Toyota’s face-lifted Prado made light work of its recent launch drive – through the Oteake Conservation Park from Omarama to St Bathans. NZ4WD Editor Ross MacKay has the story.
As a crow (or more appropriately, perhaps a majestic South Island Eastern Falcon) might fly, it is only 20kms from Omarama, at the southern end of the Mackenzie Country, to St Bathans, tucked, as it is into a narrow little valley to the north-west of the lower South Island’s great inland plain, the Maniototo.
In between, however are the tawny tucks and folds of the Hawkdun Ranges, and therein lies a challenge to spark the imagination and light the eyes of anyone with a 4WD and/or a sense of adventure.
Welcome to the Oteake Conservation Park. It’s grand, majestic ‘Big Sky’ country, and despite its open, seemingly benign nature can cut up rough as quickly as any in the South. As I write this, torrential rain in early January has closed the track we used – the West Manuherikia Track from Broken Hut Rd to the Omarama – because of a mud slide.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Last month I wrote about Toyota New Zealand’s combined 2018 Hilux/Prado upgrade model launch. On the first of two days the assembled motoring scribes drove a line-up of new Hiluxes on sealed and gravel roads from Christchurch airport to Lake Tekapo via Geraldine and a detour to the Mackenzie Monument.
On the second day we swapped the Hiluxes for the brace of facelifted Prados our hosts had used on the first day.
Some school run!
As perhaps the ultimate ‘Remuera Tractor’ or ‘School run SUV’ a Prado might not – on the face of it – be the first vehicle you or I might think of to climb over 800 metres on a 4WD-only track, crest the (not to be sniffed at) 1273m Omarama Saddle then descend via multiple creek crossings to the aptly named Top Hut (for lunch) and on via a rough and ready track to Hawkdun Runs Rd, Loop Rd and St Bathans.
But therein lies both a paradox, and the ultimate appeal of, this iconic Toyota.
To whit. There’s no denying that the Prado is a big beastie. Not as big, true as a pukka Land Cruiser or equivalent Lexus is these days, but big nevertheless. You climb up and into it and the second row of seats can be adjusted fore and aft for what looks and feels like anything from ‘a lot’ of rear legroom to ‘a humungous’ amount.
Big Is good!
I’ve also always liked the generous amount of headroom available, even with the driver’s seat cranked up to its highest (feels like a high chair) setting for maximum view forward.
I’ve also always liked the relaxed demeanour of a Prado on (and now I can also say off) the road. It doesn’t seem to matter which model you drive, Prado just seems to have a ‘relax, I’ve got this’ kind of driving personality.
Having read so much about the Oteake Conservation Park (in these very pages) I don’t mind admitting I was like a kid on Christmas morning when our little convoy finally reached the end of Broken Hut Rd and turned right and through a couple of gateways to start the West Manuherikia Track proper.
As a full-time 4WD vehicle (rather than a part-time like a Hilux ute) you drive a Prado in 4Hi or 4Lo. High is the go-to for pretty much everything except slow-speed off-roading, so we stopped and turned the rotary dial adjacent the auto gear stock before we headed off-piste.
Farmland track
The first couple of kms follow a typical farmland track with only the odd sunken water channel to test approach and departure angles and thorny Matagouri/wild Irishman bushes (don’t want any bush pin-striping on a new test vehicle do we?) to avoid.
The day’s route through the Oteake Conservation Park and on to St Bathans and (originally, anyway) on via Thompson’s Track to Bendigo then Cromwell and Queenstown, had been plotted by one of Toyota NZ’s go-to guys for anything to do with off-roading, Tony Groome.
Tony led the way and I tucked in behind in the chic graphite grey VX model I had somehow managed to blag from under the noses of the ‘more senior’ (read craftier) members of the motoring corps that morning in Tekapo.
With climate air moderating the interior temperature, humidity and pollen levels as the day got warmer, the transmission in auto and the leather-trimmed driver’s seat electrically-adjusted to the optimum height and distance from the height-adjustable steering wheel I found it ridiculously easy to focus on the track as it snaked its way up the tussock-covered hills.
Heavy winter rain had gouged out a channel down the centre of the steeper portions of the track which we all had to carefully straddle. My only thoughts, even as the track got narrower and rougher at one stage, though were along the lines of ‘how good is this?’,’ and ‘man this thing (the Prado) is doing this easy!’
The key here was the combination of ride height, plush sympathetically-damped long-travel suspension, nicely weighted and modulated power steering, and (just) enough creamy smooth power to make progress at road or off-road speeds appear absolutely effortless.
With zero mud the standard A/T tyres (on standard road pressures to boot) coped admirably as well with thee mix of surfaces.
There’s definitely no hiding its size, weight or effort the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine is putting in (you can hear it once the revs rise) despite the otherwise excellent sound-proofing.
These, however, are minor issues in the face of the sheer competency, versatility and ease with which you can drive to or from school or to or from Omarama via bona fide 4x4-only bush track.
Lunch run
After a longish stop at the Omarama Saddle to take in the stunning 360 degree view, it was then a straightforward run down to Top Hut where the local Search & Rescue (SAR) who had gone in ahead of us put on a BBQ ‘n salad lunch.
Talk naturally turned to the tough farm trucks (mostly Toyotas!) they owned and used every day….including the LWB FJ cab/chassis originally bought by the run holder who once held the lease on the very, now DoC-managed, land we had just traversed.
Lunch over and with time now tight we made good time skirting and regularly crossing the creek (actually the headwaters of the mighty Manuherikia River) running down the valley before the track slowly turned into Hawkdun Runs Rd and we were back into 4Hi for the remainder of the day.
Unfortunately the decision was made to can the planned late afternoon run over Thompson’s Track (Thompson’s Gorge Rd). Instead we simply headed south then west, first to Clyde, then Cromwell and on through the Kawerau Gorge to Queenstown.
Along the way I couldn’t help noticing the number of Prados old and new on the road or parked. Most, no doubt, lead relatively easy family runabout/weekend and/or holiday toy hauler lives.
If you are one such owner already, or you are contemplating the purchase of a Prado new or even not so you, take it from me, it is one of the most versatile and competent daily drivable 4WDs on the market.
All you have to do is turn a knob on the dashboard!
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Local lineage
The 90 Series model, introduced in 1996, marked the arrival of LC (for Land Cruiser) Prado in Toyota NZ’s local line-up.
The 90 was (and remains in used circles) a hugely successful model, establishing Prado as the 4WD by which all others (still) must be judged in the Medium SUV segment
The 90 was eventually replaced by the 120 Series in 2002. Initially the 1KZX diesel engine was carried over but it was eventually replaced by the 1KD in 2006
The current version, the 150, was introduced here in 2009 and has now been upgraded three times. The first was in 2013 when it was facelifted, the second time was in 2015 when the new 1GD-FTV engine and 6-speed-auto was added, and the third was in November last year for the 2018 model year and beyond.
The big change is up front and for all to see, with new sheet metal and plastic from the A-pillar forward.
Included in the facelift - designed to provide a closer visual link to big brother the Land Cruiser 200 - is a new bonnet, grille, head and fog lights and front bumper. There have also been changes to the rear and the interior, the latter focused on a much larger centre console, incorporating a new, larger (8 “ up from 7”) screen,
To read every story in the March 2018 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (Feb 16) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.
