the title of best-selling large SUV in Australia since 2012.
The Toyota Prado has basically become the default option for families who want something able to head off-road, tow, tour around Australia, or just load up the kids and their gear and get out of town on weekends.
How much does the Toyota Prado cost in Australia?
The Toyota LandCruiser Prado range starts from $60,830 before on-road costs in Australia for the most basic Prado GX specification. Move up to the top-shelf Prado Kakadu shown here and pricing starts from $86,998 plus on-road costs.
The Dusty Bronze metallic paint adds a $675 surcharge, but the option of a tailgate-mounted spare or the flat tailgate and underslung spare (at the cost of fuel capacity) is a no-cost factory option.
That brings our test car to a price of $95,782 drive-away in Melbourne.
The Prado is certainly a step up over other body-on-frame rivals in the large SUV class or, depending on your perspective, a cut-price version of the full-size 300 Series LandCruiser.
The fully loaded Kakadu means you get features like LED headlights and fog lights, rear privacy glass, illuminated side steps, roof rails, and 19-inch wheels with a full-size spare.
Across the Prado range, all variants use a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine with 150kW and 500Nm linked to a six-speed automatic and full-time four-wheel drive.
Exclusive to the Kakadu is air-spring suspension linked to Toyota’s Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System with adaptive variable damping and multi-terrain off-road modes.
Key details | 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu |
Price | $86,998 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Dusty Bronze |
Options | Metallic paint – $675 Flat tailgate pack – No cost |
Price as tested | $87,673 plus on-road costs |
Drive-away price | $95,782 (Melbourne) |
Rivals | Ford Everest | Land Rover Discovery | Jeep Grand Cherokee |
How much space does the Toyota Prado have inside?
Inside the Toyota Prado Kakadu you have a choice of black or beige for the leather trim, and if you’re in any way active or outdoorsy, I’d recommend black as the safe choice.
Design is where the Prado betrays its age. While all of the surfaces are well finished and nice to the touch, the dials and storage aren’t aligned with other cars in the segment.
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You get big comfy seats which are more like lounge chairs than car seats. The front seats are electrically adjustable, there’s seat heating and ventilation, and the driver’s seat has memory for two drivers.
Move down the centre stack and most of the space is dedicated to off-road modes, with access to crawl control, suspension height, low-range, and the multi-terrain system through these buttons and dials.
Storage space is a little slim. There’s a small shelf here, and a pair of cupholders under this lidded cover. One LandCruiser highlight that also makes its way into the Prado is under the centre armrest, with an in-car cooler where the centre console would normally live.
Second-row passengers get a really roomy back seat with generous leg room, heaps of head-room and width to stretch out into.
In Kakadu spec, the outboard rear seats are heated, plus there’s a third climate zone for the rear of the cabin. The seats themselves can slide and recline – letting you mix and match cargo space or third-row legroom with long-haul comfort.
Drop down the centre armrest and you’ll find a pair of cupholders, plus there are big bottle holders in the doors.
The third-row seats are super easy to set up and fold down with electric folding, meaning you don’t have to do any heavy lifting at all.
Once you’re in, unsurprisingly there’s not as much room as the row ahead, and far fewer features to play with, but at least there are bottle holders to the side and airvents overhead. The seats are still more for kids than adults, though, with a high floor and limited foot- and legroom if passengers in the row ahead don’t give up a little of their own space.
With a side-hinged tailgate, the Prado forgoes the convenience of powered opening. While the rear door can be locked open to keep it secure on an incline or in the wind, it’s not always ideal in tight spaces.
The rear glass opens separately, hinged at the top, which adds convenience, but you’ll still need to be tall to reach in over the high window line.
With all three rows of seats in place, there’s a narrow 120L of boot space. Just enough for a couple of grocery bags.
With the power-folding third-row seats stowed, boot space grows to 620L. Much more suitable for camping gear, sports kit, or a heavy-duty Costco shop.
If you want to go further still, the second row of seats can be manually stowed, unlocking a total capacity of 1800L.
2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu | |
Seats | Seven |
Boot volume | 120L to third row 620L to second row 1800L to first row |
Length | 4825mm |
Width | 1885mm |
Height | 1880mm |
Wheelbase | 2790mm |
Does the Toyota Prado have Apple CarPlay?
The 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system in the Prado Kakadu isn’t the most cutting-edge in terms of features or graphics, but with decent size and an uncluttered interface it holds its own.
Positioned high in the dash, the screen is easy to read, and comes with wired Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto, digital radio, and inbuilt navigation. There’s a 14-speaker JBL sound system too.
Ahead of the driver there’s a set of traditional analogue gauges with a small digital display for trip computer info.
In the back you’ll find a rear-seat entertainment display for playing Blu-ray discs, which rear passengers can enjoy with wireless headsets.
Is the Toyota Prado a safe car?
The Toyota LandCruiser Prado does carry a five-star ANCAP rating, albeit one first tested in 2011 but updated to reflect specification changes in 2013 and 2017, with the most recent test timestamp being from 2013.
