Toyota LandCruiser Prado 2022 review: Kakadu - off-road test

The Prado Kakadu is a seven-seat 4WD wagon with a price as listed of $87,807, excluding on-road costs. Price as tested is $88,482, because our test vehicle was wearing the $675 premium paint job (Dusty Bronze).

Among its more notable standard features are a premium woodgrain-look power-adjustable steering wheel with paddle shifters, leather-accented, heated and ventilated front seats, dual-range 4WD, as well as 4WDing-suitable driver-assist systems, such as crawl control and multi-terrain select (both for off-roading), adaptive variable suspension (with three modes: comfort, normal and sport), rear air suspension and Toyota’s Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS).

The Prado Kakadu is a seven-seat 4WD wagon with a price as listed of $87,807, excluding on-road costs. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

It also has a 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia unit with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and sat-nav, 19-inch ‘Prestige design’ alloy wheels (part of the most recent range refresh), three-zone climate control air conditioning, panoramic-view monitor, tilt-and-slide moonroof, Toyota Safety Sense (including Pre-Collision Safety System with Pedestrian Detection, High Speed Active Cruise Control, and more), JBL 14-speaker sound system, a rear-seat entertainment system (Blu-ray DVD player) with 9.0-inch screen and three wireless headsets, and button-operated third-row power-folding seats. 

Toyota LandCrusier Prado has a 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia unit with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and sat-nav. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

A flat tailgate pack (which moves the full-size spare wheel from the rear door to the Prado’s underbody) is available for the Kakadu. Our test vehicle had it. (Note: choosing this option reduces your fuel capacity from 150 litres to 87 litres, because you sacrifice the 63-litre sub tank so the spare tyre can be fitted underneath the vehicle.)

Kakadu interior seat trim choices are ether beige leather accented or black leather accented.

Exterior paint choices include Graphite, Espresso Brown, Glacier White, Crystal Pearl, Silver Pearl, Peacock Black, Eclipse Black, Ebony, Wildfire and Dusty Bronze (on our test vehicle).

Comes with 19-inch ‘Prestige design’ alloy wheels (part of the most recent range refresh). (Image: Glen Sullivan)

There are plenty of accessories available for the Prado, but there are also bundled packs which incorporate several accessories in each pack to suit your lifestyle: the Adventure Pack includes an alloy bull bar (commercial), light bar (fitting kit sold separately), snorkel, roof rack with alloy roof tray (both sold separately), weather-shields (left and right sold separately); and the Weekend Getaways pack, which includes a nudge bar (black), light bar (fitting kit sold separately), bonnet protector (tinted), roof racks with bike carrier (both sold separately), tow bar, tow ball and trailer wiring harness.

The Kakadu has a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine – producing 150kW at 3000-3400rpm and 500Nm at 1600-2800rpm – and that’s matched with a six-speed automatic transmission.

This is a solid combination, but one lacking any dynamic edge, which is fine with me because this pairing yields a drive experience that’s equal parts relaxed, assured and undemanding.

The Kakadu has a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The Prado has a full-time four-wheel drive system with high- and low-range.

Note: the Prado has a diesel particulate filter (DPF) and issues linked to those systems have been well documented, so head to our Toyota Prado problems page to stay up to date with any DPF details.

There’s something comfortingly familiar about the interior of a Prado – some might prefer to use the descriptors ‘old’, ‘dated’ or ‘tired’ – but I like it. The cabin is instantly home and especially in this top-shelf guise, it is plush and very comfortable.

Though the Kakadu’s entire cabin is pretty well-presented and -equipped, of course those upfront get the best deal of all. The front seats in the Kakadu are heated, ventilated and power-adjustable and the driver and front passenger have ready access to the multimedia system, which is easy enough to operate and we hooked up an iPhone without too much fuss, as well as the usual complement of cupholders (two in front of the centre console) and USB charge points within reaching distance, as well as the refrigerated cool box that replaces the usual centre console.

The front seats in the Kakadu are heated, ventilated and power-adjustable and the driver and front passenger have ready access to the multimedia system. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The Kakadu has three-zone climate control so everyone has a hand in how toasty or chilled they are during any journey.

Floor mats in the Kakadu are carpet, not the all-weather rubber mats that you get in lower-spec Prados.

Second-row passengers get directional air vents, fan and temp controls, seat-heating controls, 12V point, and a fold-down centre arm-rest with built-in dual cupholder. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The second-row is a 40/20/40 sliding split and the outer seats are heated. Second-row passengers get directional air vents, fan and temp controls, seat-heating controls, 12V point (all in the rear of the centre console), and a fold-down centre arm-rest with built-in dual cupholder.

The second-row seats have three top-tether points and two ISOFIX locations.

There are mesh map pockets on the driver and front passenger seat-backs.

The rear-seat entertainment system (Blu-ray DVD player) with 9.0-inch screen and three wireless headsets, and button-operated third-row power-folding seats. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The third-row seats – set up in a 50/50 split fold-flat configuration – are button-operated and power-folding. Passengers have a cupholder each, as well as air vents and a speaker mounted nearby. They also have a clear view of the 9.0-inch ceiling-mounted DVD screen – yep, DVDs. Old school. There are only three wireless headsets provided so parents prepare for arguments if you have more than a trio of kids in your Prado.

