Bucket Seat: Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 3.0L Diesel VX.L

Toyota for long have been one of the go-to brands when it came to SUV's, they've dominated the market since the early days which the big hitters in the industry and proved to not only compete with them but also surpass them in sales with their products not only being cheaper but in some instances, better than that of the much pricier European counterparts. The legendary reliability of Toyota has also been a big part in the success, with consumers knowing that they're getting a good quality product and not something that will cost you an arm and a leg to maintain.  Of recent the market has shifting focus with many brands bringing out a wide variety of SUV's and SAV's, which has saw the trend shift to this segment of car as the preferred choice of many, while they may have their purpose, most aren't true off road going vehicles, with at most, some offering only four wheel drive. Toyota, with the Land Cruiser models have still been one of the best on the market, for a true all round offering, and I was fortunate enough to be get behind the wheel of their new Land Cruiser Prado VX.L for a week. 

DESIGN

Being part of the Fourth Generation of Prado's the design over the last three models haven't been very different with the overall styling remaining the same and subtle changes to the lights and interior. This latest version of the Prado is very stylish though, with a nice big front grille in chrome finish, the elongated front head lamps with LED strip below adding shape to the very bulky and edgy design. It has some hints of Lexus DNA here and there which add to the appeal of the car. The normal ride height is quite high, but this is adjustable with the automatic air suspension, the Prado being a fully fledged 4x4 comes with large tyres with high profiles and 18" rims, so you know you can really go bundu bashing with it. Moving around to the back, the styling remains the same to the pre-facelift model with some white accents on the lights. Being the top of the range L model, Toyota have added extras to make you know this is the real McCoy with added chrome finishes adding to that luxury feel. On the inside, one really can't fault anything on the design front., I love the way everything is laid out on the centre console, with a dedicated section for off-roading. 

PERFORMANCE

The car is powered by a 3.0 litre, inline 4 cylinder diesel motor, which produces 120kW and 400Nm of torque. Not the most exciting figures by far from such a big engine but this car is a brute and all it's power comes to fruit when taking the roads less traveled. On the dirt, coupled with the four wheel drive, the Prado makes mince meat of the terrain, move onto more rocky pastures, the torque comes into play with the engine hauling the massive frame over some of the more tricky routes. All while it barely sips the diesel in its massive 120 litre tank. On tarred surface, it does feel like a slouch especially with a full load, and the 5 speed auto gearbox does it no favours but once it gets going, it just shift nicely along. The thing that surprised me the most was the comfort, but that we'll chat about a little later. The dedicated off-road panel I was chatting about earlier in the center console has everything you need to set the car up to drive across almost any terrain, but the car does also automatically judge the response of the surface while driving and adjusts to suit. 

COMFORT

The Prado is huge, you see it on the road but don't really take notice of really how big it is until you get into one, or for the smaller folk, try to get into one. That side step they have on there isn't just for fun as some of my passengers found out. The seats could be compared to sofa's as they're big and plush, the front passengers get the luxury of heated and cooled options for themselves while the rear three get to choose how much space they need as the rows can be moved forward and backwards if need be and there is good reason for that as neatly tucked away into the floor of the trunk are two additional seats which when raised makes the Prado a full 7 seater, which can seat 7 adults, yes, 7 adults comfortably. I put this to the test as we made a days trip exploring the KZN midlands with some friends on the last day I had it. This of course minimizes the space in the trunk but you still can squeeze in a bag and a half. Another neat feature in the Prado is the refrigerated center compartment which sits under the arm rest of the two front passengers. It's quite deep and can fit four 500ml bottles easily, and with most cooled compartments in cars whereby they just let the aircon blow in the cool air, this one is an actual fridge! Within 30 minutes of have warm beverages put inside, it was ice cold and ready to drink. Coming back to the ride quality, while the air-suspension might not be as fancy as some of the others, it does its job, no matter what surface we were travelling on, the ride remained the same and had no one spilling their cool beverage along the way. 

TECHNOLOGY

The Prado comes packed with all the tech you expect in a modern day 4x4, keyless entry with push start, a large multi- infotainment screen for all you media purposes, unlike the Hilux, the Prado has dials for volume and tuning control which I prefer. It has bluetooth and media streaming. It comes standard with a 14 speaker sound system which includes a subwoofer in the boot. The multi function steering wheel is powered by a hydraulic/ variable flow control, making it easier to steer in difficult terrain, the car has 4 cameras, one at the front, one in the rear and two on the side, giving the driver the option to switch between them, to navigate in tight spots, or can opt to see a birds eye view of the car. The rear seats are electronically controlled by switches in the boot which fold up or out in a matter of seconds.  There are three power sockets in the car, a 12V in the front and rear and a 220V in the boot. The Prado has LED high be headlights which have adaptive technology which auto adjusts when it senses oncoming cars. 