It’s worth noting two things here. ANCAP regularly updates and toughens its assessment criteria, so the Prado’s five stars are not comparable to newer five-star results. From the end of 2022, an expiry date will apply to all ratings six years or older, at which time the Prado will revert to ‘unrated’ unless retested to current standards.
2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu | |
ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2013) |
Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the Toyota Prado have?
The Toyota Prado range comes standard with seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) including pedestrian and daytime cyclist intervention, lane-departure warning with steering assist, automatic high beam, active cruise control (but without low-speed or complete stop-and-go capabilities), speed sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert.
That leaves the Prado with some gaps in its armour. Newer safety tech on other Toyota vehicles includes stop-and-go adaptive cruise control, lane-keep and lane-centring systems, intersection intervention for the AEB system, and reverse AEB.
How much does the Toyota Prado cost to maintain?
Toyota offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with the Prado, but will extend coverage on engine and driveline components to seven years for vehicles serviced inline with Toyota’s specified service schedule.
Toyota’s service schedule is shorter than most rivals, with intervals set every six months or 10,000km. The first three years' servicing is capped at $260 per visit, with pricing moving up beyond the three-year mark, though the price of each service is previewed under Toyota’s capped-price program.
Up to the three-year mark, scheduled servicing will cost $1560, but to reach five years will cost $3695.
Comprehensive insurance for the Prado Kakadu comes in at $2490 per year based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
At a glance | 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu |
Warranty | Five years, unlimited km |
Service intervals | 6 months or 10,000km |
Servicing costs | $1560 (3 years) $3695 (5 years) |
Is the Toyota Prado fuel-efficient?
The Toyota Prado carries a 7.9L/100km fuel consumption claim. The car we were driving was no spring chicken either, with over 11,000km on the clock, which is more kilometres than typical test cars made available to Drive.
After a week of driving, both in urban confines during the week plus some weekend open-road touring, the Prado returned 9.8L/100km. Given the size and weight, a sub-10-litre figure still feels good, even if it sits above Toyota’s claim.
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Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 7.9L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 9.8L/100km |
Fuel type | Diesel |
Fuel tank size | 87L |
What is the Toyota Prado like to drive?
Let’s kick off what’s under the bonnet. The Prado’s 2.8-litre engine isn’t big or brawny, especially when saddled with the Kakadu’s near 2.3-tonne kerb weight, but it’s fine for getting the job done.
In its current state of tune, the Prado is rated at 150kW and 500Nm. As a result, the Prado certainly isn’t quick.
Off the line and around town, you get a decent and unstoppable swell of torque as revs rise, but don’t expect to be first off the line at the traffic lights. That said, if you add in bodies or a bootload of gear, the Prado just keeps on swinging.
This is far from a new powertrain, but in typical Toyota fashion it’s a well-proven one, having been introduced in 2015 and appearing not just in the Prado, but also in the Fortuner, HiLux and HiAce. In the past, it suffered Toyota’s early Diesel Particulate Filter failure issues, although those appear to have been largely remedied with the engine management system running more frequent particulate filter regeneration cycles.
The engine hooks up to a six-speed automatic, which again doesn’t rewrite the benchmarks, but is smooth and predictable in the way it operates. Largely unobtrusive, definitely smooth, and easy enough to slot into drive and forget about from then on.
Ride comfort is undeniably soft. Toyota knows what works here and keeps a foot firmly in the comfort camp.
Whereas the Prado can bob and float over things like spoon drains and speed humps, spend a few hours on rural roads with potholes, corrugations and uneven surfacing and the suppleness will be welcome.
Into the mix, the Kakadu is the only Prado model equipped with Toyota’s Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) – a hydraulic system designed to keep things level for road driving, but able to disconnect swaybars for increased articulation off-road. KDSS also claims to quell rough road vibrations, and for the most part it seems to do its job.
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with how the Prado handles itself, it is starting to feel its age. Newer rivals like the Ford Everest make this obvious, but even the leap forward made by the bigger LandCruiser 300 Series shows that the Prado has room to make a similar leap forward in terms of dynamics and comfort.
Key details | 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu |
Engine | 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel |
Power | 150kW @ 3400rpm |
Torque | 500Nm @ 1600–2800rpm |
Drive type | Full-time four-wheel drive |
Transmission | Six-speed torque converter automatic |
Power to weight ratio | 61kW/t |
Weight (kerb) | 2455kg |
Spare tyre type | Full-size |
Tow rating | 3000kg braked 750kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 11.6m |
Should I buy a 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado?
If you want the newest, sharpest, or most cutting-edge vehicle on Aussie roads, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado is not for you. Big SUVs like the Jeep Grand Cherokee or Ford Everest feel like a better fit.
If your vehicular needs extend more towards unwavering comfort with a healthy dose of familiarity thrown in, then the Prado shines.
It’s hard not to like the space, ease of use, and plushness you get in the Prado Kakadu. No wonder it’s been Australia’s favourite large SUV for a decade.