I’m standing in the customer lounge of a Toyota dealership in Sydney’s western suburbs, watching as a young family circles the sole new-generation Prado on display – a gleaming VX model in Glacier White that arrived less than 48 hours ago. The father taps on his phone, comparing something on the screen to the vehicle in front of him. Later, he tells me he’s reading a particularly scathing review while examining the actual car.
“According to this, I should hate everything about it,” he laughs, gesturing toward his phone. “But I’ve just put down a deposit and they’re telling me late 2027 for delivery. Weird, huh?”
This scene perfectly encapsulates the bizarre contradiction at the heart of Toyota Australia’s latest controversy. The new Land Cruiser Prado – the fifth generation of Toyota’s family-focused 4WD – has received some unusually harsh criticism from certain corners of the automotive media. Yet customer demand is so overwhelming that waiting lists now stretch beyond three years at many dealerships.
The situation has prompted an uncharacteristically forceful response from Toyota Australia executives, who have publicly dismissed the criticism as “absolute nonsense” – fighting words from a company typically known for its measured corporate communications.
So what’s really going on? Is this a case of tone-deaf reviewers, defensive executives, or something more complex in the relationship between Australia’s most trusted automotive brand and its fiercely loyal customer base?
The Criticism That Sparked the Response
To understand Toyota’s spirited defense, we need to understand what provoked it. The fifth-generation Prado, launched in Australia earlier this year, represents the first complete redesign of the model in 14 years. It arrives at a time when Australia’s 4WD market is more competitive than ever, with rivals like the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X offering increasingly sophisticated alternatives.
I’ve spent the past week reviewing media coverage of the new Prado, and the criticism largely centers around three key areas:
First, the powertrain – particularly Toyota’s decision to retain an evolved version of the 2.8-liter four-cylinder diesel engine (albeit with hybrid assistance in higher variants) rather than adopting the twin-turbo V6 from the larger LandCruiser 300 Series. Several high-profile reviews labeled the engine “underpowered” and “behind the times” for a vehicle in this price bracket.
Second, aspects of the exterior design have drawn criticism, with some reviewers describing the styling as “awkward,” “disproportionate,” and less cohesive than the larger LandCruiser 300.
Finally, value has been questioned, with the substantial price increases across the range – now starting at $72,990 and climbing to over $110,000 for top specs – attracting scrutiny, especially from reviewers focusing on spec-sheet comparisons with competitors.
These criticisms, amplified through social media and video platforms, have created a narrative that Toyota somehow missed the mark with one of its most important models. This narrative clearly struck a nerve with Toyota Australia’s leadership team.
Toyota’s Unfiltered Response
“Some of the criticism we’ve seen of the new Prado is absolute nonsense. Absolute nonsense.”
Those words from Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, during a media roundtable last week, represent an unusual departure from the company’s typically diplomatic corporate communications.
Hanley, a 25-year Toyota veteran known for his measured responses, didn’t stop there. “I’ve got to be honest, I read some of these reviews and wonder if we’re talking about the same vehicle. The customer response has been nothing short of phenomenal.”
I was among the journalists at that roundtable, and Hanley’s visible frustration was palpable – his voice slightly raised, his gestures more emphatic than usual. For an executive with decades of media experience, this wasn’t an accidental outburst but a deliberate message.
Toyota Australia’s CEO Matthew Callachor backed up Hanley’s comments with some pointed context: “We currently have over 25,000 customers who have placed orders for a vehicle that many of them haven’t even been able to test drive yet. That tells you something about the confidence they have in the product.”
When pressed about specific criticisms, Toyota’s executives didn’t backdown. On the powertrain question, Hanley was particularly forthright: “The updated 2.8-liter engine with hybrid technology delivers exactly what our research told us Prado customers want – improved fuel efficiency, better refinement, and the reliability they depend on. The people criticizing this decision are reviewing the vehicle they wanted us to build, not the one our actual customers asked for.”
On design criticisms, Callachor was similarly dismissive: “Styling is subjective, of course. But it’s interesting that we’re seeing the strongest positive response to the design from existing Prado owners – the people who actually buy these vehicles rather than just comment on them.”
The executives’ frustration seems fueled by the disconnect between media criticism and market reality – a phenomenon that’s becoming increasingly common in the age of social media and influencer reviews.
Behind Toyota’s Confidence: Understanding the Prado Customer
To dig deeper into Toyota’s perspective, I arranged a one-on-one follow-up conversation with Paul Saunders, Toyota Australia’s Manager of Product Planning, who has been closely involved with the Prado’s Australian market positioning for over 15 years.
