1998 Toyota Landcruiser Prado RV 2.7 4 cylinder petrol

Summary:

A very handy and versatile vehicle with a great sense of dependability and marvelous stability

Faults:

Material "boot" around the gear lever in the cabin has come loose.

General Comments:

Very flexible engine that freely spins to 4500rpm (and higher), yet also does reasonably well in slow gentle slogging for off road.

Enormous space inside, you have to be careful about weight of goods due to the shear volume of gear / boxes that can be fitted inside, especially with seats folded. It was of immense value in shifting house.

Fantastic exterior mirrors give you great confidence in reversing and accurately placing the vehicle in a shopping center car park or on a tricky twisting track. I rarely turn to look through the vehicle out the rear window when reversing. When I do, I am amazed at the space inside.

Very nimble steering allows fluid and precise placement of the vehicle. Passengers are often amazed at how I turn, park and manoeuvre the bulk of the vehicle in confined spaces. This includes small parking spots or turning around on a track.

One of the highest ground clearance levels with good clear under body clearance allows this vehicle to walk / step over obstacles that cause other vehicles to scrape and grind. This greatly improves confidence to tackle terrain.

Marvelous stability from the large tires and constant 4 wheel drive on gravel / unmade roads allows for swift and safe voyages.

Tire size is bug on the RV /RV6 models. Hard to get other types of tires, retain overall tire diameter and not have the expense of new 7" rims. This is made harder as most tire retailers (in Australia) are focussed on sales regardless and don't seem to care much about legality, customer use, quality service. Made worse by the low wear of the standard Dunlop tires. As an example I spoke to several tire dealers who stated that 235 width tires was the maximum for 6" rims, anything greater is illegal. Yet one tyre dealer offered to put on 245 width tires and claimed it was legal, who is right?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th June, 2001