Prado shows clean pair of heels

Toyota has released a more city-friendly version of its top-selling Prado off-road SUV.

The new Prado limited-edition brings a claimed $10,000-plus of additional features over the Prado GXL diesel automatic on which it's based, for $68,520 plus on-road costs ($4800 more).

Not only based on the upgraded Prado released last November, it's also the first time in the Prado's 18-year history in Australia it has come with a spare wheel mounted under the vehicle rather than on the rear tailgate.

Like the European-sold Prado, the Altitude is fitted with an independently opening rear window (in lieu of the side-hinged tailgate on other Prado models), allowing easy access to the cargo area without opening the door – just like a Ford Territory.

The opening rear hatch is not available on other Prados and replaces the rear 69 litre sub-tank, reducing fuel capacity to the 87-litre main tank, which Toyota points out still provides a driving range of up to 1000km (based on the Prado diesel auto's ADR 81/02 combined cycle figure of 8.5L/100km).

Toyota says moving the spare wheel and tyre makes the tail-gate lighter and easier to open, especially when the vehicle is parked on downslopes or in cramped carparks or when using a towing hitch.

He said the company and its dealers are keen to receive feedback from customers about the Altitude's new rear-end design, which is cleaner and more convenient.

Other Prado Altitude features sourced from upstream VX and Kakadu variants include leather-accented seats, a tilt-and-slide moonroof, Blu-Ray rear entertainment system with three wireless headphones and remote control, electro-chromatic rear-view mirror, power front seats and rain-sensing wipers.

There's also a 14-speaker JBL audio system, DAB+ digital radio, a seven-inch display screen and satellite-navigation with Suna live traffic alerts.

Cosmetic additions include chrome side mouldings, door-handles and air-conditioning surrounds, carbonfibre-look details on the dash panel and gearshift surround, and an Altitude badge.

There are no changes to the Prado's 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, five-speed automatic transmission, or 2.5 tonne towing capacity.

The Prado has been Australia's top-selling large SUV for five of the last six years, with 220,000 sold since 1996 and sales increasing 8.2 per cent this year.