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By
EWAN KENNEDY
19 December 2005
Toyota has built a limited edition variant of its 4WD Prado GX and calls
it the Pilbara, hoping to conjure up visions of the wide open spaces of
outback Australia. Inside, there is leather facing on the steering wheel
and gear lever and the door handles are chrome plated. ‘Prado’ floor
mats are part of the package.
Special features on the Pilbara include large
front foglights, useful side steps, side-protection mouldings and
flared-guard extensions to cover special 17-inch wheels. Buyers
will also get a Prado with the convenience of standard roof rails.
The big radiator grille has a nice old-fashioned touch due to
being chrome plated. The exterior door mirrors also get the
chromed look.
The outside door handles are body coloured as
are the bumpers. The latter doesn’t quite make sense as bumpers
are often the first things to suffer if you do take your 4WD
seriously off-road in the Australian bush. But even Toyota no
longer pretends that buyers opt for a 4WD to go four-wheel
driving.
Having said that, the Prado has always been a
competent off-road performer, certainly not just a soft-roader
dressed up to look like the real thing. Transmission is permanent
4WD. The current model, released in 2003 has, like its
predecessors, a full ladder-frame chassis and a two-speed transfer
case. Both features that are expected by 4WD purists when they
plan to get off the beaten track.
Not that you have to go off-road to enjoy the
benefits of the Prado. On dirt and gravel roads it is impressive
in the way it retains its composure and has refinement levels
almost as good as when it’s on sealed roads. Naturally, it’s
not quite as good on-road as are upmarket soft-road vehicles, but
it’s not all that far behind, either.
Prado is a full eight seater though, as is
generally the way, the two centre-rear seats are better suited to
children than adults if they're to be used for anything other than
short trips. All eight seats enjoy the security of lap-sash safety
belts.
The Toyota Prado Pilbara limited edition has a
recommended retail price of $47,990 when a manual transmission is
fitted. That’s for both the 4.0-litre twin-cam petrol engine and
the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel. An automatic transmission adds $2920
to the price and on-road costs have to be figured into the
equation. Toyota estimates the added equipment has a retail value
of $6300, yet only charges $3820 more than the normal price of the
Prado GX.
Prado Pilbara is on sale now and Toyota
Australia has asked the Japanese factory to build only 500 of
them. Get in quickly if you are interested.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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