Alexander wan2ted EvsinOn myauto.ge, cars from the 2024–2026 model years are sold under the same name, Land Cruiser Prado, with three different engines: 2.4, 2.7 and 2.8 litres. About a hundred more of the same SUVs are listed in the Land Cruiser section: they are shipped from American auctions, and the word Prado does not appear in their papers. The body is the same on all of them, while power, the number of seats and fuel consumption differ.
This is because Toyota builds its own version of the 250 series for each market. In this article we look at which versions are found in Georgia and review the most common of them, the European version with the 2.8-litre diesel: how it drives on tarmac and off-road, how much fuel it uses and what long-term tests showed.
How the 250 series differs from the 150
The previous Prado, the 150 series, was built for almost 15 years. Toyota unveiled the new generation in August 2023, and sales in Japan began on 18 April 2024. The car is built on the same GA-F body-on-frame platform as the Land Cruiser 300. According to Toyota, the frame is 50% stiffer, and the frame and body together are 30% stiffer.
Land Cruiser 250 series, European version: length 4,925 mm, wheelbase 2,850 mm
The body has grown. According to Toyota Europe, it is 4,925 mm long, 85 mm longer than the 150 series after its 2017 update. The wheelbase has grown by 60 mm to 2,850 mm, and the width by about 95 mm. In Europe, as in the US, the car is sold as the Land Cruiser, without the word Prado.
The suspension layout is unchanged: independent at the front and a solid axle at the rear. There is new off-road equipment. The front anti-roll bar can now be disconnected with a button, which gives the wheels more travel. It is the first Toyota with such a system. As before, the centre and rear differentials can be locked. Hydraulic power steering has been replaced with electric, and the six-speed automatic with an eight-speed one.
Which versions are sold in Georgia
Toyota sells the Prado 250 in many countries, but with different engines. For example, it is supplied to Western Europe with a diesel, and to the US only with a hybrid powertrain. There are four engine options in total. The table below shows which countries Toyota builds the Prado 250 for with each engine and how cars with these engines reach Georgia. Power figures and the list of countries come from Toyota's press release for the world premiere in August 2023.
| Engine | Power | Built for | Seats | How it reaches Georgia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.8 l diesel | 204 PS, 500 Nm | Europe, Australia, Japan | 5 or 7 | official dealers |
| 2.4 l turbo petrol | 281 PS, 430 Nm | Middle East, Eastern Europe | 7 | official dealers |
| 2.7 l petrol | 163 PS, 246 Nm | Japan, Eastern Europe | 5 or 7 | official dealers |
| 2.4 l turbo hybrid | 330 PS, 630 Nm | US, Canada, China | 5 (in the US) | US auctions |
Official Toyota dealers in Georgia sell the Prado 250 with three of the four engines. The Toyota Center Tegeta website lists cars with the 2.7-litre petrol engine, the 2.4-litre turbo petrol engine and the 2.8-litre diesel. Dealers do not sell the hybrid.
The hybrid version is built for the US, and it has no third row of seats. Car and Driver says so directly:
strictly a two-row, five-seat SUV
Car and Driver
Georgia imports more cars from the US than from any other country. According to Geostat, 189,839 of the 240,359 passenger cars imported in 2025 came from there. So one might expect American cars to make up most of the new Prados in Georgia as well. Listings on myauto.ge do not confirm this. On 28 September 2026 the site listed 89 cars of the 250 series that were already in Georgia. Eleven of them were American hybrids.
| Version | Cars in Georgia | At US auctions and in transit to Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| 2.8 diesel | 39 | — |
| 2.4 turbo petrol | 30 | — |
| 2.4 American hybrid | 11 | 105 |
| 2.7 petrol | 9 | — |
On the same day, another 105 American hybrids were listed at US auctions or already on their way to Georgia. That is more than the three other versions in Georgia combined, which came to 78. Hybrid buyers are drawn by a tax break. Under the Tax Code, excise on a left-hand-drive hybrid up to six years old is 60% lower than on a conventionally powered car of the same age.
The Georgian YouTube channel NFD Needfordrive reviewed a hybrid that was bought at a US auction after being damaged. According to the author, only the seat modules had to be replaced, and the purchase with shipping cost about $50,000:
დაჯდა საქართველომდე დაახლოებით 50 000$ და პლიუს… გაკეთება, განბაჟება
It cost about $50,000 to get to Georgia, plus… repairs and customs clearance.