With the third-row seats in use, boot space is listed as 104 litres. 

The rear-most seats can be power-folded away at the press of a button and the area used for luggage, concealed by a retractable cargo blind. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

If not in use, the rear-most seats can be power-folded away at the press of a button and the area used for luggage, concealed by a retractable cargo blind. With the third row stowed away, there’s a claimed (combined) 553 litres of cargo space. 

With the second and third rows folded down and out of the way, there’s a claimed 974 litres available.

All in all, the Kakadu’s cabin is quite a practical space, but with a healthy dose of premium about it.

The Prado is an easy-driving 4WD wagon with plenty to like about living with it day to day. And the Kakadu is simply the plushest of the lot.

It’s very comfortable – its seats are on the right side of cushy – and premium materials and soft-touch surfaces make long road trips in the cabin more an appealing proposition than an annoying one.

The Prado is an easy-driving 4WD wagon with plenty to like about living with it day to day. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

But one of the Kakadu’s major points of difference with lower-grade Prados is that it is equipped as standard with Toyota’s Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) and this makes a substantial contribution to ironing out any ride and handling irregularities, with KDSS performing as an active swaybar system. 

In very basic terms, KDSS hydraulically alters tension on the sway bars to suit the terrain – so it tightens them for reduced body roll and more dynamic handling on-road, and loosens them for greater wheel travel in order to further improve performance off-road – but more about that later.

Kakadu’s major points of difference with lower-grade Prados is that it is equipped as standard with Toyota’s Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS). (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Also aimed at further bolstering the Kakadu in terms of comfort, handling and stability is its adaptive variable suspension which can be set to one of three modes (comfort, normal or sport) via an in-cabin switch and that helps the driver to dial-in smooth and well-sorted ride and handling; and its height-adjustable rear air suspension with switchable low, normal or high modes.

Adding to the Prado’s cocooned cabin feel is the fact it’s very quiet inside – with most of any external noise muffled to a subdued hum.

Steering is better in the Prado than it has been in the past with a nicer weight about it, although it can still tend to feel a bit floaty if you’re used to a more tightly controlled vehicle. It’s handy that the driver can really dial-in their position as the steering wheel is electric tilt-and-telescopic adjustable.

The Kakadu, with a 11.6m turning circle, also feels pretty nimble around parked-in streets and busy regional centres, as well as on tight bush tracks – but more about that later.

As for the 2.8 litre turbo-diesel engine and transmission pairing – well, it’s an unhurried, almost sluggish combination, but one that I have a lot of time for because it yields a relaxed drive experience rather than a pulse-pounding one. 

Steering is better in the Prado than it has been in the past with a nicer weight about it. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Having said that, acceleration is gutsy enough to punch the Prado off the mark and also get it moving at pace to overtake when needed. 

The characteristics detailed above are all well and good but perhaps the upcoming Ford Everest’s 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine – with a suspected torque output of close to 600Nm – will rattle the Prado’s cage in terms of performance appeal. And the next-gen Everest’s 3500kg towing capacity won’t hurt its efforts to laud it over the Prado either.

Anyway, back to the Kakadu.

Brakes – ventilated discs at each corner – proved to be as sound as a pound and were able to bring the Prado to a rapid stop every time I stomped them into submission during my patented ‘Watch out for that kangaroo!” emergency-braking tests on dry and wet bitumen. Not bad for a 4WD wagon tickling the 2.3 tonne mark.

The Kakadu’s Dunlop Grandtrek AT30 tyres (265/55 R19) are well-suited to on-road driving but that’s because they are compromised in favour of the blacktop and for all-terrain rubber they fall a tad short when it comes to 4WDing – but, you guessed it, more about that later. (Well, actually, just below, in the next section.)

The Prado has an offical fuel consumption of 7.9L/100km (on a combined cycle).

We recorded 13.5L/100km on test, but we clocked up a lot of high- and low-range 4WDing.

This Prado has 87L fuel tank capacity – that’s 63 litres less than any Prado that does not have the flat tailgate* – and our on-test fuel-consumption figure would give us an effective touring range of about 644km, which includes a safe-distance buffer of about 50km. 

(* I know I’m at risk of belabouring the point at this stage after issuing repeated warnings in this yarn, but … if you’re planning to use your Prado as a touring vehicle, worth noting here is the fact that by opting for the flat tailgate pack, which moves the full-size spare wheel from the rear door to the Prado’s underbody, you’ve reduced this vehicle’s fuel capacity from 150 litres to 87 litres, because you sacrifice the 63-litre sub tank so the spare tyre can be fitted underneath the vehicle. Case in point: if we’d had 150-litre fuel capacity on this test we could have had a potential driving range of about 1050km.)

The Prado has a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Maintenance is scheduled for every six months or 10,000km, whichever comes first.

Every new Prado comes with capped price servicing of $260 per service up to the three-year mark.