“We know our Prado customers extremely well,” Saunders explains as we walk around a Prado Kakadu at Toyota’s Sydney headquarters. “They’re predominantly families who use their vehicles for the school run during the week and exploring on weekends. They prioritize reliability above all else because they’re often traveling to remote areas where a breakdown isn’t just an inconvenience – it can be dangerous.”
According to Saunders, Toyota conducted extensive research with existing Prado owners before finalizing the new generation. “What we heard consistently was that they wanted better fuel efficiency, more refinement, enhanced safety technology, and better on-road manners without compromising off-road capability. That’s exactly what we delivered.”
This research explains Toyota’s powertrain decision – perhaps the most criticized aspect of the new Prado. “The 2.8-liter engine has been comprehensively re-engineered,” Saunders insists. “It’s significantly more refined, more fuel-efficient, and with the hybrid system in higher grades, delivers more torque when needed. For our actual customers, this is preferable to a more powerful but potentially less reliable and less efficient V6.”
Toyota’s research showed that existing Prado owners rarely complained about power – their priorities were durability and economy. “These are vehicles that our customers keep for 10+ years and often pass down to their children,” Saunders notes. “Long-term reliability trumps 0-100 times every time.”
This long-term ownership perspective also helps explain Toyota’s confidence in their pricing strategy. “When you factor in the incredible resale values, the total cost of ownership over 5-10 years is actually lower than many cheaper competitors,” Saunders argues. “Our customers understand this value equation, even if it doesn’t always come through in media reviews focusing on the initial purchase price.”
The Dealer Perspective: Where Rubber Meets Road
To understand how this controversy is playing out on the frontlines, I visited three Toyota dealerships across Sydney and spoke with sales staff and customers. The picture that emerged was starkly different from the narrative in some media coverage.
“We’ve never seen demand like this,” says David Chen, a sales manager at a major Sydney dealership who requested his employer not be identified. “We’re taking deposits from people who understand they won’t see their vehicle until 2027 or 2028. That doesn’t happen if people are concerned about the product.”
According to Chen, the criticism hasn’t dampened enthusiasm at all – if anything, it’s driven more people into showrooms to see for themselves. “People come in mentioning a negative review they’ve seen, but after sitting in the vehicle and understanding the improvements over the previous model, they’re usually ready to place an order.”
What’s particularly interesting is the customer profile. “About 70 percent of our orders are from existing Prado owners,” Chen reveals. “These are people who have lived with the previous generation for years and know exactly what they want in the new one. They’re not making decisions based on YouTube reviews.”
This pattern was consistent across all three dealerships I visited. Existing Prado owners are driving the extraordinary demand, suggesting Toyota’s understanding of their core customer base may be more accurate than the critics’.
The Customer Reality: Why They’re Still Buying
At one dealership, I had the opportunity to speak with several customers who had placed orders for the new Prado despite the waiting list.
Michael Thompson, a 52-year-old father of three from Sydney’s northern beaches, is upgrading from a 2015 Prado that has covered over 200,000 kilometers. “I’ve read the negative reviews, but they don’t reflect what matters to my family,” he explains. “We use our Prado for camping trips to places like the Simpson Desert and Cape York. Reliability is non-negotiable, and nothing matches Toyota for that.”
Thompson test drove the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X before committing to another Prado. “They’re both good vehicles, but neither has the Prado’s balance of on-road comfort and serious off-road capability. And neither has Toyota’s service network when you’re in the middle of nowhere.”
Another customer, Sarah Williams, is a first-time Prado buyer transitioning from a RAV4. “The reviews talking about it being underpowered don’t make sense to me,” she says. “I test drove it, and it felt perfectly adequate for my needs. I’m not racing it; I’m using it for family trips and occasional off-road adventures.”
Williams’ perspective highlights another factor at play – the disconnect between enthusiast-focused reviewers and everyday family buyers. “Some of these reviews feel like they’re written for people who want a performance car, not a practical family 4WD,” she observes.
This sentiment was echoed by Robert Nguyen, who has owned three Prados previously. “The journalists complaining about the engine should try driving the original 3.0-liter diesel Prado from the 90s,” he laughs. “That was truly underpowered. The new one is luxury by comparison.”
What became clear through these conversations is that Toyota’s core Prado customers have different priorities than many reviewers. They value Toyota’s legendary reliability record, comprehensive dealer network, excellent resale value, and balanced capability far above cutting-edge performance or styling trends.
The Power of Brand Trust in Australia
To gain broader perspective on this phenomenon, I consulted Dr. Emma Richards, a consumer behavior specialist at the University of Sydney who has studied automotive brand loyalty in Australia.
