2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Altitude review

It's Australia's premier four-wheel-drive wagon. A high-selling bread-and-butter offering from Toyota for those who want space for the family, some off-road capability and around-town comfort.

The 2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado replaces a long-serving favourite, but has copped a bit of criticism since it launched late last year. A lot of the criticism revolves around the seven-seat interior layout, but what if we look at the five-seat off-road hero of the range?

We've got the Prado Altitude on test, and we're taking it into the bush to see how capable it really is. We're also going to live with it for a week to see if it is worth the money.

This is the first river that one needs to cross on the journey to Prado ownership. Whereas the new 2025 Prado range starts at $72,500 plus on-road costs, the Altitude jacks things up by 20 grand to $92,700 plus on-road costs.

While Kakadu remains the top spec for the new Prado, Altitude brings a high level of standard kit, along with a shift in focus to off-road performance over seven-seat luxury.

With space for five inside, the Altitude gets things like heated and ventilated front seats, with leather accenting, electric adjustment and a heated steering wheel. The centre console is refrigerated, the sound system is a 14-piece JBL unit, and the air conditioning is dual-zone.

There's also a 360-degree camera system and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a digital rear-view mirror and carpeted floor mats.

While Kakadu goes for slick-looking 20-inch alloy wheels, the Altitude gets 18-inch wheels with Toyo all-terrain rubber. It's the only variant with a locking rear differential (atop the locking centre all model grades get), and there is a front swaybar disconnect for Altitude as well.

However, the loss of tyre pressure monitoring – something that other trim levels get – is a strange one for the Altitude off-roader. It doesn't make sense that this model misses out.

The engine is a 2.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that mostly carries over from the previous-generation Prado. It's also used in the Toyota Fortuner, LandCruiser 70 Series, along with (of course) the HiLux.

In this case – and similar to some HiLux variants – there is a 48-volt hybrid assistance system included in the new Prado. While there is a quoted 8.4kW and 65Nm available from the integrated starter/generator, outputs hold steady at 150kW and 500Nm.

This runs through a new eight-speed automatic transmission, with a familiar and comforting full-time four-wheel-drive system. So, like the old Prado, this new one gets four driven wheels all the time, with a centre differential that can be locked for off-road driving. And, of course, we've got a low-range transfer case and locking rear differential.

On the inside, this new LandCruiser Prado is a significant step forward over the dated previous-generation offering. It's similar to the LandCruiser 300 Series overall, with big chunky switchgear and a traditional layout of controls.

The quality is as good as you'd expect, and I'm thankful for the fact that Toyota is not choosing to bury most of the functionality through menus within the infotainment display.

The air-conditioning interface contains a classy-looking liquid-crystal display with buttons for your common controls underneath. Driving mode controls are further down with big knurled plastic dials and more buttons.

It's simple, traditional, to-the-point and effective. Whereas the interior of the more expensive Lexus GX550 can feel a little underdone, this feels more on the money.

The seats are quite broad and comfortable, with loads of electric adjustment (the steering column is electric, as well) to tailor the right driving position. There's heating and ventilation here too, along with a heated steering wheel.

There are three USB-C power outlets near the wireless charging pad, along with the all-conquering volume knob for easy adjustments on the move. There's a HDMI port here (not sure if you'd ever use it), but those who want a 12V plug will need to plunder the one in the second row. At least, they're probably using the two USB-C points anyway.

The refrigerated centre console is a nice touch – and something oh-so Toyota LandCruiser – but does come with a penalty of reduced space if you just want to use it for storage.

The second row is reasonably spacious, but perhaps not as capacious as one might expect. The second row of the Prado doesn't slide but instead tumbles forward. It's comfortable and well appointed here, with a separate range of air-conditioning controls, air vents and power outlets.

The large amount of vertical glass in the Prado is great for visibility for those in the front and the back. And it's not just about driving, either. Having a nice airy and clear connection to the outside world tends to make occupants happier, especially kids.

In the back, the boot of the 2025 Prado is well sized. There's 954 litres of overall space available, with a minor penalty coming through from the raised floor height. This is done to help accommodate the 48-volt battery system, which aims to assist propulsion and reduce the emissions and consumption rates of the engine.

It's nowhere near as bad as the seven-seat versions, which have a significantly raised floor in the load space to help with the third-row packaging.

The lack of a boot-mounted spare wheel these days – something that was optional in the last years of the previous-generation Prado – means it's much more shopping centre-friendly. The boot is hinged at the top and doesn't swing out nearly as wide as it used to. Plus, you've now got an opening rear glass hatch for quick and easy access.

The 12.3-inch infotainment system is shared across the range, which is a big landscaped slab atop the dashboard. This has a new variant of Toyota's operating system, which is good to use and is well featured. There's wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, native navigation and digital radio.

Altitude is one of the variants that get a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, which adds an extra layer of classy technology to the interior of the Prado. This brings some improved functionality, along with modernity.

The vehicle will come with one year of complimentary access to Toyota's Connected Services, which will bring stuff like vehicle location and status, guest driving modes and stolen vehicle alerts. From that point, you're looking at either $9.95 per month or $12.50 per month depending on how many features you want included.

The 2025 LandCruiser Prado has a five-star ANCAP safety rating coming from a 2024 score with Australia's crash-testing authority.

This includes an 85 per cent protection rating for adult occupants, and an 89 per cent rating for child occupants. Vulnerable road users get an 84 per cent rating, while the Prado's driving safety systems score 82 per cent for their performance.

The LandCruiser Prado is well endowed with safety technology and features, including nine airbags throughout the cabin. This includes a knee airbag for the two front occupants, as well as curtain airbags and one located between the two front seats.

