Latest news with #RichardBosselman
Otago Daily Times
06-06-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
Big tick for the big new Prado
ROAD TEST What's new? A couple of months back, fellow Drivesouth contributor Richard Bosselman introduced Toyota's all-new Land Cruiser Prado on these pages, in a fascinating comparison of the VX-variant with the old-school Land Cruiser 70-series. Today, the spotlight focuses solely on the Prado, specifically the flagship VX Limited. To re-cap, Otago leads the way nationally in its loyalty to Land Cruisers, old and new. It follows naturally, then, that the launch of the first all-new Prado in 15 years is big news, and warrants a full road test appraisal on local roads and trails. Departing from the previous fourth generation machine in its underlying chassis design and styling, featuring an across-the-range shift to diesel hybrid power, and embracing new digital technologies, this fifth generation Prado is a big step forwards in all respects. Core power comes from an updated version of the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine of the previous Prado, now producing 150kW and 500Nm, and operating with a 48-volt mild hybrid assist system. Already deployed on some HiLux variants, but new to the Prado, the hybrid assist doesn't raise peak outputs but instead lends a helping hand to minimise the diesel engine's fuel-burn in a range of everyday situations. Also new is the move to an eight-speed automatic transmission, delivering power via a permanent four-wheel drive with high and low ratios. Thanks to the extra rigidity of the new Prado's chassis, towing capacity has been lifted from the previous model's 3000kg to 3500kg, matching the lugging ability of the current Hilux ute. At launch late last year the range comprised four variants, all seven-seaters, opening at $83,990 for the GXL, rising to $93,990 for VX, $103,990 for the Adventure, and topping out at $105,990 for the VX Limited. Five-seater versions of the GXL and Adventure have since been added at $83,490 and $102,990 respectively. What does it look like? After three decades of successive Prado models embracing an increasingly curvaceous look, this latest variant cuts back to the straight-lined styling that was a feature of the first generation 1990 J70 Prado, and indeed of classic Toyota Land Cruisers as far back as the original 40-series of the '60s and '70s. This chunky new look clearly taps into Land Cruiser heritage, though not in the overtly retro-styled manner of the 2006-2033 FJ Cruiser. Rather, it's a fully contemporary take on a classic theme, adopting a crisp and chunky styling that is also finding favour with many larger SUVs from other brands these days. Looking at the new machine, you might be surprised to learn that it's not as tall as the model it replaces. Mind you, a small 20mm reduction in height sits alongside substantial increases in length (+165mm), wheelbase (+60mm) and width (+95mm). The bold, boxy look is far from simplistic with clever detailing at the nose, tail and along the flanks. Pairing all variants to black alloy wheels is another touch that gives this latest Prado a very contemporary appearance. What comes as standard? Holding the maximum 5-star Ancap rating, all Prado variants have a comprehensive safety suite that includes eight airbags, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring with safe exit warning, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency braking, auto dipping headlights, traffic sign recognition, a surround view camera system and front and rear parking sensors. Equipment levels are generous across the range. Even the entry level GLX features a 12.3-inch centre touchscreen, satellite navigation, 10-speaker audio, faux leather upholstery, tri-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats, a power-adjusting driver's seat, power tailgate, lockable centre-differential, wireless charging, and seven USB-C plug points. The VX adds a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, adaptive suspension, multi-terrain select off-road settings, a front, side and underfloor view camera system, body-coloured bumpers and wheel arches, adaptive high beam, high-spec upholstery, power adjustment for the front passenger's seat, a centre console cool box and 14-speaker JBL sound system. The Adventure and VX Limited grades then head off in distinct directions, with the Adventure having a more rugged specification, and the VX, a luxury-orientation. Both these premium variants enjoy further front-seat adjustability, heated and ventilated outboard rear seats and a digital rear view mirror. The Adventure reverts to the black plastic bumpers and wheel arches of the GLX and features a locking rear differential and a front stabiliser-disconnect system for maximum axle articulation. Like the GLX, it sits on 18-inch wheels. The VX Limited, meantime, takes a Torsen rear differential and a panoramic glass roof. Like the regular VX, it sits on 10-inch alloys and gets Sport S, Sport S+, Custom and Comfort drive modes to tap into the full potential of adaptive suspension, along with the Eco, Normal and Sport modes provided on the GLX and Adventure. What is it like inside? Sitting in the front or second seating row, life in the seven-seater Prado is a sweet dream and if you are bundled into the back it's fine, but stowing