Comparison of Volkswagen Touareg and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

Volkswagen Touareg is one of the most popular European cars. This guest from Germany is like no other suitable for off-road travel. But even it has competitors, and the main one is the Japanese Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.

Volkswagen Touareg and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

Which car can be considered the best of these two presented? It is impossible to say this without assessing the technical characteristics.

Technical features of the models

Touareg or Prado – what to choose if you compare these cars according to their technical characteristics?

The Volkswagen Touareg is a car that can be purchased with eight engine options. Moreover, the most popular will be the second generation cars, which began to be produced in 2010 and are still being produced today.

The main engine types are five 3-liter options, one 3.6-liter and two 4.2-liter. You can choose either a diesel or petrol version. All cars have an automatic 8-speed transmission.

In 2014, the car was subjected to significant restyling and the Touareg received new changes in connection with this. The car became more comfortable, the interior became available in two colors, bi-xenon headlights were installed, an automatic braking system appeared after a collision with an obstacle, and the steel springs became much better.

As for the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, the car is now in its fourth generation, which has become the most popular. The first sales of cars from this series began in 2009 and continue to this day.

On the Russian market, the car can be bought in one of three options - a turbodiesel with a capacity of 173 horsepower, a gasoline version with a capacity of up to 282 horsepower, and the lowest-power gasoline engine of 2.7 liters.

Both cars have all-wheel drive. The fuel tank volume of the Touareg is slightly smaller than that of the Prado, but the trunk volume, on the contrary, will be more spacious in a car from Europe.

As for another important indicator - ground clearance, the result here will be 215 mm. for a Japanese car it is exactly 200 mm. for a car from Germany. As for the number of passengers transported, in both cases it will be 5 people along with the driver.

Appearance

Both cars look attractive and simply cannot be ignored on the road. The MLB Evo platform, which was previously used by the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Bentyaga, was chosen as the basis for the car. Therefore, if you look closely, you can see significant similarities between these cars.

After restyling, significant changes appeared in the radiator grille - it became wider and was divided into three parts. Of these, the part in the center opens along with the hood, so getting to the engine is now much easier.

The headlights have also changed. Now bright LEDs will be used here, which will also illuminate blind spots. The front bumper has become less prominent and its size has decreased slightly. The car only benefited from this and lost nothing in appearance.

As for the side parts, they have remained virtually unchanged, so even without seeing the logo, you can easily guess what kind of car is in front of you. But the rear part of the body has also changed, and only for the better.

A spoiler with LED lights appeared at the top, the rear window was more rounded, and the optics were also LED only. The trunk door has become much smaller, so loading and unloading large suitcases will be difficult.

As for the roof, for the basic configuration it is only a solid type. For a small surcharge you can buy a car with a sunroof. But the panoramic option is only available for the top version.

The appearance of the second car, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, is noticeably different from its brother. The front part of the car with its massive curved radiator grille became especially noticeable. The optics here can be of two options - halogen or LED.

And to emphasize the proud name “jeep”, the developers installed a massive chrome grille edging on the radiator. Thanks to its attractive appearance, this car has won fans all over the world.

The rear hasn't received many changes, but it hasn't lost anything. The side lights have become more expressive, the trunk lid has increased significantly and you can easily fit a large suitcase here. The loading line has moved significantly downward, which is especially popular with those who constantly carry something in their trunks.

The roof of this car can be either solid or with a sunroof or panoramic.

Salon and trunk

When choosing a Japanese Prado or a German Touareg, many people prefer to get acquainted with the interior and trunk.

Volkswagen Touareg interior

The interior of both cars is designed to carry 5 passengers, including the driver. Perhaps this is the only thing that these cars have in common. Everything else is different and deserves close attention before deciding which car to choose.

The basic Touareg comes with a nondescript 10-inch control display. As for the maximum configuration, it seems that the manufacturer decided to surpass all other car manufacturers and a fifteen-inch display with touch control appeared here. Moreover, to drive the car you don’t have to do anything else - just turn the steering wheel and monitor the changes on the display.

In the center there are two cup holders, as well as a charging panel where you can charge anything. The front seats, even in the basic version, are heated and cooled, electronically adjustable in 12 directions, and in the top version there is even a massage function for the passenger and driver.

The second row of seats is designed for three passengers. Each seat here can be easily adjusted depending on the person’s needs. Interior colors are available in 6 options. As for the trunk, its capacity was 810 liters.

Now you should visit the interior of another car and evaluate all its advantages, and, perhaps, find disadvantages.

Toyota Land Cruiser Prado interior

The interior design of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is a strict and modern car, designed in the most austere colors. On the front panel there is an 8-inch touch display. Despite its rather large size, it has one significant drawback - the image quality leaves much to be desired.

