FORTUNER vs PRADO

G'day, I'm Ronnie Dale. I've test driven both the Fortuner and the Prado. To see those two independent videos reviewed off-road, check out the links below or at the end of the video. But it's time to put these two head-to-head. Prado versus Fortuner. Which makes the best tourer, off-roader? Which has more space for perhaps modifying it later in the back for draw system and just general space? Which is better as a seven-seater? So many questions that you guys have asked. So many answers coming your way. And which will come out on top at the end? As you can see, there is a ton of stuff covered in this video. Feel free to re-watch or skip around at any points down below. At the end of this video, I will reveal my choice out of these two vehicles. And I'll give you a reason for it too. I'll be interested to know if it matches your choice. And just a quick thanks to Galleria Toyota for lending me these two vehicles for this content. Let's get into it. Which is better off-road? You can't split them. They can do the exact same task, both of them. I've put them both through the exact same thing. And look, in some cases, the Fortuner is lighter. So it handled the deep sand, the really soft sand, handled that better because it was a bit lighter. The power to weight ratio was a little bit better in the Fortuner. But then in other cases off-road, it's actually good to have that weight. I will point out though that the Prado, I'm not actually sure, but it feels like it flexes more than the Fortuner. It feels like it has just that little bit more flex. It's more comfortable off-road. In the Fortuner, if you're hitting bumps and hitting rocks and stuff, you do get thrown around a bit. Just like the Hilux, you can smack your shoulder on the B-pillar for sure, because this happened to me a couple of times. In the Prado, it's like sitting in a Lazy Boy. That's where I guess the Prado is part of the Land Cruiser family. The Fortuner is definitely not part of the Land Cruiser family, but it's still part of a robust Hilux family. I'd almost say you could call the Fortuner the 4Runner that we don't have in Australia anymore. So for the American audience who have asked me about the Fortuner, is it like a 4Runner? My answer to that question is yeah, it is like a 4Runner. Let's do the cargo test really quick and just see how we can fit all this stuff inside these two vehicles. If cargo spaces are a worry to you and you need seven seats, you can see here you can clearly fit stuff anyway, so it's not that much of an issue. If you did remove these seats, well, you've got a fair bit of room in there. We've got two suitcases, I reckon we could fit three in there. They're not small suitcases either, but let's go have a look at the Prado. As you can see, you can pretty much fit the same amount of cargo in each vehicle if you keep your seven seats. This door opens automatically, only on a Crusade, but notice how it opens like that. The Prado opens this way, like a barn door. If you are towing a trailer with a short drawbar, a caravan or a camper trailer, maybe just check the length of that door because that could interfere more likely than this style of door. Now we're moving on to space in the back with the third row seats up. So I've only got one up on each side, just so it gives you a bit of an idea. You'll note that in the Fortuna, you got almost twice the amount of room at the back behind the seat than you do in the Prado. In actual fact, you've got more than double the room in there. We have 200 millimetres from the third row seat back. Back from third row seats, we have double the space, 400 millimetres to the plastic trim. Third row seats down, we have 950 mil. We have 1140 millimetres from the back seat to here at the lowest point. Moving up a bit higher, we still have a metre. What might seem like heaps of space is actually a little bit hindered by these seats up here. So as a seven seater, this has got more space once they're folded down. But most people that buy these vehicles will not need seven seats. So if you are going to use this as a tourer off-road, let's look at it a bit of a different way. You've got three kids, you've got your partner and yourself. You would probably remove the rear seats in this vehicle right here, the Fortuna. If you did that, you would then have more space than the Prado has. And here's why. Because the Prado seats fold down underneath. These will be much harder to remove. Most draw systems that you buy for a Prado will actually sit on top of this, so you can still have your seats for later on. But my point here is, if you do remove the seats in the Fortuna, because you want to do the same thing with draws and stuff, or cargo, you will save weight. Whatever these chairs weigh, you're going to gain that in GVM. After measuring it, you actually realise that the Fortuna is actually bigger in the back than the Prado is, if you remove your third row seats. So to me personally, I think the Fortuna wins the battle of space and versatility if you're going to deck this out