A name synonymous with all-terrain adventure and comfort, the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu continues to deliver on its reputation. Now, improved technology and sophistication are matched with new wheels for this latest release.
A chrome vertical grille greets in you in the front, with a subtle forward-facing camera embedded within. These are paired with a nice set of LED headlights, which are dusk sensing, and auto high beam.
Moving side on opens your view to a nice set of 19-inch alloys, now sporting a new design known as Prestige, adding to the look and stance of the Kakadu. At the rear, the first thing you notice is how clean and finished the back end looks with the optional flat tailgate pack.
With this package, Toyota have moved the traditional tailgate mounted spare wheel to beneath the Prado, which also allows for glass hatch access to the boot, without having to open the massive tailgate entirely.
There is a catch though. To make room for the spare wheel, you will lose some fuel capacity, with this option bringing about the removal of the 63-litre reserve tank. The main 87-litre tank remains.
Stepping inside the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu is divine. You are greeted with beautiful and comfortable beige leather accented seats (optionally available in black), that are heating and ventilated for the driver and front passenger.
A premium woodgrain-look steering wheel, with all the necessary buttons for your audio, phone, and cruise control offers additional comfort, with a wide centre console providing a refrigerator box, good for about four bottles of water.
Right in the middle of the console rests a glorious 9.0-inch colour touchscreen, which includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s a vertical phone holder too, which is a little awkward when you need to hook up cables.
For lovers of good sound, the premium JBL 14-speaker audio system is simply amazing. Put on your favourite beats and crank it up, and the aural experience stays crisp and clear. The bass is banging too.
For the 4×4 enthusiast, all your controls sit at arm’s length just beneath the screen, and ready to engage 4×4 settings, the rear-diff lock, multi-terrain system, and traction control. The moonroof is the icing on the cake, allowing ample amounts of sunshine in.
Being a range-topping Kakadu, there’s plenty for rear seat passengers too, including a foldable Blu-Ray rear entertainment system with three wireless headsets, for those long road trips.
Three zone climate controls also mean the second and third row also get their own vents, while the 7-seat configuration allows for a 40/20/40 split fold second row and 50/50 split fold third row. All seats are power operated for that added extra of comfort.
The 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu is equipped with a 2.8-litre turbo diesel engine, pushing through a 6-speed auto transmission. This generates up to 150kW of power, and 500Nm of torque. Plenty of grunt to take advantage of the 3,000kg braked towing capacity.
When not towing, the Kakadu delivers an impressive claimed fuel economy of 7.9-litres/100km. Real world testing saw 8.8-litres/100km in a mix of driving modes and terrains on a proper road trip from Sydney to Yamba in northern NSW.
We highly rate the Toyota SUV for long drives of this nature. It’s such a pleasure to drive, with great handling and good responsiveness to changing conditions. The comfort on the inside made an eight hour journey so easy, and the cold drinks in the console were a treat.
A big part of the ease in driving the Prado comes from Toyota’s Safety Sense package, which provides steering assist, lane departure assist, pre-collision safety, road sign assist, and active cruise control.
The last of these was great at staying at a decent distance from traffic ahead, but we did notice it failed to slow down to the set speed on downhill rolls. It did provide an alert, allowing for human intervention though.
It has an average quality reversing camera, rear parking sensors, stability control and importantly, trailer sway control for towing. There are seven airbags too. ISOFIX child seat anchor points can be found in the second row as well.
With a 5-star ANCAP safety rating, the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser Prado Kakadu delivers the right balance of all-terrain practically on the outside, and luxury on the inside. It comes with a 5-year 160,000km warranty.
Toyota will provide an addition 2-year warranty on the engine and driveline, subject to servicing requirements. Should you be keen to own one, you can pick up for $94,916 drive away, according to the Toyota website.
For the record, it’s available in Graphite, Espresso Brown, Glacier White, Crystal Pearl, Silver Pearl, Peacock Black, Eclipse Black, Dusty Bronze, Ebony, and Wildfire.
