This is a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, seen in a residential area in southern Beijing. The large SUV looked striking in Platinum White, with the extra-dark windows providing a sharp contrast.
The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
A tree in the way. Normally, a Land Cruiser Prado would take care of that! Toyota launched the fifth-generation J250 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in 2023. It is known as the “Land Cruiser” in Europe and North America.
The Sichuan FAW-Toyota joint venture manufactures the China-spec Land Cruiser Prado in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. This company has produced the Prado forever; it started with the J120 in 2003.
The Chinese Prado looks largely the same as the international variants, but it has these ultra-cool retro stickers in beige and gray. The stickers are a must-have for Chinese Toyota fanatics. The Prado has a large fanbase in China, with many clubs and off-road events.
The interior
The extremely dark windows are an aftermarket edition. Toyota offers tinted windows, for sure, but those are not this dark! It was hard to take a photo of the interior; this was the best that I could do. The China-spec Prado has a typical Toyota interior, rather low tech, with simple square lines, and a shipload of black plastics. It has a twin 12.3-inch instrument panel and infotainment display.
The infotainment system has Apple CarPlay, Baidu CarLife, and Huawei HiCar for smartphone connectivity. However, it doesn’t have a wireless charging pad to charge said phone. Toyota furthermore equips the Prado with a 10-speaker audio system and leather seats.
Specifications of the Land Cruiser Prado
There’s dog pee on the Dunlop Grandtrek AT30 265/70 R18 tires. It has 12-spoke dark gray alloy wheels with five shiny wheel nuts. Toyota offers only one powertrain in the locally made Toyota Land Cruiser Prado: a 2.4-liter HEV.
The car has a cool HEV badge on the back, with a big blue dot. The system combines a 2.4-liter four-cylinder petrol engine with a small battery, a 68-liter fuel tank, and an 8-speed gearbox. The system output is 243 kW (326 hp) and 630 Nm. Toyota claims a 170 km/h top speed and a 10.11L/100 km fuel consumption.
Off-Road
The Land Cruiser Prado is a reasonably capable off-roader. It has a full-time four-wheel drive system with a Torsen limited-slip centre differential and manual locking. The approach angle is 30 degrees and the departure angle is 21 degrees. The turning circle is 6 meters, which isn’t very good. Even worse is the car’s 2505 kg curb weight. That’s the thing with hybrid power trains: they are heavy!
Price in China
Characters: 一汽丰田, Yīqì Fēngtián, FAW Toyota.
Toyota offers four trim levels for the Prado in China. The car in the photos is the mid-spec Prado WX Edition. It costs 499.800 yuan or $70K. That’s very expensive for China. For the same money, consumers can get a Chinese off-road HEV with way more power and luxury.
The base model with the same motor costs only 399.800 yuan ($56K), but that’s really a low trim machine; it doesn’t even have sat-nav or leather seats.
However, the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado has never been a bestseller in China. Toyota sells about 2000 units per month, and that number hasn’t changed much over the years. The Land Cruiser Prado really is a car for a small but dedicated group of Toyota believers.