The Land Cruiser Prado has long been Toyota’s middleweight champion. Positioned between the brute-force Land Cruiser and the everyday Fortuner, it carried a reputation for reliability, off-road ability, and a dose of luxury. But the new LC Prado lands with a thud rather than a bang. And for long-time Prado loyalists, this one feels less like a proud evolution and more like a calculated compromise.
Design
Toyota has ditched the curvy, muscular lines of the outgoing generation in favour of a boxy, retro-inspired shape borrowed from the old-school Land Cruiser 70 and the new Land Cruiser 250.
Powertrain
Underneath the shell, things get more polarising. The previous Prado came with a 4.0L V6 in many markets. It wasn’t fast, but it was smooth, durable, and proven across all sorts of terrain. That engine is now gone. In its place, Toyota offers a 2.4L four-cylinder turbocharged hybrid in select regions, or a non-hybrid 2.8L diesel elsewhere. The numbers might look fine on paper, but this is a seismic shift. For many Prado enthusiasts, especially in the Middle East, downsizing the heart of the vehicle feels like sacrilege.
The new engine lineup may be more efficient, but it strips away the Prado’s essence. This was never a vehicle bought for fuel economy. It was bought for trust-trust in the engine to take you to the middle of nowhere and back without blinking. Swapping six cylinders for four and adding hybrid complexity puts that trust on shakier ground. Toyota’s new turbocharged hybrid might simply not hold up as well as the older engine did.
Interior
Step inside the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and you’ll find a cabin that leans modern. A 12.3-inch infotainment display (standard from base grade) takes centre stage—responsive, intuitive, and equipped with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. But the 7-inch digital instrument cluster ahead of the driver feels underwhelming for this segment.
Synthetic leather seats from the GXL trim are durable and comfortable, though lumbar support is missing. The driver gets eight-way power adjustment; the passenger makes do with manual controls. Soft-touch points on the armrest and door sills contrast with hard plastics below.
Toyota nails practicality: a large centre console, wireless charging, deep bins, and USB-C ports. Physical climate controls stay, with tactile knobs. It’s a functional, tech-savvy front row that respects the Prado’s rugged DNA.
Why Is This A Downgrade?
For young car enthusiasts in the Middle East, where the Prado has been a staple of desert life, school runs, and off-road weekends, this downgrade stings. The new Prado may work for urban commuters in Europe or suburban families in North America, but it’s lost the spirit that made it such a trusted choice across dunes.
Toyota’s bet is clear: future-proof the Prado, improve emissions, and chase global sales. But in doing so, they’ve stripped away the soul of the vehicle that once struck the perfect balance between capability and class. The old Prado was dependable, understated, and purpose-built. The new one is stylish, complicated, and trying too hard.
To be clear, the new Prado is not a bad SUV. It retains a ladder-frame chassis, solid off-road credentials, and Toyota’s obsessive build quality. But it no longer leads its segment with quiet confidence. Instead, it tries to be too many things for too many people. It wants to be rugged and green, old-school and futuristic, all at once. The result is a diluted product that pleases few and alienates many.