in the rear. What do you reckon? It feels exactly like being in the Hilux. The comfort, the seating position, the visibility across the front. The back, however, I find is lacking a bit of visibility if I'm looking through the back there. Which is not really a problem when you're driving, but if you're reversing around and stuff, there's a bit less visibility through the back. Prado time. Feels heavier. But man, it feels like it's smooth, like it's gliding. Road noise, about the same. Maybe a touch, just a tiny weeny touch louder in the Prado. Visibility, heaps more visibility. This feels like there's more visibility. I can see over the bonnet, feels like I can see a bit better. The bonnet doesn't taper off as fast as what's on the Fortuna. This feels really comfortable. It feels more defined or more refined. More refined, that's the word I'm looking for. Highway pressures in both vehicles and we're on this, you know, slightly rough limestone road. It's not that rough really, it's rougher than the highway. And it's giving a feel for the Prado. You can definitely feel the bumps with these tyre pressures, but it's definitely absorbing it. Let's hop back into it and see what the difference is. Yeah, I can feel it more, I can feel it more. Yeah, it's getting up to the same speed I was doing. Yeah, I can definitely feel it more. There's a bit more noise in this car as well, but it could just be the cargo I've got in here, it's not really placed too well. Now, I would say, yeah, it's more noisy through this vehicle. It's because of that ladder frame chassis. It's just sending the vibration through the vehicle a lot more. Yeah, definitely, definitely, hands down. Hands down, Prado is much more comfortable off-road, this kind of stuff. Yep. It feels very hot, that's why. Ladder frame, stiff, strong chassis. That's not to say the Prado doesn't have a strong chassis, it's just got a more redefined chassis and I guess that's why you pay more for that vehicle. Also, it has the Land Cruiser label on it too. When you hit potholes, bumps, speed humps, there's a lot more bucking compared to the Prado. The Prado just absorbs it. It's like sitting in a couch while you're driving, whereas the Fortuna's like sitting in a bit of a chair, like the Hilux. It rides exactly the same as a Hilux. Time to talk numbers now. The width, the length, the wheelbase, all that important stuff. You know what? There's not much difference here. For one, the Prado is wider by 30mm and the Wheel Track is wider by 30mm as well. Look, obviously that can be a slight advantage off-road. The wheelbase itself is 45mm longer than the Fortuna, so if you want to look at it in a technical aspect, then the Fortuna has an advantage with the wheelbase. It's only these minute amounts we're talking about here, so it makes no difference on turning circles and how they get around between tight sections and trees and rocks. It doesn't make any difference. They're pretty much on par here. When it comes to overall length of the vehicle, the Prado is slightly longer on the exterior because of that spare wheel hanging off the back there, by 200mm exactly. Apart from that, the clearance on both these vehicles is exactly the same, 219mm to the diff pumpkin, the lowest point on these vehicles, on the underbelly of them. Time to talk about the motors. Now, there's not much difference here. They both have the new updated motor, same ball stroke, same turbo, same all internals on these motors. Look, the layout is a little bit different because there's a few more gadgets in the Prado, so it needs a different fuse box than the Fortuna. It's pretty much the same setup, same gearbox, same everything. The only real difference is this comes with struts, this doesn't. That is basically it. They both have the same feel and power and response when you're driving. Although the motors are the same, the weight on both these vehicles is different, so that impacts the fuel economy a little bit. Let's jump to that now. Fuel economy, hands down, Fortuna is the better vehicle for fuel economy. I've got 7.9, it's averaging about 8 litres per 100 and I'm not babying these cars around, I'm accelerating quite rapidly to my speed limit and then I'm sitting there. So, this takes the cake for fuel economy. Still talking about fuel economy here, you just heard my words from inside the Fortuna on the actual highway. Now, I'm happy to report that we have reset the meters in both of these and over a distance of 20 to 25 kilometres, thereabouts, we're getting 8 litres per 100 out of this one and 6.9 out of that one. Now, obviously, they're not realistic figures because we've just done 20km but exact same driving out of both of these vehicles, we're following each other and this definitely can confirm to have better fuel economy than the Prado. Why would that be? I would say because this is a heavier vehicle, also this is a full-time four-wheel drive, so it may use slightly more with that system as well but it's mainly to do with the weights, possibly even the aerodynamics of it because we