gear behind can be something of a bind. It's a bit of climb aboard, made easier by side steps and prominent grab-handles for all four doors. With a glass line some 30mm lower than on the previous Prado, visibility is improved from all seating positions. Up front, vastly better front and side visibility is a particular highlight. Separated by a broad centre console, and the lid of the chilled centre-bin doubling as an armrest, the front seats are wide, plush, and supportive. Power adjustment for both the driver's seat and steering column make finding a good driving position easy. The dual display screens sit within a single binnacle, but with the instrument screen recessed into the dash. The instrument display is standard in layout, but sub-screens pop up within it when, for example, selecting different drive modes. The centre touchscreen is clear, with decent graphics, but smartphone connectivity offers a more useful interface for everyday motoring. That said, while wired connectivity was fine, on test there were some drop-out issues connecting my android device wirelessly. A separate control panel below the centre screen handles climate control. Underneath that there's a wireless charge pad, three USB-C plug points, a conventional gearshift lever (with a manual mode but no paddle shifts), and the selection knob for the various on-road and off-road drive modes. Further buttons and switches access the hill descent system, high and low transmission ratio, centre-differential lock, traction control, and idle-up and towing modes. Other features up front include ample storage and a conventional set of steering wheel-mounted controls for audio and phone function and cruise control. The VX-Limited's panorama sunroof allows light to flood into the second and third seating rows, and in combination with the test car's light upholstery, black inserts and brush-metal highlighting, provides an ambience that is both airy and classy. Also roomy, the second seating row is provided with a separate climate control panel, further UBC-C plug and 12v points, and a fold-down centre armrest. These second-row seats fold and tumble for third-row access, but getting in is a little awkward for adults, and limited head and knee room points to children as the most suitable third-row occupants. Additional USB-C ports, cupholders, and roof-mounted air vents are provided in the back, and with these seats positioned higher than those ahead, visibility is decent. Proceed with all three rows deployed, and luggage capacity behind is 182-litres; that's better than on the previous generation 7-seat Prado, but still meagre. Folding the rear seats down boosts boot space to 906 litres, but it's an odd space as the positioning of the 48v hybrid battery under the boot floor makes no allowance for the third-row seats to fold flat. This leaves the choice of an awkwardly stepped boot floor, or a high flat floor, created by fitting a rather flimsy storage bin behind the folded seats. What's it like to drive? While noticeable on initial start-up, the turbo-diesel engine quickly slips into a subdued hum at idle, and with hybrid assist lending a hand, rarely becomes gruff under acceleration. Add fine suppression of road and wind roar, and the test car was — by the standards of anything short of a full EV — impressively quiet on the move. Aural refinement is complemented by excellent ride quality, with the adaptive suspension deftly sponging away major surface imperfections. Light but precise steering made for handier around-town progress than expected, and while this latest Prado is certainly a large vehicle, the combination of a high driving position, good visibility, and clearly defined corners made it surprisingly easy to manoeuvre with confidence in confined spaces. The excellent surround-view camera and parking sensors help in this regard too. Open-road performance is strong without being rapid, and selecting one of the more aggressive sport drive modes sharpens the handling as opposed to unleashing accelerative vim. To be fair, I favoured sticking with the "normal" drive mode on the highway haul; sportier modes do increase handling prowess, but a vehicle this big and tall is never going to dart around bends like a sports car, and the sharper handling sports setting impacts adversely on ride quality. Toyota earns a particular bouquet for equipping the Prado with a bevy of active safety systems calibrated in ways that minimise the extent to which they are annoyingly intrusive. Other brands, especially those from South Korea and China, should take note. Moving off tarmac, the test vehicle acquitted itself well both on gravel and over unmetalled trails, including through stretches that were muddy and heavily rutted. The multi-terrain select (MTS) system makes this kind of adventuring easy, with dirt, sand, mud or deep snow modes available at the push of a button and twist of a knob. Each mode activates a different combination of engine output and brake response appropriate to the conditions. Toyota's claim that MTS means "even novice drivers can take on challenging off-road scenarios with confidence" seems unwise to me, as there is always room for the inexperienced to get into trouble. That said, MTS minimises fuss and bother when traversing mud and ruts. Though not strictly necessary in the conditions, low-ratio four-wheel