The driver and front passenger seats received maximum head and side support. They can be adjusted in 8 directions. True, in the basic configuration the adjustment will be mechanical.

The steering wheel has a modern design with leather trim and wood inserts. It can be adjusted both in height and depth.

Test drive ToyotaLand Cruiser Prado 3.0 TD, VolkswagenTouareg 3.0 V6 TDI

Two seasoned SUVs in an unequal battle, which ended twice - before and after a comparative test drive... I love such test drives. For lack of freshness. An ultra-modern sports “German” against a slightly archaic, slow “Japanese”, both with the same volume of diesel engines - 3 liters.

Such tests are initially sprinkled with red pepper, doused with lemon juice and smell like rumbling cracklings and begin long before we take the cars to the dealership. This time Ivan Evdokimov went further; he decided to finish this test even before meeting his opponents. “Do you have any doubts about the winner?” – he asked me and looked at me with such a grin that I was embarrassed. There were definitely doubts, albeit minor ones. I got stuck on the VW Touareg due to my stupidity, but not on the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado... As a suggestible and doubtful person, I pushed these doubts deep into the subconscious. And locked it. In the meantime, we received cars, and for the first days I took a Prado. Ivan, stroking his Touareg, quipped: “Look. He is not interested in this fight. He's already won. He doesn't even despise his opponent. He's just bored." At that moment, I finally believed my colleague, and dropped a small concrete bunker with contradictory thoughts walled up in it even deeper - to the bottom of the internal ocean - and covered it with sand. I spent all the following days in anticipation of meeting the Touareg. I drove the Prado as if not for real. It's like a Deep Purple fan listening to AC/DC with one ear. My friends asked me: how do you like Toyota? I answered: Volkswagen is better.

…BY TURNING UP THE BOTTOM SEDIMENTS

Until suddenly I began to enjoy the pleasant diesel grunt of Toyota. A thick bagel. High ceiling. Listening to the sensations, I realized how close I am to the atmosphere created by this SUV. If you press the gas gently, then in the cabin you hear something like the gurgling of a geyser, mixed with the flight of a beetle, and the suspension rocks the body like the basket of a balloon. If you push it to its fullest, it will roar like a hippopotamus into which a diesel locomotive has driven, and aeronautics will be replaced by a sailing regatta. I didn’t feel like anyone driving a Prado. A leisurely mushroom picker making his way towards the forest. A sober tractor driver driving to a bookstore to buy a volume of Jean-Paul Sartre. A retired grandfather whose ribs were crawled by the devil himself. Enough impressions. But all the time I kept pounding in my head: “I’ll drive a Touareg...”

I wanted to ride a Volkswagen in a formal atmosphere. Having made a prayer. Mentally prepared. But unexpectedly, our photographer Sasha asked us to move the VW to the side, and Ivan was not nearby. Everything that happened to me during a short ride on the “winner of this comparative test” can be described rather confusingly. I'll try to use purely technical terms. I was enveloped in some kind of unpleasant sticky fog. It was as if I, sweating, had spent several unpleasant minutes in a smoky, cramped and gloomy room. “It’s probably just fatigue,” I thought. “Or I chose the wrong moment to meet.”

Then, when we finally swapped cars, the armored bunker, full of doubts, came to life, stirring up the bottom sediments, foaming the oceanic waters of my subconscious around itself and rushing to the surface like a ballistic missile. Its doors opened - and contradictory doubts, forming into one powerful wedge, rammed my brain. Inside me, freely and openly, having thrown off the burden of reflection, a cry was heard: “Touareg is a dark, narrow, cold cave! I feel bad here!! Give Prado back!!!. I want to ride in a normal SUV, where I can sit without hitting my temple on the doorway. Which resembles a meeting room rather than a storage closet. And I’d rather listen to the engine, whose voice certainly won’t be confused with a bread machine.”

WHO IS “JUST GOING”?

We spent the whole day off-road, in the sands of quarries near Moscow. Rivals are equipped with all the technologies not only for confident, but also for quite comfortable off-road driving. For example, Prado has a very convenient all-round Multi-terrain Monitor and a wheel angle display system. In Touareg, a similar option is called Area View. Both SUVs have locking gears, low gears, and hill descent assist. It's easier to say what they don't have. For example, the “German” does not have off-road cruise control, which the “Japanese” calls Crawl Control. You set the speed, and the car itself maintains it, whether on a descent or on an ascent. And the “Japanese”, in turn, does not have air suspension in the front and rear, but only hydraulics on the rear axle to increase load capacity. In addition, Toyota is equipped with permanent all-wheel drive, while Volkswagen has automatically connected one.

