Toyota Prado GX 2025 review: snapshot

At the bottom of the new 2025 Toyota Prado range is the GX. Historically pitched at fleet buyers, the latest iteration is much more than a miner's delight.

Yes it has rubber floor mats, a polyurethane steering wheel and manual-adjust seats but the cloth upholstery — made from 30 per cent recycled PET bottles — is soft, temperature stable and the seats are mighty supportive.

The Prado GX also gets all the technology of the GXL, including a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 7.0-inch digital driver's display and remarkably clear, powerful 10-speaker sound system. Visually distinguishing features include LED daytime running lights and main beams, black wheelarch cladding, 18-inch alloy wheels and no roof racks.

The treatment really suits the new Prado's heritage-inspired styling. It's a blocky shape with carefully-sculpted reliefs adding drama. Nods to previous Toyota products include the HiLux Surf-inspired tailgate and heritage look square mesh grille. Aussie cars sadly miss out on the retro round headlights.

Stowage spaces are generously sized, including the centre cubby, and icy cold dual-zone climate control is standard. Five USB-C ports match the GX's five-seat capacity and the second row is more spacious than the car it replaces with a good range of adjustment on the reclinable back rest. Thanks to a 30mm lower window line, vision out is excellent, too.

The floor is still high, though, and there's a hard plastic cover on the transmission tunnel that renders the middle seat rather uncomfortable.

Toyota quotes VDA boot capacities of 954 litres with five seats in place or 1895L with the 60/40 backrest folded. There's a step from the boot floor to the back seats, making the load bay uneven. It also has quite a high floor owing to Toyota having to pack a now-smaller 110-litre fuel tank, 4.3 amp hour battery and full-size spare tyre under the floor.

Out on the road is where you feel the biggest changes between the new 250 Series and its 150 Series forebear, with the new 3.24 turn lock-to-lock electronic power assistance system the star. Light at low speeds, it firms up on country roads with minimal dead-zone around the straight-ahead. There's almost no kickback over bumps, either.

With 18-inch alloy wheels, highway terrain tyres and passive dampers, the GX is the most basic Prado chassis you can get and also the most resolved. Plenty of body control even at the NT’s elevated 130km/h speed limit, excellent bump absorption and great cabin isolation over rough corrugations and broken surfaces. 

Point the long, attractive aluminium-bonneted snout towards some unsealed roads and the Prado reveals another level of talent. The full-time 4WD system with lockable Torsen centre diff means plenty of traction no matter the grip levels. Smart ESC tuning helps trim lines in loose conditions without clamping down on fun and visibility is excellent thanks to those upright A-Pillars. 

With a smaller wheel and tyre package, the GX’s on-paper off-road credentials aren’t incredible; approach and departure angles of 31º and 17º are decent but the 210mm ground clearance is less than a Subaru Forester. 

Lucky we don’t drive on paper — the Prado’s seamless Crawl Assist and clever off-road traction control mean the GX effortlessly clears the sort of challenges a weekend warrior might throw at it. The Altitude, with its locking rear diff and stabiliser disconnect, is the choice for hardcore off-roaders. You can also replace individual pieces of the front bumper system, rather than needing to get a whole new single piece item. 

We didn’t get to sample how the new Prado pulls a load with its improved 3500kg braked towing rating. The carry-over 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder gets a new V-Active 48-volt starter generator, turbocharger, intercooler and still produces 150kW and 500Nm. It's adequate motivation, but for a similar price Ford will serve you a V6-powered Everest.

A new eight-speed torque converter automatic shifts smoothly and quickly with decisive logic. The lower first gear means you rarely need to engage four-low, while a higher top ratio contributes to an improved 7.6L/100km combined fuel efficiency rating. To lower NOx emissions, the Prado now has a 17.4-litre AdBlue tank that should go around 8700km between fill-ups. 

A glimpse at the spec sheet would suggest the new, much-improved Prado is best in GXL guise but don't write the sub-$80K drive-away GX off, it has everything you need and is remarkably well-appointed. The Prado’s practical boot in five-seat guise only adds to the base model’s appeal.