There's also a sophisticated and astute autonomous emergency braking system, which performs well in the real world in terms of not having any false positive reactions. I thankfully didn't need to test out its actual performance, but information in this regard can be garnered from the ANCAP safety report.

The introduction of electric power steering in the LandCruiser Prado allows for a slick lane-keep assistance system, which includes lane tracing and emergency intervention. This is different to the system in the LandCruiser 300 Series, which is electric over hydraulic.

In the LandCruiser Prado test vehicle we had, the driver monitoring system is inert. Even attempting to garner a reaction from it with particular head movements and feigning inattention couldn't get any noise or warnings to emanate. Some might see this as a positive, others will view it as a negative.

Servicing costs are more frequent for the 2025 LandCruiser Prado, owing mostly to this four-wheel-drive sticking to six-month service intervals. Most other vehicles run an annual servicing schedule.

It works out to be $2340 for three years and 60,000km (whichever comes first), which is $780 per year. Going to five years and 100,000km holds things steady at $780 per year or $390 per visit.

Twelve months of comprehensive insurance for a LandCruiser Prado is $2142.19 according to an online insurance quite generator. This is a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

While the 48-volt hybrid system on the Prado doesn't help with overall peak outputs, it can theoretically help with efficiency. However, such improvements are baffled by an increase in overall weight and size of this new Prado.

There is only a minor 0.3-litre improvement, according to Toyota, in consumption over 100 combined kilometres, which grows to one litre on the urban cycle, compared to the previous-generation model. It's modest, but don't forget for Toyota you could argue that the tailpipe emissions are the most important element to keep a lid on. From that point of view, emissions for the new Prado have dropped from 209 grams per kilometre to 201. Once again, not a huge drop, and it's no doubt blighted by the bump in mass and girth.

However, our testing saw diesel consumed at 9.5L/100km. This included highway driving, off-roading and regular suburban tootling. It's worth noting that the bullbar and winch would be detrimental for efficiency on our test car, as would the all-terrain tyres.

Firstly, let's talk about the motor. Its 150kW and 500Nm are solid in terms of outputs, and give it a similar amount to Ford's smaller 2.0-litre 'BiTurbo' four-cylinder engine. It beats the Isuzu MU-X comfortably, as well as the dated Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. It's still beaten comfortably by the likes of a Ford Everest V6, while things like a 300 Series LandCruiser or Land Rover Defender are in another league.

Some extra weight in this new model – around 150kg depending on specification – does blight performance, even though we've got a tighter bunch of ratios through the eight-speed automatic gearbox.

I wouldn't call it underdone in terms of performance, unless you're drag-racing a V6 Everest at the traffic lights. While there's a small amount of propulsion from the belt-alternator-starter mild hybrid system, I couldn't detect any such thing from behind the wheel.

Otherwise, the driving experience is good. The throttle is well calibrated, and the eight-speed automatic transmission is a peach.

Equally, the ride quality of the Prado Altitude is excellent. Adopting a bullbar and winch gets a new set of front springs, and it's well balanced overall for ride comfort, control and a sense of sure-footedness. It's a comfortable, enjoyable and easy drive, and the steering isn't vague at all nor does the body wave around.

The Prado feels particularly good on dirt roads as well, which will be appreciated by rural users and road-trippers alike. It's well connected and stable, thanks no doubt to the traditional differential-based full-time four-wheel-drive system.

And once you get off-road, the Prado continues to impress with its tuning and capability. We enjoyed our time with the base GX model a little while ago, but the extra technology and features of the Altitude (even though they cost a pretty penny) are appreciated.

The off-road traction-control system is excellent – something you can clearly see operating smoothly and reacting quickly in our video review. There's a range of well-tuned off-road driving modes to choose from, along with the locking centre and rear differentials. Don't forget the front swaybar disconnect on this model, which will free up the front suspension a little to match the live rear axle.

In combination, it's quite effective and easy to extract the performance from this Prado. For beginners and the less experienced, it's comforting and assuring to know you've got all of this assistance at the ready.

But for the more experienced and adventurous, the tech makes the Prado undoubtedly better and more capable off-road. Compared to a Ford Everest, this is the better off-roader.

The 2025 Prado's 3500kg braked towing capacity is boosted up from a 3000kg limit in the previous-generation model, and puts it on more of a level pegging with the likes of an Isuzu MU-X or Ford Everest.

Typical of most Toyota wagons, however, aside from the 70 Series, the payload in the LandCruiser Prado is relatively meagre. Toyota has gone to lengths to adjust the GVM (gross vehicle mass) figures of each model, which means this Altitude and the other five-seat-only version (base GX) get a 3100kg GVM.

Deduct a 2520kg kerb mass, and you're left with a fairly meagre payload of 580kg. Once again – for an off-road-focussed variant – this is a misstep, similar to the lack of tyre pressure monitoring.

This is the lowest of the range, with seven-seat versions getting a little more (up to 615kg for GXL trim).

With a 6600kg gross combination mass, towing a 3500kg trailer is fraught with risk. Deducting the full-fat 3500kg from the GCM doesn't eat into the 3100kg mass allowed for the vehicle. However, a 350kg ball weight would knock off more than half of your available vehicle payload.

Compared to the Ford Everest, the LandCruiser Prado feels particularly overpriced. You get less specification and powertrain punch for similar money in this case, along with a vehicle that is inherently better as a five-seater without that compromised third row.

And while the 2.8-litre diesel engine isn't an inspired performer, it's solid and backed up by an otherwise excellent driving experience. It's a comfortable and confident long-range tourer and excellent off-roader.

From that point of view, the Prado is still an excellent offering for adventurous Australian families. However, it comes with a big pricing impost and with some packaging compromises that buyers need to be aware of.

Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell

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