After much fanfare at the launch of the new Toyota Prado at Devon House two weeks ago, the vehicle was put to the test last Saturday at the Caymanas cane field in St Catherine.

There, the SUV revealed all its secrets and showed its true mettle, even driving itself out of trouble.

Underlining its claims to being a true off-road vehicle, the Prado was able to convince all in attendance that its arsenal of features are designed to tackle the most extreme of driving conditions.

Of significance is the vehicle’s superb handling. It rides like car, in fact the new Prado is slightly smaller than its predecessor, and even with fast cornering, lovingly hugs the road surface without a hint of roll.

Expected comfort features are there, leather interior, bluetooth and cruise control, for instance, and new to the Prado are cornering headlights that rotate in the direction of the steer.

The entry-level model – the TX – costing approximately $7.2 million, offers improved suspension over last year’s model. At the Caymanas test drive the vehicle easily tackled steep inclines without protest.

Its enhanced vehicle stability control effectively corrected the SUV in slippery conditions and the 3.0 litre diesel drive train powered it out of suspect situations.

All models of the new Prado offered by local dealers Toyota Jamaica have 3.0 litre diesel engines.

The options step up in the VX and VXL models where cameras mounted in the front and rear of the vehicle allow a ‘drive by monitor’ possibility.

The VX, priced at approximately $9.8 million, offers reverse cameras only, while the $10.2 million VX-L is outfitted with both rear and front cameras.

In situations where visibility is obstructed or difficult, such as on the brink of a hill, the monitor shows the position of the front wheels and the road surface, allowing easier manoeuvreability.

In the VX-L, chockfull of features, is the crawl control.

This interesting innovation allows the driver to input the type of driving terrain, then simply sit back and steer. Using all its capabilities – cameras, traction control etc – the vehicle manoeuvres itself up or down a hill, out of sand or any other difficult driving condition.

The driver never has to press the accelerator or brake pedal. At the end of the crawl the function is simply turned off.