NFD Needfordrive, YouTube
How the Prado 250 diesel drives
The European version's diesel engine has a displacement of 2.8 litres and 204 PS, and the gearbox is an eight-speed automatic. It accelerates to 100 km/h in 10–11.3 seconds. In a test by the Australian magazine Chasing Cars it took about 10 seconds, and in a test by the Australian magazine CarExpert it took 11.27 seconds.
The British magazine Top Gear compared the diesel Prado 250 with other SUVs and wrote separately about how undemanding its engine is:
the impression being that it will continue to gargle away even if you ran it on whisky and goose fat
Top Gear
Ilya, the author of the Russian YouTube channel Klubny Servis, drove the Prado 250 with all three engines that dealers sell in Georgia. He rates the petrol versions poorly:
2.7 никуда не едет, он ходит под себя, и так было всегда исторически; 2.4 Turbo без гибрида оказался спорным, на мой взгляд даже не спорным, а плохим.
The 2.7 goes nowhere, it's always been gutless, historically; the 2.4 Turbo without the hybrid turned out to be questionable, in my view not even questionable, but bad.
Klubny Servis, YouTube
Ilya compared the diesel car with the Prado of the previous, 150 generation:
Toyota всё-таки сделала машину, которая, по моему мнению — это моё оценочное суждение — превзошла по своим тактико-техническим характеристикам классический Toyota Land Cruiser Prado в кузове 150.
Toyota has, after all, made a car that in my opinion, and this is my personal judgement, has surpassed the classic 150-series Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in its technical characteristics.
Klubny Servis, YouTube
A user of the Russian car website drom.ru who bought a diesel Prado 250 in 2025 holds a similar view. Before that he drove three 150-series Prados with the 4.0-litre petrol engine. In his review of the new car he praises the brakes, the gearbox and the suspension:
Подвеска очень энергоемкая и тихая, недавно ехал по разбитой гравийной дороге 90 км/ч, как по асфальту.
The suspension soaks up a lot and is quiet; recently I drove on a broken gravel road at 90 km/h as if it were tarmac.
review of the Prado 250 2.8 diesel on drom.ru
The British magazine Autocar, by contrast, writes that the suspension is firm over broken tarmac. The Kazakh portal Kolesa.kz notes body roll in corners. On the 150-series Prado, body roll was reduced by the KDSS system, which linked the front and rear anti-roll bars hydraulically. The 250 series does not have it:
Дело в том, что активных стабилизаторов (KDSS) у машины нет, и кренится высокий внедорожник будь здоров.
The thing is, the car has no active anti-roll bars (KDSS), and the tall SUV leans a great deal.
Kolesa.kz, Prado 250 test drive
Journalists rate the sound insulation differently. Top Gear writes that no Land Cruiser before it has been this quiet. Journalists at the Australian Chasing Cars drove a diesel Prado 250 for five months and write that there is little sound insulation between the engine and the cabin. The drom.ru user who drives the diesel also lists weak sound insulation among the drawbacks.
What the Prado 250 can do off-road
In December 2024 the British magazine Top Gear ran an off-road test. It included four body-on-frame SUVs: the Land Cruiser 250 diesel, the Mercedes G500, the Land Rover Defender and the Ineos Grenadier. The journalists named the Toyota the winner:
It's a car that won't just get you from A to B, but across a whole alphabet.
Top Gear
According to Toyota Europe, the wheels of the 250 series can move up and down relative to the body 10% more than on the 150. With the front anti-roll bar disconnected, wheel travel increases by another 10%. The Kazakh video blogger Diyas Valikhan drove onto an obstacle where a front wheel hung in the air and the rear wheel on the other side dropped to its limit. The centre differential was not locked:
Переднее правое колесо висит в воздухе, заднее левое вытянулось на максимум хода… Очень хороший результат, учитывая, что это был заезд без блокировки межосевого дифференциала.
The front right wheel is hanging in the air, the rear left has stretched to maximum travel… A very good result, considering this run was without the centre differential lock.
