Unveiled at the Auto Expo 2018 last month, Toyota Kirloskar Motors Limited (TKM) has silently launched the 2018 Land Cruiser Prado luxury SUV in India. The 2018 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is priced at Rs. 92.60 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and is available in a single VxL variant. Much like the previous iterations, the heavily revamped LC Prado continues to be imported in the country as a Completely Built Unit (CBU), which explains the high pricing on the SUV. The 2018 Land Cruiser Prado was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year and takes on a host of European SUVs.
(The 2018 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado sports a comprehensively redesigned front)
The 2018 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado has received comprehensive changes to the exterior and interior, keeping up with the competition. At the outset, the front has seen a major redesign for a fresh look and the SUV sports a larger and wider grille with verticals slats, flanked by new redesigned headlamps. The bonnet has been redesigned to improve downward visibility at the centre, while Toyota says the headlamps and grille cooling openings have been moved higher to enhance protection and offer increased wading depth. There are new LED DRLs as well, along with tweaked bumpers at either end. The new styling is also more identical to the legendary LC 200.
(Power comes from a 3.0-litre, in-line 4-cylinder diesel engine)
The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado facelift is also 60 mm longer than its predecessor and gets new alloy wheels ranging between 17 to 19 inches. Inside, the cabin has been revised significantly and looks more upmarket than the previous version. Prominent changes include the new and bigger 8-inch display for the infotainment system and a 4.2-inch MID unit in the instrument cluster. Other upgrades include a new dashboard design, new steering wheel and white illumination for the instrument panel.
(The 2018 Land Cruiser Prado gets an larger and updated 8-inch infotainment system)
Much like its predecessor, the new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is loaded on the feature front and comes with a tri-zone climate control, park assist, heated and ventilated seats, cruise control, 9 speaker audio system, seven airbags and a lot more. The SUV gets an Adaptive Variable Suspension, multi-terrain ABS with EBD; Vehicle Stability Control, Active Headrest, Hill Start and Down Hill Assist among other features. In addition, the Prado is offered in a new Avant-Garde Bronze metallic shade, which was introduced alongside the 2018 version.
Under the hood, the 2018 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is offered with a 3.0-litre D-4D, in-line 4-cylinder diesel engine. A lot of you may remember this from the previous generation Toyota Fortuner, and is tuned to produce 171 bhp at 3400 rpm and 410 Nm of peak torque between 1600-2800 rpm. The oil burner comes paired to a 5-speed automatic transmission with the very capable All-Wheel Drive system.
2018 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado holds a strong following amidst Indian luxury SUV buyers)
Before the German onslaught in the past decade and a half, the Land Cruiser Prado was one of the few readily available luxury SUVs and still commands a following between Indian buyers. The SUVs brilliant build quality and Toyota's bullet-proof reliability makes it one of the most sought-after luxury SUVs. That said, the high pricing does affect its popularity with the likes of the Audi Q7, Mercedes-Benz GLS, Land Rover Discovery, Volvo XC90 turning out to be more powerful and better priced too.
