2025 Toyota Prado Kakadu Gets Useless hybrid tech

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Toyota’s new-generation LandCruiser Prado has arrived with more than a little retro bravado, a touch of hybrid assist, and the off-road Land Cruiser crossed continents with. We tested the top-spec Kakadu across our 4WD track, dirt roads, highways, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. David is slightly more forgiving in, as he puts it, his sunset years, but as good as Prado is, he found its faults annoying.

Let’s start with the bones. The new Prado rides on Toyota’s TNGA-F ladder-frame platform, shared with the larger 300 Series. It’s longer, wider, and stiffer than before—4990mm long, 1980mm wide, with a 2850mm wheelbase and widened tracks front and rear. David said it “felt like a LandCruiser that went to finishing school but still knows how to change a tyre in the rain.”

Under the bonnet, Toyota’s old 2.8L turbodiesel gets a 48-volt V-Active mild hybrid upgrade. In most cases Mild Hybrids are a waste of time, energy, money, and weight. This has done nothing to change my mind. Full hybrids have somewhat limited towing ability, a reason Toyota has no doubt opted for this half-baked option. It won’t magically make the Euro 5 diesel socially acceptabl, nothing will.

It delivers an adequate 150kW and 500Nm through a new 8-speed automatic and full-time AWD. The hybrid assist doesn’t add powe, and since all it does is smooth out stop-start transitions to help with fuel economy. Toyota quotes combined consumption at 7.6L/100km, but we never bettered 9.9L/100km. David noted we were that as being less than ideal, an understatement if ever there was one.

Drive modes vary by grade. GX, GXL, and Altitude get three: Eco, Normal, and Comfort. VX and Kakadu step up to five, adding Sport and Sport+. Suspension settings adjust accordingly, with Kakadu’s adaptive variable suspension softening the ride on tarmac and firming up for off-road. Comfort mode on the highway felt like being in the Queen Mary during a swell in a sickeningly uncomfortable way.

Our test began on our 4WD track, where the Kakadu’s approach angle (32°), departure angle (17°), and rampover (25°) proved more than adequate. The multi-terrain system adjusts traction control for dirt, mud, snow, and sand. David cycled through all four and declared “mud mode” his favourite.

Above: This Week’s VIDEO Review – 2025 Toyota Prado Kakadu Review: Hybrid Tech, Off-Road Rescue, Sydney Test

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ABOVE: 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Kakadu – with Altitude boot to compare

Halfway through the track, we had to tow “ol mate” Malcolm off a rock where he’d beached his Hilux ute trying to shortcut the incline. Malcolm is David’s mate who is prone to taking more risk than was wise.

From the track, we moved to dirt roads, where the Kakadu’s suspension soaked up corrugations with no hint of the highway rocking that had made us both feel so sickened. The electric power steering—new for Prado—felt light but precise.

On the highway, the Kakadu settled into a quiet cruise. The 8-speed auto keeps revs low, and wind noise is minimal despite the bluff front end. We crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Comfort mode, where the Prado floated like a luxury liner as we had once again resumed “float mode”.

Inside, the Kakadu is plush. Leather-accented upholstery, heated and ventilated seats front and rear, panoramic moon roof, illuminated side steps, and a digital rearview mirror. I’d have like the Lexus’ electrochromic glass option to be included, but alas

The natty rear glass hatch in the rear saves opening the full tailgate. Our Prado had a gremlin that opened the electric tailgate without being asked to. Rude. On one occasion the silent assassin opened in the Coles carpark risking knocking Meriton sprinklers off the roof. A little Chinese man ran after man gesticulating as if docking an A380, and I was glad he did. I was unaware the door had opened.

It would be remiss not to comment on the poorly designed third-row seats. Instead of folding level with the floor the floor, they sit glued to the surface like a hideous carbuncle. The old LandCruiser 200 had equally awful third-row seats that parted in the middle, then sat folded against the side windows to be held in place by an old bit of seatbelt. The Prado Kakadu keeps them horizontal but fills the enormous gulf between the seat unit and rear hatch with a cheap plastic tub that looks like a Temu flower planter. They gave it a lid to keep it flat when the seats are folded, but it is a completely unsatisfactory.

Kakadu gets a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, cloud-based navigation, and a 14-speaker JBL audio system. There’s also a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, head-up display, multi-terrain monitor, and tyre pressure sensors.

Safety is comprehensive. Toyota Safety Sense includes PCS, adaptive cruise, lane trace assist, blind spot monitoring, road sign assist, rear parking support brake, and nine airbags. The radar and camera system has been upgraded for better range and accuracy.

Pricing starts at $72,500 for the GX, which gets fabric trim, 18-inch alloys, and a 10-speaker audio system. GXL adds a third row, synthetic leather, roof rails, and wireless charging for $79,990. VX steps up to 20-inch alloys, JBL audio, refrigerated console, and memory seats for $87,400. Altitude, priced at $92,700, adds Toyo Open Country tyres, rear diff lock, stabiliser disconnect, moon roof, and retro two-tone paint. Kakadu tops the range at $99,990, with every luxury and off-road feature included.

Toyota offers five years of warranty with unlimited kilometres, and capped-price servicing at $390 every six months or 10,000km. 7-year warranties are offered in the competition, but Toyota management said their buyers didn’t need it because Australia has a Consumer Guarantee. Holden used to say things like that before they were closed down after buyers fled in droves. Toyota, take note.

UPDATED: as of February 2026 China is now the top car manufacture country of origin. “The total market took a 4.5 per cent hit this month, sliding to 90,712 units. In a shrinking market, you either innovate or you evaporate. The legacy brands are choosing the latter. Toyota, the supposed “unshakable” market leader, is currently bleeding out. Their February volume plummeted by 27.8 per cent, crashing to just 13,606 units. That is not a “market correction”—it is a catastrophic loss of relevance. Mazda followed suit, gasping for air with a 19.9 per cent decline.”

Other tasty temptations include full-service lease option bundles insurance, roadside assist, maintenance, and registration into one monthly payment..

Read the Toyota Forum discussion HERE.

Eight exterior colours are available. Solid options include Glacier White, Ebony, and Midnight Alloy. Metallics include Eclipse Black, Dusty Bronze, and Frosted White. Altitude-exclusive hues are Ningaloo Blue and Tanami Taupe, paired with a retro grey roof. David chose Dusty Bronze and said it “matched his mood,” then asked if Tanami Taupe was a cocktail.

Other GayCarBoys Toyota Stories:

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• 2019 Toyota Hilux Rugged X Review,  Road Test, and video.
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• 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatch Specifications
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SHORT Video Review: Lexus LC500 Convertible Roof operation. Mesmerising. Sorry about the rubbish background

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