drive was engaged on test, along with the centre diff lock and — on one stretch — the hill descent system. Smart technology, a decent 215mm of ground clearance, reasonable approach and departure angles, and a rated slow-speed wading depth of 700mm was also appreciated offroad. Relatively road-focused tyres were a limiting consideration, though the Prado has a full-sized spare available, albeit it somewhat awkward to lower from beneath the boot floor. The hybrid set-up is there to optimise economy, with an 8.7l/100km standard cycle consumption figure. That figure was matched on test during a return city-to-airport run, but overall consumption over some 400km on test was 10.2l/100km. Verdict Utterly different from its predecessor, and all the better for being so, this latest Prado is exactly what Toyota needs to stay competitive in a market segment it has dominated for years. AT A GLANCE TOYOTA LAND CRUISER PRADO VX Overall rating: ★★★★ Design and styling: ★★★★ Interior: ★★★★ Performance: ★★★★ Ride and handling: ★★★★ Safety: ★★★★★ Environmental: ★★★ SPECIFICATIONS Price: $93,990. Engine: 2755cc four-cylinder turbodiesel engine (with 48 volt assist). Maximum combined power 150kW, maximum combined torque 500Nm. Transmission: eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive. Safety rating: Five star ANCAP. Wheels and tyres: alloy wheels, 265/60 R20 tyres. Fuel and economy: diesel, 8.7l/100km, tank capacity 110 litres. Emissions: 230 grams per kilometre. Dimensions: length, 4990mm; width, 1980mm; height, 1992mm. By David Thomson
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
Practical and polished performer
Richard Bosselman takes the Skoda Octavia vRS Plus through its paces. ROAD TEST There are exceptions, but the words "practical" and "performance" don't always play well together. For anyone having a prior association with the Skoda Octavia vRS, learning the latest generation of this sports-themed station wagon is still a polished performer will come as absolutely no surprise. It's long been an excellent Czech mate. What feeds its "X" factor is Skoda's in-house experts' ability to fine-tune this product into a hot-shoe hero. By the same token, that team would also acknowledge they have an excellent set of base ingredients to work with. The fourth generation edition tested here stands out from predecessors in terms of its updated exterior looks and a better interior, and infotainment interface. But what keeps it sweet are core components from Germany. Platform and drivetrain sharing is a given for the VW Group. In this instance, the vRS (in local brand parlance the "v" is silent, so it's the "RS" here) presents as the family-friendly version of the classic hot hatch, the Golf GTi. Same EA888 powertrain in the same tune, same seven-speed direct shift transmission atop the same MQB platform. Both models even run the same 235/35 R19 Bridgestone Potenza tyres. The wagon being a little longer and 100kg heavier makes it a little slower to reach 100kmh from a standing start than the GT — a factory claimed 6.5 seconds puts it 0.6s behind — but it is just as fast overall. But if you want sizzle with everyday family usage smarts, the RS stands out as a clever choice. A boot that's 50% bigger, a more spacious interior overall and, on top of that, there's also a Q-ship appeal of being a more softly-softly sighting than the Golf. In the past, they've also enjoyed enough price separation to be considered peas from different pods. But now? The Octavia RS arrives in two guises — the Plus, as tested, holding a $6500 premium over the entry car, thanks to such extras as suede and leather trim in place of cloth, electric adjustment for the front seats and a premium Canton sound system. The Golf GTi does the same thing with the Touring option. When fully-kitted equivalents are compared there's a mere $490 between them. If both are on a common shortlist, it would be a matter of weighing up pros against cons. The car that works better for general driving and taking the dog to the park, but is more low-key and potentially less celebrated than the one with obvious icon status that could use its lighter kilo count and shorter wheelbase to advantage on track days or even just Sunday flings. It becomes a tough choice unless a hatch simply won't do; station wagons are a rare breed now, performance types even less so. The newest from Europe just now are this Octavia ... and the BMW M3 Touring, also a stunning achievement, but triple the price. Skoda's history of playing around with power plants for this variant has been interesting; it has had a diesel and iV plug-in petrol hybrid as alternates to the EA888. Those have had more torque and been thriftier, but don't sweat it. The petrol isn't too hard on the drink and a 15kW improvement to peak power makes it the most potent Skoda RS yet. Stow your stopwatch and it feels as punchy as the Golf. Initial acceleration is decent and the mid-range so enlivened that overtaking just isn't an issue. The dynamic edge is also sharp. With its advanced electronically controlled front differential, the 15mm-lower sports-tuned suspension and some glorious steering, the Octavia RS is very engaging. Dial up Sport mode and it rips through its seven forward gears. It's a pity the engine isn't a bit more vocal; when gunned it can come across as a bit gruff, but it