Diyas Valikhan, YouTube
The 250 series has no front differential lock on any trim. If a front wheel loses grip, the car relies on its electronic traction control. On the Jyuku pass in Kyrgyzstan, Diyas Valikhan showed how this system works:
Посмотрите на переднее правое колесо: оно то вращается, то бездействует… у Land Cruiser 250 нет передней блокировки, и электронике приходится справляться самостоятельно.
Look at the front right wheel: it spins, then stops… the Land Cruiser 250 has no front locker, and the electronics have to cope on their own.
Diyas Valikhan, YouTube
The front anti-roll bar is disconnected not only on steep obstacles. The Russian video blogger Vladimir Melnikov also disconnects it on dirt roads:
Отключаем передний стабилизатор не столько для какой-то артикуляции, сколько для комфорта… он больше не дёргает за передние колёса.
We disconnect the front anti-roll bar not so much for articulation as for comfort… it no longer tugs at the front wheels.
Vladimir Melnikov, YouTube
According to Autocar and Top Gear, the diesel can wade through water up to 700 mm deep. It can tow a trailer of up to 3.5 tonnes.
Cabin and boot
Between the front seats of an SUV runs the centre tunnel, which houses the gearbox and the propeller shaft. On the 250 series the tunnel is noticeably wider than on the 150, and both reviewers and drom.ru users write about it. Vladimir Melnikov warns:
очень массивный центральный тоннель, который будет стеснять корпулентных водителей
a very massive centre tunnel that will cramp heavier-built drivers
Vladimir Melnikov, YouTube
Diesel cars for Western Europe and Australia are built with a 48-volt mild hybrid system. Its battery sits under the boot floor, so the boot floor is higher than the sill. Chasing Cars writes that the system adds no noticeable performance, and that the hump over the battery is especially awkward in seven-seat cars.
In seven-seat cars the third-row seats fold manually or electrically. Autocar writes that the third row has surprisingly generous legroom. A drom.ru user who owns a Prado 250 with the 2.4-litre petrol engine considers the third row unnecessary:
Третий ряд сидений, совсем ненужная для меня опция, крадет объем багажника. […] Есть авто без третьего ряда, но там нет блокировки заднего моста.
The third row of seats, an option I don't need at all, steals boot space. […] There are cars without the third row, but they have no rear axle lock.
review of the Prado 250 2.4 on drom.ru
How much fuel the Prado 250 diesel uses
Journalists at British and Australian publications measured the diesel's fuel consumption in different conditions. The results are in the table below.
| Who measured | Conditions | Consumption, l/100 km |
|---|---|---|
| Top Gear | official WLTP figure | 10.6 |
| Autocar | touring drive | 9.2 |
| CarExpert | city, suburbs and highway | 9.4 |
| CarExpert | off-road | 12.2 |
| Chasing Cars | five months, mostly in town | 10.6 |
| drom.ru user | highway, winter | 9 |
| drom.ru user | city, winter | 12 |
Cars with other engines use more. The American hybrid's official consumption is 10.2 l/100 km, but over a year of use in MotorTrend's test it came to 12.8 l. A drom.ru user who owns a Prado 250 with the 2.7-litre petrol engine reported 15 l in the city. The owner of the diesel car on drom.ru compares its consumption with the 150 series:
по трассе динамичнее бензинового, при этом расход 9 трасса, 12 город это зимой!!! 4-литровый зимой жрал 18-20.
on the highway it's quicker than the petrol one, and the consumption is 9 highway, 12 city, and that's in winter!!! The 4-litre guzzled 18–20 in winter.
review of the Prado 250 2.8 diesel on drom.ru
Reliability: long-term tests and recalls
Journalists at the Australian magazine Chasing Cars drove a Prado 250 diesel for five months. They criticise the sound insulation and write that the new car may ride slightly less smoothly than the 150 series. Their overall conclusion is this:
The Prado ultimately feels like a vehicle designed to last a decade or two rather than a short-term churn/burn cycle.
Chasing Cars
The longest test of the Prado 250 was run by journalists at the American magazine MotorTrend. They tested the hybrid version and in a year covered 26,829 miles, or 43,177 km, including a trip from Los Angeles to Alaska and back. Three scheduled services cost $515. The biggest expense was repairing and replacing windscreens: $4,140. There were no breakdowns during the year, and the journalists called the car completely reliable. The frame, suspension and body of the American and European versions are the same; the engine and gearbox differ.
