FAW Toyota has produced the all-new Prado in China, with a pre-sale of 47-570,000 yuan, and it is now in the stage of preparing for the big final, and it is expected to be launched in July.
But judging from a lot of information, at the node in 2024, I think you should think carefully before choosing this car. In the latest batch of declaration information of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, we finally saw the new Prado, the declaration information shows a lot of decorative parts, and also sees round lights and square lamp models, the vehicle has a 5-seat or 6-seat layout, all 2.4T hybrid, from TNGA-F architecture, non-load-bearing body.
In terms of basic information, the length, width and height of the vehicle are 4925 (4945) / 1940 (1980) / 1910 (1920) mm, wheelbase 2850mm, the difference in size is mainly in the difference of the kit, it can be basically seen that it is a standard medium and large SUV, the wheelbase is a number that Toyota off-road vehicles particularly like, compared with the size of the previous generation model, the new Prado as a whole has been enlarged, and it is close to the size of the Land Cruiser, so in some markets, it also directly replaces the new Land Cruiser to sell.
The vehicle provides a variety of tire specifications, respectively, 245/70 R18, 265/65 R18, 265/70 R18, 265/60 R20, the latter two are expected to be high-end models to provide, one is off-road, one is urban, and the 245mm width of the tire is obviously equipped with low-profile models, as a biased off-road product, the use of 245mm width of 18-inch tires is difficult to change to the same type of off-road tires, so it is a bit stingy.
It can be seen that there are a large number of plastic decorative panels on the front face of the round light model, and some of the decorative panels of the square lamp version have a painting process, in addition, the vehicle also provides latte art, Toyota bull head tag, roof rack and other options, latte art is really classic, instantly pull the time back to the feeling of 2004. The Prado's front and rear bumpers can also be painted to replace plastic, the rear windshield window can be opened separately on some models, and streaming mirrors are also available on some models.
In terms of power, the Prado uses the T24A 2.4T engine with a power of 207kW, with a P2 motor and a nickel-metal hydride battery, the comprehensive power of the hybrid can reach 243kW, and the peak torque is 630 Nm, which is much better than the previous model. The approach angle of the vehicle is 30/31 degrees, and the departure angle is 21/22 degrees, and the configuration obtained from the declaration information is basically these.
I learned from some foreign automotive media that they have conducted an off-road test drive of the new Prado, and the following pictures and information are from Motor1, so you can have a certain understanding of the Prado's off-road ability.
At the beginning of the Motor1 article, they stated: "There's an old saying in Australia, if you want to go into the bush, drive a Land Rover. If you want to come back, take a Land Cruiser. "The all-new Prado remains one of the toughest and most reliable off-road bikes out there, living up to the Land Cruiser name. The vehicle is equipped with a full-time all-wheel drive system with low-speed four-wheel drive gears, as well as a central differential lock and a rear axle differential lock, with a passing angle of 23 degrees and a minimum ground clearance of 221mm.
In the North American market, the Prado still offers fabric seats and small screens, and the interior is available in white, silver, and black, with a round light version being their lowest spec, which is mainly retro. At the same time, the round light model is equipped with road tires, there is no MTS multi-terrain selection system, no anti-roll bar disconnection, and 360-degree panoramic camera is not equipped, but they say that the new Prado has a good off-road interaction, the bulge of the hood makes it easy to locate the position of the front wheels, and the hybrid adjustment is smooth. As you can see from the pictures, the Prado's suspension travel is not bad, and the posture is beautiful when crossing axles.
The vehicle's nickel-metal hydride battery is only 1.87 kWh, so there is no pure electric mode, and the four-cylinder engine will start frequently, which is almost equal to that of a traditional combustion engine when off-road, but the battery will take up space in the back compartment.
In terms of the conclusion of Motor1, even if there are not many entry-level models with electronic control systems, the off-road ability is already very good, but the choice of medium and high-end models can get more comfortable configurations, and the off-road electronic control system is also more abundant, and the square lights are more high-grade than the round lights, which can also be recommended, "Land Cruiser" lives up to its name.
In this way, it seems that the probability of domestic models is the same, because the pre-sale price of 47-570,000 yuan itself has not opened up too much gap, and it can also be seen from the official trailer that some buttons under the center console are not, if the low-end models are consistent with foreign countries, then the high-end models are indeed more recommended for this price. But back to the original question, do you really need a Prado at the node in 2024?
There's no denying that the Prado is a professional off-road vehicle that can get you out safely in very harsh environments. But in fact, most of our consumers live in the city, there are no bad road conditions, the car is just a travel demand, off-road and self-driving tours are holidays, in this case, new energy SUV or traditional fuel city SUV has been fully satisfied, not to mention that now our own brand has a lot of new energy off-road vehicles to choose from, the price is lower, they can drive a distance in pure electric mode, urban travel is more economical, off-road ability is not bad, differential lock, Low-speed four-wheel drive should be available, and there can also be high-power external discharge to facilitate users to go camping.
There are many more such car scenarios than extreme off-road, so I think the new Prado is a bit biased, and the pre-sale price is higher, so that the word "feelings" also needs financial support, and the cost performance is not very high. Of course, if the use scene is in remote areas such as Xinjiang and Tibet, there are often long-distance uninhabited areas to cross scientific expeditions, Prado is professional, as a tool product, it must be very competent, simple function, reliable and stable, easy to maintain, this is the meaning of the Land Cruiser.