Prado 150 vs 120 series

[Kakadunnit]

Hello from Perth in Western Australia - thought I'd better join as after 17 yrs of Prado ownership (incl 90 & 120 series) I recently retired so decided to treat myself to a new diesel 150 series, which I would be keen to read any feedback on particularly in off-road conditions. This is because after only 18 mths I'm already worried this perhaps was not the best decision. Apart from the well-documented downsizing of fuel capacity, less practical useable interior space, fewer seats, bigger size, weight, higher pricer etc, the reality so far (in my opinion at least) is the 150 isn't quite as good off road as previous Prado models and especially so in beach/dune conditions. Having 35 yrs experience in 4WD/Adventure tourism and literally dozens of off-road trips all over WA, I can think of numerous situations where the old 120 would never have been bogged compared to the 150 despite all the so-called "multi-terrain" gadgets. Recent proof included rather embarrassingly being rescued by a 20 yr old 80 series - now that certainly never happened in the old 120! Not only that but the "crawl control" spat the dummy out without any suitable explanation from the separately published 158 page Off Road Driving Owners Manual the car came with. This then necessitated a visit to City Toyota to reset the computer who were also at a loss to explain how/why it had happened in the first place. My only thought was that we never had to worry about that sort of thing happening in the 120 or 90 series.

Also have several initial and surprising concerns over build quality as neither the paintwork or interior seems to be withstanding the sort of abuse we would normally put a Prado through and not normally have to start worrying about this early on. This includes somewhat mysterious failures of the rear entertainment system and drivers seat cover coming away from the frame underneath, both items thankfully sorted out under warranty but highly questionable after only 18 mths ownership...by comparison previous 90 and 120 series never missed a beat, never had to go back for any warranty claims whatsoever and in the case of the 120 especially this included 6 yrs and 175,000 kms ofsome pretty serious off-road abuse.

Not sure if it's too early to reach negative conclusions on the 150 series and still hoping I might be under the wrong impression, however I expected at very least the previous high Prado standards set over many years and especially so having just forked out $95,000 for a new one.

Lastly, attached is a pic showing a rarer "yellow" dirt road as opposed to the more commonly seen red dirt roads seen in WA, make a change and easier to wash out!

[07Prodigy]

I was actually tossing between the two. I thought the 150 would be better because it's newer. I like the 120, always have, its such a great looking 4x4, but the 150 looks so much better.

Having said that maybe it's better getting the 120, at least then if I break it there is less to brake.

Hmm tough one.

Let us know how you go.