When a fault is found in a car, the manufacturer announces a recall and fixes it free of charge at a dealer. By September 2026 the US regulator NHTSA had registered four such recalls for the 2024–2025 Land Cruiser. None of them concerns the engine, gearbox or suspension:
- 25V744000, October 2025: the rear-view camera image may freeze or disappear;
- 26V341000, May 2026: the instrument cluster may fail to show some warnings;
- 24V548000 and 26V179000: the load-capacity label shows incorrect figures.
For a car imported from the US, you can check on the NHTSA website by VIN whether the work under these recalls has been done.
How much the Prado 250 costs in Georgia
The two Toyota dealer networks in Georgia list different starting prices. On toyota.ge the new Prado costs from 114,500 lari, and the price is marked as preliminary. On the Toyota Center Tegeta website the 2026 Prado costs from 136,675 lari.
On myauto.ge on 28 September 2026, a price was given in 73 listings for Prado 250s that were already in Georgia. Prices by engine are in the table below.
| Engine | Listings with a price | Median price | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.8 l diesel | 29 | $65,000 | $49,800 — $105,000 |
| 2.4 l | 38 | $62,000 | $35,000 — $75,500 |
| 2.7 l petrol | 5 | $53,900 | $51,000 — $54,900 |
The previous-generation Prado costs less. The median price of a 2018–2023 Prado 150 on the same site is $48,750.
The number of Prado 250s in Georgia is growing. In the Geostat database the same model is recorded in different ways. Under the two most common entries, "LAND CRUISER LC 250" and "LAND CRUISER 250", 809 cars were registered at the end of 2025, compared with 272 at the end of 2024. The most common entry for the 150-series Prado, "LANDCRUISER LC150", covered 2,802 cars at the end of 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How many seats does the Land Cruiser Prado 250 have? Five or seven, depending on the version. Dealers in Georgia have five-seat and seven-seat diesel cars. The American Land Cruiser is built only as a five-seater.
How is the Prado 250 different from the Prado 150? The Prado 250 is built on the Land Cruiser 300 frame. It is 85 mm longer and about 95 mm wider, and the frame is 50% stiffer. The front anti-roll bar disconnects with a button, the gearbox has eight speeds and the steering is electrically assisted. The KDSS system that reduced body roll on the 150 series is gone.
Which Prado 250 engine is best? Most reviewers choose the 2.8-litre diesel. In tests on tarmac a car with this engine uses 9 to 11 l/100 km. The car with the 2.7-litre petrol engine is criticised for slow acceleration, and the one with the 2.4-litre petrol engine for noise under load.
Are there more American or dealer Prado 250s in Georgia? Dealer versions, for now. Of the 89 Prado 250s listed on myauto.ge in September 2026 that were already in Georgia, 11 were American hybrids. Another 105 hybrids were at that time listed at US auctions or on their way to Georgia.
Does the Prado 250 have a front differential lock? No, not on any trim. The centre and rear differentials lock, and front wheel spin is controlled by electronics.
How can you tell an American Prado 250 from a dealer car? In American papers the car is called the Land Cruiser, without the word Prado, and it has a 2.4-litre hybrid powertrain. American cars have no third row of seats. On myauto.ge they are more often listed in the Land Cruiser section.
How much does a new Prado 250 cost in Georgia? Dealers list starting prices from 114,500 to 136,675 lari. The median price of a diesel car in myauto.ge listings in September 2026 was $65,000.
Can you rent a Prado 250 in Tbilisi? Yes, a 2025 Land Cruiser Prado is in the AutoHub fleet. There are also four 2020 Prado 150s with the 4.0-litre engine, so the two generations can be compared.
The Tbilisi fleet includes a 2025 Land Cruiser Prado and the 150-series Prado, and for mountain roads the Land Cruiser 200 and 300. The car is brought anywhere in Tbilisi in about half an hour; the terms are on the delivery page. Routes where four-wheel drive comes in handy are covered in the article on off-road Georgia.
Write to the concierge on WhatsApp or Telegram at +995 557 437 034 or to concierge@autohub.ge. Give the model and the dates, and the documents and deposit will be checked before the car is delivered.
