In any car first impressions are all important and the Kakadu won us over straight away with one small innovation. The vehicle is a seven seater – used to be eight – but it's the way the third row a seats fold flat to form the cargo floor. Simply press a button on the side of the one of the two seats automatically deploys or folds away. Same for the other seat. This takes the effort and drudgery out of what used to be a pain for anyone wanting to quickly transform the working end of the car from seating to cargo space.

Those two seats by the way a pretty much kid-friendly, but you would not want to be an adult size using them. The all-new LandCruiser Prado, launched late last year, has in looks at least moved closer to big-brother LandCruiser. The side mouldings have gone and it's a simpler no-nonsense vehicle in appearance – probably plainer than the model it replaced.

As an off-roader we did not like the mouldings in any case – they provide a hiding place for sand and dirt and offer a breeding ground for rust. If you are buying a second-hand 4WD – and most had side mouldings in 1990s and 2000 era - always try and check behind the mouldings for the dreaded metal cancer.

One of the attractions of Prado has been that despite it's off-road credentials it is still a driver-friendly on-road machine. It's this ease of use that has resulted in a quarter of all Prado drivers being women. The new Prado continues that pattern and while it may not be quite as sophisticated on-road as the soft-roader brigade of Toyota Kluger, Nissan Murano, Ford Territory or Mazda CX-7, the Prado, it is still light-years ahead of the likes of hard-edge LandCruiser or Nissan Patrol. We found the suspension particularly soft, but suspect that is part of the package to ensure a comfortable ride off-road. We found the same in the three door. Body roll can be an issue when cornering hard – but this is not a vehicle you would buy for high-performance.

Kakadu, as the name suggests, is set up for families that travel. Almost a half of all Prado's venture off-road in some form on a regular basis. The rear pew has excellent legroom and those who use the second row get to choose what air-conditioning suits them with vents and controls fitted into the back of the front seat centre console. And the hackneyed phrase `Are we there yet?' may be a long time in coming thanks to a drop-down roof-mounted DVD. Headphones slip into pockets attached to the rear of the front seats. There are three wireless headphones, two headphone jacks and AV input.

Prado abounds with storage nooks and crannies so there's plenty of rooms for the odds and ends that make long distance travel that little more bearable. As a top of the line vehicle Kakadu has just about everything powered, including the front passenger seat. The interior is a nice place to be: a little wood finish here and there and the odd splash of chrome on the door handles and gearshift.

As a town car the Kakadu is probably as good as it gets for a vehicle this size. Parking can be an issue in tighter areas with a turning circle of 11.6 metres, but there's a reversing camera that makes life a little easier when backing out. Comfort levels are high with supportive seats and good all-round vision.

Our test vehicle was fitted with an upgraded version of the 4.0 litre V6 that for the first time breaks the 200 kW mark with 202 kW of power and maximum torque of 381 Nm at 4400 rpm. It's a sophisticated engine with dual VVT-i and it's smoothness and quietness are something you'd expect from a European marque. The engine was linked to a five-speed auto transmission which matched the smoothness of the power plant. Toyota offer a range of mix and match with Prado with the choice of two body styles, two engines – petrol and turbo-diesel – two transmissions, six model grades and two seating capacities.

So you can get the Kakadu with an auto petrol or turbo diesel. Other variants offer the turbo diesel and petrol with the six speed manual or auto transmission. Prado has witnessed somewhat of a revolution in buyers turning to turbo-diesel engines in droves, and the 4.0 litre V6 is expected to keep the roughly 80/20 ratio in balance in this latest incarnation.

All Prado models have seven airbags and the latest safety technology including stability control. Perched atop of the Prado tree, Kakadu it basically one-with-the-works – and you pay for it. Kakadu gets CRAWL control for off-road work, four-camera Multi Terrain Monitor, rear diff lock, adaptive variable suspension, hight-adjustable and auto-leveling rear air suspension, multi terrain select traction control switch for various types of off-road conditions, moon roof, touch screen sat nav, 14-speaker premium Pioneer audio with DVD multi-changer, rear seat entertainment, refrigerated coolbox, key-linked driver's seat and steering column memory pack.

VERDICT: Hard to fault.

MODEL RANGE

5 door wagon:

GX turbo-diesel manual $55,990

GXL petrol manual $60,990

GXL turbo-diesel manual $61,990

VX petrol auto $74,490

VX turbo-diesel auto $75,490

Kakadu petrol auto $87,990

Kakadu turbo-diesel auto $88,990

(Prices do not include government or dealer charges)

FEATURES

ABS Brakes: standard

Air Conditioning: standard

Automatic Transmission: standard

CD Player/DVD player: standard

Central Locking: standard

Cruise Control: standard

Dual Front Airbags: standard

Front Side Airbags: standard

Stability Control: standard

Traction Control: standard

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE:

Capacity: 3.956 litres

Configuration: V6

Head Design: 24 valve DOHC

Compression Ratio: 10.4:1

Bore/Stroke: 94.0 mm x 95.0 mm

Maximum Power: 202 kW @ 5600 rpm

Maximum Torque: 381 Nm @ 4400 rpm

DRIVELINE:

Driven Wheels: AWD

Manual Transmission: Six speed

Automatic Transmission: Five speed

Low range transfer: standard

Final Drive Ratio: 3.909

DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:

Length: 4930 mm

Wheelbase: 2790 mm

Width: 1885 mm

Height: 1890 mm

Turning Circle: 11.6 metres

Kerb Mass: 2240- 2355 kg

Fuel Tank Capacity: 87 litres/63 litres in reserve

Towing Ability: 2500 kg (kg with braked trailer)

SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:

Front Suspension: Independent with Coil springs/gas dampers.

Rear Suspension: Solid live axle with adaptive variable suspension

Front Brakes: ventilated discs with four-piston calipers

Rear Brakes: ventilated discs with single-piston floating caliper

CLEARANCES

Ground clearance: 220 mm

Approach angle: 32.0 degrees

Departure angle: 25.0 degrees

Ramp-over: 22.0 degrees

Wading depth (Max): 700 mm

PERFORMANCE:

0-100 km/h Acceleration: N/A

FUEL CONSUMPTION:

Type: unleaded

Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 11.5 L/100km

GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:

Greenhouse Rating: 4.5/10

Air Pollution Rating: 5.5/10

STANDARD WARRANTY:

3 years/100,000 km