The Land Cruiser Prado once swapped its wheels for rubber tracks
In late 1999 Toyota sold a Prado with triangular rubber crawler units instead of wheels, built for carrying people and cargo through deep snow. Because the controls were unchanged, an ordinary Japanese driving licence was enough, unlike the special permit that tracked snow vehicles normally required.
The Prado is the lighter, more comfort-minded branch of the Land Cruiser family, and its name means meadow or field in Spanish and Portuguese. It began in November 1984 as a light-duty version of the 70 Series, sold as the Land Cruiser II, or Bundera in some markets, with coil springs instead of the heavy-duty truck's leaf springs. The Prado name arrived in Japan in April 1990, where the only home-market engine was a 2.4-litre turbodiesel, while buyers elsewhere still knew it as the Land Cruiser.
The second generation, launched on 8 May 1996, became a separate model rather than a derivative, and Toyota says this was the moment the Prado turned toward passenger comfort. It gained full-time four-wheel drive, suspension shared with the Hilux Surf, and a choice between a three-door five-seater and a long five-door with eight seats. In Britain it was badged Land Cruiser Colorado to tell it apart from the bigger model, until the Colorado tag was dropped in 2003.
The Crawler was a factory conversion based on the 3.4-litre petrol version and bodied by Araco. Its tracks raised kerb weight from 1,980 kg to 2,420 kg and lifted ground clearance from 230 to 330 mm. Owners could bolt the road wheels back on once the snow melted, and it cost 5,240,000 yen before tax. Colombia, meanwhile, assembled Prados locally from 1999 to 2009 and offered an armoured five-door between 2005 and 2009.
For decades North Americans could buy the Prado only as the Lexus GX. That changed in 2023, when it went on sale there simply as the Land Cruiser. By 2025 it was sold in most Toyota markets, though Mexico, India and South Korea get the cheaper Fortuner instead.
Source: Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
