May 08, 1996

All-New Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Debuts

Tokyo―From the sweltering heat of infinite deserts and the depths of majestic rainforests to the traffic chaos of today's mega-cities, one four-wheel drive vehicle is capable and reliable enough to tackle the worst road nightmares... the Toyota Landcruiser.

Today, the launch of the all-new 1996 Landcruiser Prado takes the Landcruiser's legend one step further, and reaffirms its place as the world's trendsetter in urban off-road vehicles.

Landcruiser Prado RX with options
Landcruiser Prado TX with options

While inheriting many of its predecessor's bold, muscular design traits, the new Landcruiser Prado's stance is wider and lower and employs more definitive lines for the style-conscious consumer of the nineties. Available in either a sporty three-door or a more spacious five-door body, the new Landcruiser Prado is packed with state-of-the-art features including revised, earth-conscious engine technology, improved full-time 4WD traction, greater interior space and comfort levels, and enhanced safety.

DYNAMIC, WIDER BODY AND LOWER PROFILE

To define the sporty three-door model, Toyota has combined a shapely, twin-level hood arrangement with a chic, upright grille set between two rounded halogen headlights.

The five-door version boasts the same hood relief but is highlighted by a rugged horizontal, chrome-plated grille and large, square headlights. The lower body design on both models features flared wheel arches and side panels and massive bumpers giving it an even greater dynamic exterior than the previous model. Now wider, longer (particularly the 3-door) and slightly lower, the new Landcruiser Prado also employs an easy-to-use, sideways opening rear door.

CLEANER, MORE ECONOMICAL POWERPLANTS

The all-new Landcruiser Prado is powered by a choice of either gasoline or turbo diesel engines. The new 3.4 liter, four-cam, 24-valve, V6 gasoline engine pumps out an impressive 185ps of maximum power at 4800rpm and 30.0kg-m of torque at 3600rpm delivering improved performance at one of the lowest fuel consumption levels in its class.

Employing a new air-cooled intercooler and a revised turbocharger system, the 3.0 liter turbo diesel engine generates more power at class-topping fuel economy levels with far cleaner exhaust than the outgoing model.

NEW SUSPENSION & FULL-TIME 4WD ENHANCES RIDE

The superb handling characteristics of the Landcruiser Prado have been further enhanced and fine tuned with the new model. The combination of a new, independent, double wishbone suspension on the front, a newly developed 4-link suspension on the rear, and an all-new full-time 4WD system provides handling superior to most of the competition.

A new highly rigid frame incorporates reinforced suspension joints and siderails, and a rack and pinion steering system which provides a more direct handling feel. This enables the new Landcruiser Prado to deliver superior handling, stability and road holding capability anywhere from expressways to the worst snow and icebound tracks.

The wider dimensions may translate into a wider front and rear tread, but surprisingly the new Landcruiser Prado's turning radius (5.1m for the 3-door model and 5.7m for the 5-door model) is the smallest in its class.

A HARD-CORE OFF-ROADER' WITH ENHANCED CABIN SPACE, COMFORT AND FUNCTIONALITY

The list of hardware refinements in the new Landcruiser Prado is only exceeded by its amazing list of interior appointments: deep-set instrument panel, wide center console, increased head and leg room, fully collapsible front and rear seats and a new multi audio-visual global positioning system.

By increasing the new Landcruiser Prado's exterior dimensions, interior space has been enhanced substantially. The front seat, which has a slide function of some 225mm, provides some of the best front leg room in its class, leaving ample leg room (340mm) for rear seat occupants.

All models are equipped with fully collapsible front and rear seats (a 3rd row is available in the 5-door model) which enable a front-rear combination to double as a bed or usable flat surface.

Door entry and exit has been improved by lowering the side-step height to 400mm, and by raising the seat height to 880mm on the 3-door version and to 883mm on the 3-door model.

As a hard-core off-road 4WD vehicle, the new Landcruiser Prado is available with a field monitor incorporating altimeter, thermometer and tilt gauge. Options include an integrated multi audio-visual global positioning system with voice navigation, which is compatible with the all-new Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS) introduced in late April.

NCREASED SAFETY LEVELS AND ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLINESS

In line with the ever-increasing call for greater safety and environmentally-friendly car technologies, Toyota pulled no punches in its design of the Landcruiser Prado. The new model is fitted with dual front airbags and ABS as standard equipment. Combined with the large capacity 4-wheel ventilated disc brakes, all-new suspension and new full-time 4WD (all as standard), the new Landcruiser Prado's superb handling maximizes the driver's ability to avoid accidents.

To further enhance its passive safety performance, the new Landcruiser Prado employs a new Global Outstanding Assessment (GOA) impact absorbing body and high integrity cabin which have emerged from such tests as the 40% offset collision with flying colors, meeting all Japanese and future European safety standards (due to come into effect in 1998).

On environmental issues, the new Landcruiser Prado incorporates the latest recycling technology such as Toyota's Super Olefin Polymer for the bumpers, the overfenders, the dashboard and door trim. To save energy, it has a lightweight, highly rigid frame, a lightweight body, and gasoline and diesel engines with some of the lowest fuel consumption levels in their respective classes.

The new Landcruiser Prado will be sold nationwide through Toyota and Toyota Vista dealerships. Monthly sales target: 3000 units.