The new Toyota Prado's biggest flaw? Online conjecture about boot of seven-seat Prado GXL, VX and Kakadu doesn't seem to be slowing orders for Nissan Patrol and Ford Everest rival | Analysis

In almost every measurement, the new 250 Series LandCruiser Prado leaps ahead of its predecessor. 

There’s one major flaw, though, the seven-seat Prado GXL, VX and Kakadu’s boot configuration.

Although over 900L on paper, because the third row doesn't drop into the floor Toyota has had to build up a flat load bay with plastic riser boxes. The resulting load lip is more than a metre high and dramatically impacts usability. 

Toyota says this is down to packaging constraints, with the new Prado having to pack its spare wheel, 110L of diesel, 17.4 litres of AdBlue and a 48-volt battery all under the boot floor.

None of the Prado's reasonable rivals, including the Ford Everest, Nissan Patrol and even the platform-share LandCruiser 300 Series, have a similar packaging issue.

Commenters and YouTube creators alike have been quick to heap on the criticism, but is it really as bad as people make out?

One multi-franchise retail giant told CarsGuide its dealers had been “overwhelmed” by seven-seat order cancellations, but another said it was business-as-usual for Prado sales, and Toyota promises demand is as strong as ever. 

A previous 150 Series Prado owner commented: “I had a 250 GXL on order, but cancelled as soon as I saw the ridiculous boot layout in person. It is truly dreadful as you lose so much space and the lip is stupidly high”

And another commenter said, “I did entertain the idea of a 5 seat GX but with the lack of features, cloth trim and polyurethane steering wheel to name a few, I think I will pass.”

It isn’t just the boot, with comments noting similar drawbacks to CarsGuide’s review. Those being a smaller 110L fuel tank along with lower payloads, particularly in Altitude (580kg) trim, that affect long-range touring suitability. 

Michael Olek, Group Manager Marketing & BDC at the Alto Group, admitted the Prado’s boot configuration had been a negative at point-of-sale, but that it was also the only major downfall. 

“That is the only negative that we’re hearing and seeing from the customers. I don’t think that’s stopping us from selling the cars, but it’s definitely something customers are [noticing].”

“We had a customer yesterday who came and saw it, didn’t like it and ended up buying a 300 Series, so we had an example of that. But we’ve pretty much sold out of the allocation that we’ve got… we’re now telling customers 9-12 months, depending on the spec,” Olek told CarsGuide.

Asked whether what we’re noticing is a vocal minority, Olek said: “Absolutely, and I think the early adopters, more so, are probably more critical as well. More than likely those people will end up buying those anyway, once they get over the shock.” 

Word from Toyota, which was keen to beat its chest about the Prado’s 17,000-strong order bank at release, hasn't changed.

"The order bank for the new Prado remains very healthy and we are delighted with the level of customer acceptance for the new vehicle," a Toyota Australia spokesperson told CarsGuide.

There remains the negative feedback, though, regardless of sales. One quick way to sort this would be to add a five-seat version of the GXL, which is expected to be the most popular trim and make up 50 per cent of sales. 

Cancellations are a normal part of the order process — especially at launch — and while there are evidently some cold feet, it sounds like there’s an equally hot pair of shoes waiting in the queue happy to take that allocation for a new Prado, at least for now.