And although Ivan praised the “German” all this time, saying: “Look, he’s just driving, you don’t have to do anything,” I retained the opposite view - it was the “Japanese” that was “just driving.” The Touareg either slipped into a frantic slip with the rev cut-off overtaking it, or quietly crept away. And the Prado always remained at approximately the same pace - it didn’t get too hot, but it didn’t pretend to be quiet either. In terms of response to the right pedal on treacherous sand, the Toyota is more adequate. You don’t even need to dose it: press it and it goes, let go and it gets up. Volkswagen requires a jewelry approach, games and intrigue. This is quite technically understandable. At first glance, both engines of our rivals are diesel, with the same volume of three liters. However, the nimble diesel Touareg is stuffed with six nerve cylinders. The pistons in them rush about like bubbles in a kettle at the last stage of boiling. The Prado engine is made of four thick, hardened cylinders with huge “shoulders” that work slowly, but extremely thoroughly.

Afterwards we found a wide dirt road for open-pit BelAZ vehicles and rushed to compare the suspensions of our rivals. The Touareg has an independent design with pneumatic elements at the front and rear. The Prado has a couple of cargo accessories: a spar frame and a rear solid axle. “Japanese” drove as if on the way to the Bolshoi Theater. “German” trotted behind at a similar speed, but sounded like the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra. Tchaikovsky, knocking and rumbling suspension, creaking interior trim. In general, it simulated the chaos on the plane when it fell into a series of air pockets. A bleak picture for Volkswagen gradually emerged: a cramped, hysterical car. Although it handles much better and is surprisingly quiet on a relatively flat road...

COOK VERSUS ATHLETE

Ivan practically did not participate in the test. Formally, he was driving, but he considered our actions an unnecessary farce. Although occasionally he would burst out: “Toyota looks like a fat woman. Look at her from behind. Huge ass, like a cook’s.” At the same time, he lovingly looked at the Volkswagen, smacked his lips in admiration and described it as a lean, muscular fighter. “Vanya,” I answered, “my cook is fat, but she cooks a delicious dinner, and your athlete probably killed someone and is now looking for the nearest well to hide the corpse.” Touareg is more dynamic, more modern. Who can argue? His owner will have time to go everywhere and buy everything. But I’d rather drive my Prado, making a natural loud sneeze-puff. If at the same time I’m late somewhere, it’s okay. That's not the point. Since only me can be considered the only participant in the test and only my voice is real, I declare: finally, irrevocably and forever, the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado wins. Yes, he couldn’t keep up with the “German,” but he didn’t intend to catch up.

CAUTION TECHNICAL DETAILS

The VW Touareg is a modern car that combines the qualities of a passenger station wagon and an SUV. Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is a classic SUV with a frame structure and a continuous rear axle. These machines behave accordingly. The VW is better on asphalt, faster on dirt, but is not intended for constant off-road excursions. Toyota is heavier, its suspension works worse due to large unsprung masses, it sways more. But it is designed for long-term loads in bad road conditions. VW is more dynamic, its engine consumes less fuel. The Toyota engine is elastic, and its design has been proven over the years, which inspires hope for a long service life. But it has four cylinders, while the VW engine has six. Toyota has a frame, while VW has a rigid locking rear axle. They are very different.

Text: Dmitry LEONTIEV

Photo: Alexandra STRAKHOVA-BARANOVA

Engines and transmissions

Which is better - Touareg or the popular Prado 150? The choice can be made after becoming familiar with car engines.

Engine Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

Prado is available in three engine options. This:

1. Gasoline with 4 cylinders, a volume of 2.7 liters and a power of 163 horsepower. There is a five-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic.
2. Diesel 4-cylinder, 2.8-liter capacity, 177 horsepower with a six-speed automatic transmission.
3. Petrol for 6 cylinders, volume up to 4 liters, with a power of 249 horsepower and a six-speed gearbox.

The Touareg is usually equipped with a diesel engine with varying power outputs. Of all the engines presented, only one runs on gasoline. The transmission is automatic 8-speed. Both cars have all-wheel drive.

Volkswagen Touareg interior

What's better to buy?

Both cars are good in their own way. The Japanese SUV, like its ancestor Toyota Prado 120, is a real tank. He does not disdain dirt and off-road conditions. If you don’t just drive from the city to the country, but are interested in hunting, fishing and various extreme sports, choose the Land Cruiser Prado.

Those who value comfort and style, spend more time on the asphalt, and need an SUV for rare forays into mud and snow, you will definitely like Volkswagen.

And if you choose used cars, which will be better? Surely, many will prefer Toyota. Firstly: the “Japanese” ones are more durable and cheaper to maintain, and secondly: the air suspension of a used Tuareg can be fraught with many surprises. This, of course, also applies to a new car, whose owners try to be careful when negotiating rocky surfaces.

