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I have recently decided to purchase a Prado and I found the advice on this forum very useful. I thought I would share my test driving experiences and decision making process in a post as this will probably be interesting for existing owners and useful for prospective purchasers.
As this is my first post I'll start with a short intro: I'm from Sydney (near Bondi), 30 with 1 wife no kids (yet), 1 border collie (Freckles - 8mths) and a kitten (Phantom - 6mths). I'm trained as a chemical engineer and have worked in finance since leaving uni. I've played a lot of rugby and cricket over the years and we spend quite a bit of time in the Blue Mountains when we can.
When starting to look for a car my considerations were that I needed something comfortable to drive around town as I do a fair amount of driving around Sydney, and I also wanted a capable off-roader. Comfort and quality were the most important considerations for me and if I could get genuine off-road ability as well I would be very happy. We have been on some 4wd tours and really enjoyed them so now we want to do some 4wd'ing ourselves.
My first test drive was a Freelander (both petrol and dielsel). I was impressed with this car, especially the diesel which seemed more quiet and refined than the D4D. This may be due to its smaller engine size (2.2L vs 3L). The Freelander felt a bit cramped for me and I concluded that if I went for an off-roader I wanted a bigger car. The interior was a bit flimsy and Freelanders have a reputation for poor resale value. It would have been interesting to drive the Discovery - in fact given that I ended up going for a Prado Grande this would have been a more suitable comparison. The wife didn't like the shape of the Discovery - maybe this is why I didn't focus too heavily on it...
Next was the Suzuki Grand Vitara Prestige. I hadn't really considered the Vitara seriously and it is a smaller car but I was very impressed by it in terms of value for money. It lacks the refinement of all the other cars I tested but for the price (about $36k drive away) you get a comfortable small 4wd with some genuine off-road credentials.
Next stop was Toyota and the Prado was first. I found it a very comfortable drive around town and the handling was less truck-like in a way than the Freelander even though the Prado is larger. The D4D engine, though, sounded more truck-like than the Freelander's engine. It goes without saying that the Prado is unstoppable off-road and this appealed to me. Given that most of my driving will be around town, I decided that the soother petrol is for me rather than the louder diesel. I also liked the Grande's different suspension settings which let you make it smooth and rolling or firm with less roll.
The Kluger ticks many boxes in terms of features, impressive engine and a 4wd model that can take you down some bumpy tracks but it didn't float my boat. It felt quite large and smooth on the road. For me, if I'm buying this type of car I want it to be a genuine off-roader, not half-way there. My sister test drove and loved the Kluger. Please bear in mind that these comments are my personal views based on my unique circumstances and preferences. I am not a car expert and my comments are based on short test-drives.
The top of the line Rav 4 was very impressive in terms of power and agility but it it not much more than a front-wheel drive so it's lack of off-road ability saw it out of the running. For what looks like a small car it felt quite large inside, kind of the opposite of the Freelander which felt smaller than it looked to me.
So the Prado won the day, as I expected it would when I started test-driving. I had expected to prefer the diesel but found the petrol more quiet and smooth which is what I will need on at least 90% of my journeys.
I strongly suggest prospective purchasers get out there and test drive all the models they may be interested in as there really is no substitute for this. You can read all the reviews you like but you won't get a feel for whether the car suits you unless you sit in it and drive it. Everyone has different preferences and it's about finding what's right for you.
I hope this info is of some interest or use.
Keep up the good work Pradopoint.
All the best,
Alex
I have recently decided to purchase a Prado and I found the advice on this forum very useful. I thought I would share my test driving experiences and decision making process in a post as this will probably be interesting for existing owners and useful for prospective purchasers.
As this is my first post I'll start with a short intro: I'm from Sydney (near Bondi), 30 with 1 wife no kids (yet), 1 border collie (Freckles - 8mths) and a kitten (Phantom - 6mths). I'm trained as a chemical engineer and have worked in finance since leaving uni. I've played a lot of rugby and cricket over the years and we spend quite a bit of time in the Blue Mountains when we can.
When starting to look for a car my considerations were that I needed something comfortable to drive around town as I do a fair amount of driving around Sydney, and I also wanted a capable off-roader. Comfort and quality were the most important considerations for me and if I could get genuine off-road ability as well I would be very happy. We have been on some 4wd tours and really enjoyed them so now we want to do some 4wd'ing ourselves.
My first test drive was a Freelander (both petrol and dielsel). I was impressed with this car, especially the diesel which seemed more quiet and refined than the D4D. This may be due to its smaller engine size (2.2L vs 3L). The Freelander felt a bit cramped for me and I concluded that if I went for an off-roader I wanted a bigger car. The interior was a bit flimsy and Freelanders have a reputation for poor resale value. It would have been interesting to drive the Discovery - in fact given that I ended up going for a Prado Grande this would have been a more suitable comparison. The wife didn't like the shape of the Discovery - maybe this is why I didn't focus too heavily on it...
Next was the Suzuki Grand Vitara Prestige. I hadn't really considered the Vitara seriously and it is a smaller car but I was very impressed by it in terms of value for money. It lacks the refinement of all the other cars I tested but for the price (about $36k drive away) you get a comfortable small 4wd with some genuine off-road credentials.
Next stop was Toyota and the Prado was first. I found it a very comfortable drive around town and the handling was less truck-like in a way than the Freelander even though the Prado is larger. The D4D engine, though, sounded more truck-like than the Freelander's engine. It goes without saying that the Prado is unstoppable off-road and this appealed to me. Given that most of my driving will be around town, I decided that the soother petrol is for me rather than the louder diesel. I also liked the Grande's different suspension settings which let you make it smooth and rolling or firm with less roll.
The Kluger ticks many boxes in terms of features, impressive engine and a 4wd model that can take you down some bumpy tracks but it didn't float my boat. It felt quite large and smooth on the road. For me, if I'm buying this type of car I want it to be a genuine off-roader, not half-way there. My sister test drove and loved the Kluger. Please bear in mind that these comments are my personal views based on my unique circumstances and preferences. I am not a car expert and my comments are based on short test-drives.
The top of the line Rav 4 was very impressive in terms of power and agility but it it not much more than a front-wheel drive so it's lack of off-road ability saw it out of the running. For what looks like a small car it felt quite large inside, kind of the opposite of the Freelander which felt smaller than it looked to me.
So the Prado won the day, as I expected it would when I started test-driving. I had expected to prefer the diesel but found the petrol more quiet and smooth which is what I will need on at least 90% of my journeys.
I strongly suggest prospective purchasers get out there and test drive all the models they may be interested in as there really is no substitute for this. You can read all the reviews you like but you won't get a feel for whether the car suits you unless you sit in it and drive it. Everyone has different preferences and it's about finding what's right for you.
I hope this info is of some interest or use.
Keep up the good work Pradopoint.
All the best,
Alex
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