Petrol Prado Fuel consumption

G'day Brett. Not sure what model you are referring to. I have an 04 V6 GXL with the 5 speed auto. It is rated to tow 2.5 tonne. My van weighs almost 2.6 tonne fully loaded which is slightly above max. I had a two week run from NSW to SA and return before Xmas and it averaged 22 L/100k towing in 4th gear. Took it easy and tried to stick to the speed limits but did creep up to 105KPH a couple of times. A few of the big hills had it working a bit ( 3rd gear/4000rpm) but no shortage of power and a very comfortable travelling vehicle. Also a nice town car as well.

Image Could Not Be Found

I did a quick search on pradopoint.com. It is the best place for prado information.

I am talking about 120 series V6 petrols here.

2500kg is the max towing capacity. 250kg ball weight. If you want to use a WHD (and you probably do, towing at the max capacity) you should probably go for a Hayman Reece tow bar. The Toyota ones can fail when used with WHD.

Someone towing a 2.25t boat reported getting 24l/100km. Others report figures around 17-18l/100km depending.

Another with a tandem jayco at 2100kgs reported 20l/100km

It will depend a lot on the how high the van is, wind, and speed. Apparently going at 90-95 makes a big difference compared with 100+.

Hope that helps a bit.

D

Second the remarks about using a HR towbar..

A friend had his standard Prado one snap off and the van disappeared rearwards.
Luckily no damage.
The Prado one is a casting and nowhere near as strong as a full HR model.

DO NOT exceed the rated tow weight limit.

If you read your insurance policy it will probably have a sentence like this.

" Should the cause of the accident be attributed to overloading of the car or

the trailer your claim may be refused"

Be warned, I wouldn't publicly state " may be a bit over" anywhere.

Hi Brett

go have a look on pradopoint.com There is plenty of info there for you on all the various models. You didnt mention what model you were interested in but i have 2005 Grande Petrol Auto. I towed with it at xmas for first time and was extremely impressed. I have a 2005 Avan Ray 14 poptop. Not sure of its weight, but less than what you state. I went from sydney to coffs harbour area and return trip to sydney. I towed in 4th gear for 90% of time, used 5th only when on extreme flats eg freeway, and tried to stay between 90 and 100 km/h. I got really good economy but cant remember exact figures. The figures were from the in car display on the dash display, i wrote them down somewhere and if i find them will let you know exact figure for distance up and then back. back used more for some reason. my brother has a 2005 VX Auto Petrol and towed a corimal wind up camper and did not achieve anything like what i did. he was very jealous. not sure why my figures were so good? I did use premium in tank, he didnt? better driver - of course i am!! ;) We had 3 adults 1 child in car, brother had 2 adults 1 child

I normally do not worry about fuel economy as i reckon if you want to use the van and 4wd and enjoy yourself, you have to pay for it so why worry and check all the time. Like I said have a look at PP (pradopoint) they have lots of ideas and info for when you do get a prado. if i was primarily towing, i would probably go for a late model auto diesel but for occasional use petrol would be ok, cheers....

Hi Brett,
Welcome to EO mate.

If you are not fixed in your choice of motor vehicle I would consider a 100 series cruiser if I were you as the tow rating is 3.5 tonne and they get around the 22 litres per hundred also and are more suited to the heavier jobs (2.5 tonne plus) you are describing.

I cannot tell what year model you are thinking of so I cannot be more specific but generally they are pretty close to Prados in pricing, from my research. I am looking all the time on Ebay and Carsales.com. Turbo diesels give better economy but cost more to buy and to service so at the far end of ownership there is not much between them, given the higher fuel consumption of petrols.

Hope this helps, and once again , welcome to EO.

Regards, Bruce.

Thanks everyone for your informative replies.
Pretty scary mileage out of the petrol motors by the sound of it.
Might have to have a rethink about diesel perhaps. A mates got a new V8 diesel landcruiser wagon and he gets around 22-25l/100km towing a 24ft van.
My brothers got the D4D Prado Grande and he gets about 15l/100km towing an 18ft poptop. I'm thinking the D4D may be the end result for me.
cheers
Brett