See also:

• Comparison of Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota Prado

Dynamics and fuel consumption

Fuel consumption is an important indicator when comparing the German Touareg and the Japanese Prado. And here everything will depend on what engine is installed in the car.

On average for both options this figure will be 10 liters per 100 kilometers. Moreover, when driving around the city it may increase, but outside the city, on the contrary, it may decrease.

Of course, it is not advisable to choose a car based only on this indicator, although for many, fuel consumption will be the decisive factor before purchasing the desired car.

Handling and maneuverability

Both cars can be compared in terms of cross-country ability. Here it is best to listen to the reviews left by the owners of these models after several years of operation.

If the car will constantly drive only off-road, then it is better to give preference to a diesel engine. This applies to both car options. Both cars cope well with mud, branches on the roads, and snow drifts. They also handle well when ascending or descending. Therefore, when traveling outside the city, as well as for driving on washed-out country roads in spring or autumn, both cars are suitable.

Ride quality

Of course, the “Japanese” is better prepared for off-road use. “Pradik” is a champion in this discipline. It confidently and leisurely overcomes any obstacle, and by turning on the CRAWL system, you don’t even have to operate the gas pedal. Without the technical equipment and suspension of 4XMOTION, the competitor loses significantly. Of course, it will overcome mud and snow no worse than most crossovers, but compared to the champion, its off-road qualities leave much to be desired.

However, the Tuareg's suspension is much softer and treats passengers more gently. Even on bumps, it does not shake the driver in the seat like the Prado. This is a plus of the air suspension, which, by the way, can increase the vehicle’s ground clearance by 300 mm. With an improved chassis and all the settings, the Tuareg will be a worthy competitor to the Prado, but for this you will have to pay extra.

Safety

The main highlight in the safety section is the night vision system, which is built into the Volkswagen Touareg. Moreover, this is the first car to receive such a thing.

Other standard safety systems in this vehicle include:

1. Front, rear and side airbags.
2. A pillow near the driver's knees.
3. Rear wheel steering system.
4. Color projection display.
5. Lane control.
6. Collision avoidance system.
7. Front and rear traffic monitoring.
8. Blind spot monitoring.

Moreover, all this is already available for the base model of the car.

As for the safety of the Land Cruiser Prado, the following systems are installed here:

1. Anti-slip.
2. Assistance when ascending or descending.
3. Body position stabilizer.
4. Selecting suspension mode.
5. Cruise control.
6. Monitoring of road markings.
7. Tire pressure monitoring.
8. Blind spot monitoring.
9. Airbags and curtain airbags.
10. Navigation.
11. Central locking.

If desired, you can install a variety of types of heating on your car, including heating the fuel system, as well as a glass washer. An individual set of functions tailored to the requirements of the future car owner is also possible.

Main advantages of Toyota

Kruzak is a veteran among SUVs. It harmoniously combines elegance and reliability. Among the advantages we note:

1. Sufficient capacity - the car is suitable for large families and young people who like to travel in groups.
2. Comfortable rear sofa, plenty of free space.
3. An advantage will also be the possibility of purchasing a seven-seater version of the car (two folding chairs in the trunk are expected).
4. Even the standard equipment has 7 airbags. You don’t have to worry about your safety and the safety of your passengers.
5. The most affordable configuration has excellent electrical equipment: audio system, air conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, alarm system and many other adjustments.
6. Those who like to drive will like the presence of a sports suspension mode.
7. The last but obvious plus is the excellent capabilities of the all-terrain vehicle: the Kruzak is not afraid of any off-road conditions.

Among the disadvantages of comparing the Volkswagen Touareg and Toyota Prado, experts note the ill-conceived interior and clumsiness when driving on a flat road.

Price of all configurations

The price of cars in 2021 will depend on what exactly the car is equipped with. So, for example, for Touareg it will be:

1. Elegance – 60,675 euros.
2. Atmosphere – 66,355 euros.
3. R-Line – 73,315 euros.

We can only wait to see what other innovations the manufacturer will offer this and next year.

At what price did you buy the Prado? Here, too, it all depends on what the car’s equipment will be and how many additional functions will be included. Therefore, we can only give approximate prices. This:

1. Classic – 2,249,000 rubles.
2. Standard – 2,546,000 rubles.
3. Comfort – 2,922,000 rubles.
4. Prestige – 3,551,000 rubles.
5. Safety Suite (5 seats) – 3,955,000 rubles.
6. Safety Suite 2 (7 seats) – 4,064,000 rubles.

Both cars are not cheap. Therefore, only people with high incomes can afford to buy such a car.