were sitting on 110 for a little bit too. Alright, that's the fuel economy. We're now going to talk about curb weight, GVM and fuel capacity. Now, all these are tied into each other and I'll explain why. Now, this is very important, so listen carefully, it's a bit complex but I'll try and break it down as much as I can. The Prado total GVM, let's round it up to three tonne because we're only 10 kilos off three tonne. Three tonne right here, 2.8 tonne right here. We now know that the curb weight, the Prado is 260 kilos heavier than the actual Fortuner. So now we know that when it comes to cargo, we are still at about 675 kilos we can add to this vehicle and still be under standard GVM. The Prado, 605 kilos, still be under GVM. So you might be thinking, hey, the Fortuner's winning the battle here. Not really because when we talk about fuel, the Prado can hold 150 litres of fuel. The Fortuner holds 80 litres of fuel. In curb weight, we must add all fluids to the vehicle, so the fuel is already allowed for in a Prado. The Prado being able to carry 72 kilos more fuel because fuel is not as heavy as water, diesel, we are pretty much on par. We are on par. If we carry the same amount of fuel in the Fortuner with jerrycans because we're in the Great Australian Outback, we need fuel. We now have 150 litres of fuel. This thing can just carry it. This thing needs jerrycans. We now have the same weight capacity left over on both these vehicles, load another 600 kilos into the vehicles before we need to look at a GVM upgrade. So I hope that helps you guys out. Let's talk about heritage and history of these two vehicles. So the Fortuner's only been around for a short time, since 2005 until present time now. So the backing and the trust and the name is not as strong as the Prado. See the Prado, the name Prado has been around since 1985. The first generation of Land Cruiser Prado was 1984 to 1995. This was not sold officially in Australia. People did buy them from overseas. So that first Prado was actually part of the 70 Series. It was a 78 Series Land Cruiser, the 70 Series family. In 1990, the Land Cruiser 78 got removed from the 70 Series family and started the thing on its own, the Land Cruiser Prado. It was mainly separated to compete against the highly successful Mitsubishi Pajero in the big size SUV long wheelbase wagons. This is why it's called a Land Cruiser Prado. But wait, there's more. The second series, or the second generation I should say, the 95 Series Prado was first released officially in Australia as the first Prado in 1996. And that went all the way to 2003 when Generation 3 came out, which ended 2009. Then came the Prado 150. And now we are 2020, it's still the 150. When people think Toyota, they think Hilux, they think Land Cruiser, they think Prado. And then after that will be the Fortuner. As far as history goes, in my opinion, the Prado wins that battle. But does history matter? To you guys, what do you guys think? It's now time for my main differences, noticeable differences on these two vehicles that matter to me in my opinion, and I reckon these will matter to you as well. So let's start with no other than the paddle shift. The paddle shift in the GXL and the Crusade, which is this style of vehicle here, has the paddle shift in it. Paddle shift on sand, in off-road. Until you have tried it, you have no idea what you're missing out on. To the point where I'm actually sourcing paddle shift for my Hilux. I want it in there. This is not available in the Prado unless you get the Kakadu version, which is a $96,000 car. Another battle that the Fortuner wins, and that is the rear diff locker. Because the GX, the GXL and the Crusade all come with standard rear differential lock. Rear diff lockers, I reckon in my opinion, doubles the ability of your vehicle off-road. With a Prado, yes you do get it in GXL, VX and a Kakadu version, but you do not get it in the GX version. So if you are looking at a Prado, be aware there is no rear differential locker in a GX. However, if you look at a Fortuner, every single one of them has the rear differential locker. The next standout difference is the Prado can hold 150 litres of diesel. The Fortuner on the other hand, is only 80 litres of diesel. Which one looks better? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so only you guys can answer that. Which one do you actually like the looks of more? I think this one looks more modern, but I don't know. What do you guys think? One of these vehicles is more popular as a tourer and an off-roader, and that is the Prado. And because of that, there are far more accessories available for the Prado than there is the Fortuner. That said however, this is catching up with stuff, but this has more stuff you can bolt onto it, you can fit onto it. So in terms of getting your vehicle touring ready with more stuff on it, the Prado will definitely win that battle. Another standout difference between these two vehicles is the fact that the Fortuner is a part-time four-wheel drive, the same as the Hilux. And the Prado...