Prado

Go five-seat unless the third row sees regular duty. The 48-volt battery occupies the space beneath the boot floor, so a folded third row sits proud of the floor (there is no well for it to drop into), and the second row has no slide adjustment to make room. With all seven seats in play the load space turns shallow and stepped. The five-seat option Toyota added to the GX and GXL in 2025 removes the third row altogether and returns a deep, flat cargo bay, at a small saving over the seven-seat version of the same grade.

3,500kg braked and 750kg unbraked, on every grade from GX to Kakadu, and 500kg more than the final 150 Series could manage. The arithmetic deserves more attention than the badge: GVM spans 3,100 to 3,200kg depending on grade and GCM is 6,600kg, so a heavy van plus a full cabin of people and gear leaves little legal margin to spare. The lighter grades hold the most payload in reserve, which is why the GX makes a case as the towing pick; just base the sums on the fully loaded rig rather than the brochure kerb figure.

Off-road is where the Prado banks its reputation, and the 250 Series holds the line. Every grade runs full-time 4WD with low range and Toyota's terrain and traction electronics, and the TNGA-F platform improved wheel articulation over the old model. Geometry runs 210 to 221mm of ground clearance and 31 to 32 degrees of approach depending on grade (the higher grades do better on both), with 700mm of wading depth and a 17-degree departure angle. For the hardest country, the Altitude pairs its swaybar-disconnect system, badged Stabiliser Disconnect Mechanism, with factory all-terrain tyres.

A four-cylinder 2.8-litre turbo-diesel good for 150kW and 500Nm, sending drive to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic. The 48-volt V-Active system is mild-hybrid assist, smoothing stop-start and step-off; despite the hybrid badging it is not a full hybrid, and no V6 exists in the range. Against roughly 2.5 tonnes of kerb mass the outputs are modest, with strong low-rev pull for towing but little in reserve beyond it. The absence of a six-cylinder or a full hybrid remains the most common criticism of the new car.

Reliability and resale carry the Prado's price premium, and the cover backs the reputation: a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty for private buyers, with the engine and driveline covered to seven years when servicing stays on schedule. The fine print: roadside assistance is not bundled with the car (Toyota sells it separately as an annual product, though some dealers include a short period), and servicing is capped-price but frequent, due every six months or 10,000km, so plan on two visits a year at the capped rate.