Hi. I will retire in about 5 years but want to buy a Prado soon to start personalising it. I've looked at the differences between the base GX and the GXL and reckon I can save myself around $6k. I don't need the third row of seats (more room and better for the sliding fridge/freezer) and I think I can get by without the other extras the GXL has. Other differences: no rear parking sensors, manual a/c, I'm not going rock hopping so don't need the rear diff lock ..... Can anyone talk me into going with the GXL?

Thanks 

I can't comment on Toyotas as I have a Land Rover.

Suffice to say that front & rear parking sensors are very useful. If you don't need 7 seats, don't order them.

If you plan on keeping the car a decade or longer, $6000 (plus insurance) amortised over this period may give you more satisfaction.

The budget model may have crap hi-fi & USB connections & charging outlets.

Again I don't know what Toyotas are like but on the LR upgrading hi-fi, adding TV, digital broadcasting, adding surround cameras into the system etc, is a real pain in the neck even if you know how a car's computer code works & are capable of editing software. It's simple painful.

Hi Noel,

We have a 2019 Prado GXL. You have mentioned some differences.  There may be some changes with the 2021 versions of the Prado compared 2019.  Certainly the more powerful motor than in 2019. My comments are about 2019 versions.

One of the things that was a clincher for us was the dual zone aircon for driver vs passenger. GXL yes, GX Not sure.

 I see 2021 GX only comes with auto transmission so towing capacities are all the same now.

GXs had higher payload without the 3rd row of seats (and I suspect aircon fittings to supply aircon to the 3rd row).

Sure, 3rd row can be "temporarily" removed from GXL but work is required to do that and a new false floor added.

A bit fancier dash and fittings with GXL.

GXL came with LED self levelling headlights, not so with the GX (Halogen).  Those GXL lights are good. However, wading depth of the Prado is 700mm and the LED headlights cannot be submerged. Very expensive to replace the LED headlights and the  ECU that controls the levelling of the lights. The lights are just above 700mm from the ground. I am not sure about the relative robustness against damage from stones, nor about the work or costs involved to repair/replace light fittings in each model.

-- Edited by watsea on Sunday 31st of January 2021 12:12:35 AM

Good points with headlights.

My car has projector halogen headlights & they are dreadful. Fortunately we rarely drive at night. 

Forget about upgrading projector headlights to LED, the light beam is a disaster. 

If you do night driving get better headlights when you order the car. Also these brighter lights require light leveling. Something which will be very expensive to upgrade later (on a Land Rover requires editing the car's software as well as whole new headlight clusters).

HandyWalter wrote:

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Just remember that should you require to tow a van in the future, the Prado has towing weight limits a lot lower than slightly bigger 4wds.

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 Hi Walter.....creditable words of warning regarding tow capacity,with older Prados limited to 2500kg.However,new versions are able to tow 3000kg, while the car's GVM is 2990kg.This means that Noel can safely tow a 3000kg van,with GTM (weight on van wheels) of 2700kg behind a car that,on paper,can weigh 2990kg,including the 300kg 10% towball weight.Although it is impossible to actually reach that 2990kg GVM,at least the weight on the wheels of his car will be greater than his van's weight on wheels.This is critical if safety is of any concern.Cheers

Yes Yobarr but still 500kgs below what most other claim they can tow even though in reality they cannot. OP just needs to be aware of that tow limit shoud he decide to tow. I would rather have spare capacity rather than towing at limits, legal or manufactured as quoted!!

I am not a Toyota fan so I dont know too much about whats included in their models but whenever I have been buying a new car most of the reviews I read recommended the best value was to buy the mid range vehicle. With the bottom of the range you usually only get basics, the top of the range is usually full of things that you probably wont use and are just more fancy gadgets that can go wrong.

BB

Our Prado is a 2019 and rated to tow 3,000 kg. As yobarr and HandyWalter have said it has limitations which I am aware of, so I take account of them.  Everything has limitations.

Our van has ATM of 2.7 t.

If one checks, the payload for a Prado is similar to a LC200.

We have kept weight down in the vehicle- temporary removal 3rd row of seats, lighter Toyota alloy bullbar, no second battery,  no draw system in the back, no fridge, no generator.

Prado does not have a much power as some others, but I find it adequate for our uses.

Some positives- 4 Cyclinder vehicle registation, less space on the road and parking.  Good off-road ability when getting out there without a van. Toyota service backup across Australia. Supposedly fixed DPF issues by the time we bought our car.  Most of its driving is highway and distance.  I don't even detect when a DPF burn has cccurred. 36,000km so far. Standard versions with tyre on the rear door has 150 L fuel capacity as standard.

I have to watch speed without and with a caravan, it is easy to creep above the speed limit while on the blacktop, if cruise control not activated.

-- Edited by watsea on Tuesday 2nd of February 2021 12:55:15 PM

-- Edited by watsea on Tuesday 2nd of February 2021 12:57:14 PM

If you hang on any combustion engine car, come 2030, when every second car will be an EV, don't expect to get good value. MY Pathy was top of the line, so really Nissans poor man Prado, but it had dual zone cooling/heating, and now our newer car, hasn't but we can still set the degrees temp. I don't miss the dual zone, the extra set of seats in our car folded flat, so they were never up, and were only use once in it's life. It came with led lighting,, I preferred the Halogen for more distance and better spread, and you couldn't submerge them. It had auto sensing auto gearbox, so it would change down going down hills. This new one doesn't so I do miss that, it had outside courtesy lights, that was good, but also what it did, was a lot of this stuff broke down, and I don't miss any of it's problems. Remember, the more electronics you get, to more likely as it gets older this stuff stop's working or stops your car working. If it was me, I would buy the GX, save some money upfront, and save money long term.