never seems to bark. If this were a Golf, you'd be looking up an Akrapovic sports exhaust. The Octavia RS is not lacking for grip either, but being front drive you need to watch your throttle inputs, when kicking out of an intersection and accelerating hard out of bends. A bumpy uphill section on a favourite road got the front axle tramping momentarily, too. The single best element of the dynamic repertoire has to be the adjustable suspension dampers, and how they are used is the trick. The Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) settings span comfort, normal and sport. All have their own feel, but before simply firming up the car for fun drives, consider what the "individual" mode might offer. With this, you can fine-tune up the throttle and steering but also keep more suspension compliance; which can be handy for ambitious driving on rugged secondary roads. While the car will lean a little more, the trade-off is that it feels more supple and forgiving, while still maintaining a keen and accurate line of attack. Apart from being lower than a regular Octavia, the RS signals "phwoar" footing by having black exterior detailing, chunkier bumpers and a set of large alloy wheels and fat rubber. The rims take plastic inserts to deliver improved aerodynamic efficiency; if you can stand the slight loss of that, remove them. The wheel styling is much nicer. But you will have to buy new wheel centres. A general update for Octavia is the provision of LED light clusters front and rear. On the RS, the daylight running lights are downward angled to echo the shape of the radiator grille; a small but effective design improvement. Major RS-related touches overlaying the cabin are those wonderfully form-fitting, seemingly fits-all-sizes sculpted front bucket seats, a gorgeous three-spoke sports steering wheel, some new trim finishes in the dash, that kind of mimic carbon fibre, and the obligatory contrast red stitching. Specifications include heating for all outboard seats and and the perforated sports steering wheel has paddle shifters. It has a head-up display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, digital radio, tri-zone climate control, a 15W wireless charger, walk-up unlocking and walk-away locking, a 360-degree parking camera and clever cargo netting. Four USB-C outlets, dual-zone rear air vents and clever touches like rear phone holders are found in the back. The interior update differs from that for the Kodiaq and Superb, being more closely aligned to VW cars than the family mates and so less forward-thinking. Whereas the Kodiaq and Superb have gone to a twist-style wand behind the steering wheel for gear selection, the Octavia keeps on with a mid-console-mounted glorified switch. It's just as VW does with the Golf but this, and the absence of the excellent Smart Dials that you get in the larger Skodas, makes the Octavia feel less future-now. The graphics on the 26cm digital instrument cluster have been sharpened up, but the big change is adoption of a 33cm infotainment touchscreen, which is beautifully rendered. The main screen is easy to navigate and most of the menus branching off it also seem logical, which is just as well, because you'll be interacting with it frequently. Keeping on some key shortcut physical buttons just above the central air vents is praiseworthy, but having all its climate functions on the touchscreen seems a less useful pathway. As much as the speed of its responses and its graphical clarity seem more than good enough, there will be moments of infuriation. Infotainment-wise, if the proprietary software isn't to taste, you can bypass with either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, both now wireless. Skoda provisions a Qi smartphone charging pad with a cooling feature to prevent your device from overheating while its battery is replenished. Rear passenger room is almost lounge-worthy and while it wouldn't swallow my dog carrying cage as easily as the Superb did, the Octavia with 640 litres' capacity with the rear seats in place, rising to 1700 with them dropped, still has a very decently-sized boot among its competitor set. With comfortably more than seven million examples sold since it appeared in its modern incarnation, Octavia is clearly striking a winning chord. New Zealand is one of few markets where it hasn't been the make's best selling model. While the car here will likely be in circulation for some years yet, Skoda has signalled intent to soon show off a concept pointing to its replacement. Set to star at a motor show in Germany in September, that car will showcase a next-generation architecture to be rolled out across the Volkswagen Group and also a new design language for Octavia. It will also be electric. AT A GLANCE SKODA OCTAVIA vRS PLUS Rating: ★★★★★ Design and styling: ★★★★ Interior: ★★★★ Performance: ★★★★★ Ride and handling: ★★★★★ Safety: ★★★★★ Environmental: ★★★★ SPECIFICATIONS Price: $78,000. Engine: 1984cc four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine; 195kW/370Nm, seven-speed direct shift automatic; front-wheel-drive. Safety rating: Current model yet to be ANCAP assessed. Wheels and tyres: Alloy wheels, 225/40 R18 tyres. Fuel and economy: 7.1L/100km, tank capacity 50 litres. Emissions: 160 grams per kilometre on combined cycle. Dimensions: Length, 4709mm; width, 2003mm; height, 1468mm.
