IndiBlog

Finally, Toyota has decided launch the oil burning Prado in the Indian market. The diesel Land Cruiser Prado launches in India on 9th June' 09 and will be powered by a 4.5 litre V8 engine which belts out a decent 282 bhp and most importantly 662 Nm of road churning torque. The engine will be mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with 4-wheel drive ofcourse. The diesel engine is likely to improve the Prado's off-road performance while economising on the wallet draining running costs of the petrol.

Just like the petrol Prado the diesel would also be imported as a CBU from the company's plant in Japan. The made in Japan SUV would set you back by Rs. 45,00,000 - Rs. 48,00,000 (ex-showroom). The big price puts the Toyota in competition of European SUVs like the Porsche Cayanne, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Volkswagen Toureg and the Audi Q7. At this price point it may face difficulty in clocking decent sales especially as it does not have the snob value of the others.