“What we’re seeing with Toyota in Australia is the power of accumulated trust,” Richards explains. “Over decades, Toyota has built a reputation for building vehicles that simply don’t let Australians down in some of the world’s harshest conditions. That creates a level of brand equity that’s incredibly resilient to criticism.”
This trust is particularly important for vehicles like the Prado that are often used in remote areas where reliability isn’t just about convenience but safety. “For urban reviewers, a vehicle breakdown might mean calling roadside assistance. For someone 500 kilometers from the nearest service center, it could be life-threatening. That reality shapes purchasing decisions in ways that spec-sheet comparisons don’t capture.”
Richards also points to the COVID-era shift in how Australians view vehicles. “The pandemic created a surge in domestic adventure travel that hasn’t abated. Vehicles like the Prado that enable self-sufficient exploration have taken on new significance in this context.”
This shift in usage patterns may explain why Toyota remained committed to the Prado’s core off-road capabilities rather than prioritizing on-road performance as some critics suggested they should have.
Social Media and the Echo Chamber Effect
One factor amplifying the disconnect between critics and customers is what media researcher Alex Taylor calls “the automotive echo chamber” – the way social media algorithms reinforce and amplify certain perspectives.
“Negative reviews, particularly those with provocative thumbnails and headlines, tend to perform better on platforms like YouTube,” Taylor explains. “This creates an incentive for more extreme criticism, which then gets amplified through recommendation algorithms and shared across platforms.”
The result can be a skewed perception of how a vehicle is being received, with the most critical voices being disproportionately represented in online discourse.
Toyota seems acutely aware of this dynamic. “We pay attention to all feedback, including media reviews,” Hanley acknowledged during the roundtable. “But we give priority to what our actual customers are telling us directly. And right now, they’re telling us with their wallets that we got it right.”
The company has recently increased its social media marketing for the Prado, focusing on owner testimonials and real-world capability demonstrations rather than spec-sheet comparisons or performance metrics – a strategy that speaks directly to the priorities of their core customer base.
The Production Reality: Not Enough to Go Around
Beyond the debate about the Prado’s merits lies a more fundamental issue affecting Toyota’s response: they simply cannot build enough vehicles to meet demand. Global supply chain constraints, semiconductor shortages, and unprecedented demand have created a situation where the Prado is effectively sold out for years in advance.
“We’re allocating vehicles as fairly as possible across our dealer network,” Hanley explained during the roundtable. “But the reality is that demand far exceeds our production capacity, and that situation is likely to continue for some time.”
This scarcity has created an unusual market dynamic where nearly-new Prados are selling on the used market for more than the manufacturer’s list price of brand-new examples – a clear indication that the criticism has had little impact on real-world desirability.
For Toyota, this creates an interesting position. While they clearly feel compelled to defend their product against criticism, the immediate sales impact is effectively zero – they’re selling every Prado they can build regardless of reviews.
Their defensive stance may be more about protecting the long-term perception of the vehicle, ensuring that when production eventually catches up with demand, the narrative surrounding the Prado remains positive.
Different Perspectives, Same Vehicle
As I complete my dealership visits and interviews, what stands out most is how differently the same vehicle can be perceived depending on perspective and priorities.
Through the lens of automotive enthusiast media, the Prado might appear conservative, underpowered, and expensive – a vehicle that failed to make a dramatic leap forward from its predecessor.
Through the eyes of its core customers – families who value reliability, capability, and long-term ownership – it represents a carefully evolved product that delivers exactly what they need with Toyota’s legendary dependability.
Toyota’s unusually forceful defense suggests they’re less concerned with critic approval than they are with ensuring their actual customers feel confident in their purchase decisions – particularly given the extraordinary wait times many face.
As I leave the dealership, that young family I observed earlier is completing paperwork for their Prado order, having just committed to a vehicle they likely won’t receive for over two years. The father nods toward his phone, where that scathing review presumably still sits.
“I guess they’ve never been stuck in the Kimberley with a broken-down vehicle,” he says with a knowing smile. “We have. That’s why we’re buying another Toyota.”
In that simple statement lies perhaps the most insightful explanation of the disconnect between criticism and sales success. The new Prado may not be perfect for everyone, but for its intended audience – those who venture far from cellular reception and roadside assistance – it continues to represent the gold standard in dependable adventure.
Toyota’s defense of the Prado may seem unusually passionate, but it reflects their confidence in understanding what their customers truly value. And with waiting lists stretching years into the future, the market seems to be giving them the final word in this debate.
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