VERDICT

While the Prado might not be the best Toyota offers in its Land Cruiser stable, it certainly is one of the favourable models from them. The price tag is more than justified when compared to what else is on the market. Its packed with technology, great finishes and looks fantastic. It's more than capable of going off-road, and will eat up almost any surface with ease. With the amount of equipment you getting in this car as standard, all for under a million, is almost a steal. Toyota really have kept the Prado legacy high on this one and certainly remains one of my favourite SUVs on the market today. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	3.0litre, 4 cylinder, 16 Valve DOHC
Gear Box	5 Speed Automatic
Power	120kW
Torque	400Nm
Top Speed	175km/h
Economy	8.5 L/100km
Price	R979,600

Pictures and video by @YuviK Photograpy

Bucket Babe: Amber Elizabeth Konahos

A great man once said "I have a dream", and he went on to accomplish a lot thereafter including almost realising that dream. I on the other hand didn't have a dream, nor do I consider myself a great man but few years ago I did have an idea, it took me about 5 years to eventually get it done but I'd say it was time well spent learning more and gathering information before executing the idea. People are passionate about things but how many of them make take that passion one step further and doing something with it? I'm passionate about a lot of things, cars, music, sport, technology and beautiful woman, so I thought why not combine all of that together?

To put it simple, my idea was to put together a photo shoot but it wasn't just another photo shoot for someones portfolio, it was to get creatives together, introduce them to each ones passion and see what could transpire. My goal seemed simple enough, being from Durban I wanted everything to be 100% local, so I sourced a local model, who I happened to meet by chance at an event, I got a local photographer who just happens to be a good friend and has international experience in fashion photography and has worked with some of the big named publishers in the world, the clothing used for the shoot was from a Durban based fashion designer who took part in the Mercedes-Benz SA fashion week a few years back and lastly, source a good location for the shoot. 

Model: Amber Elizabeth Konahos: originally from Johannesburg, Amber now resides on the east coast where apart from modelling, she works at a Spa in Ballito. Amber's beauty strikes you from the get go, shes tall, well built and has beautiful golden blonde hair, strong features and great physique. She recently made the final 16 in the World Swimsuit Model Search, where she proved to be quite popular with her achieving over a thousand votes as well as receiving Editors Choice, Videographers Choice and Sponsors Choice badges. So it was a no brainer from my side that she would be the one to star in my first production. Amber is a sweet down to earth girl, young but is a natural when she's in front of the camera. She has a promising career ahead of her and for that I'd like to wish her nothing but the best, as I know she will go far. 

Instagram: ambs.elizabeth

Photographer: Yuveer Karanchand aka YuviK: I've known Yuveer for the better part of 2 years now, his talent is evident from his work and his CV is beyond remarkable. For someone of such a young age to have worked with some of the biggest names in publication and fashion is astounding. I first asked him to photograph for me with some of the cars I gotten to test but while the pictures were great, I could tell his passion lied more in fashion photography, hence I asked him to do the shoot with me. While I might claim production rights over the shoot, its him who made the magic happen and he did most of the work that day. You can follow him on his travel and escapades via his various social streams, be it Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook, all of which you can find below, as well as his email address should you wish to book a shoot with the talented camera man.....and I can be your production manager for a small fee too, just kidding ;)

Instagram: YuvikPhoto

Facebook: YuviK Photography

Snapchat: yuvi106

Email: yuvik106@gmail.com

Website: www.yuvikphoto.com

Clothing: Genna Wae West: Genna has been a good friend of mine for the past 5 years, from noticing her on the cover of one of Sasha Martinengos albums, it didn't take much for her to grab my attention. Her passion for fashion is clear and with her approach for emphasizing the importance of local designers and local clothing is also one of the reasons I chose to use her. She has tons of experience in designing some of the sexiest lingerie and swimsuits, some may be a bit raunchy but hey, why live life wearing only granny panties. She supplied us with a range of her latest lingerie and swimsuits with Amber only more than happy to model them for us. 

Instagram: waewest

Facebook: waewestcouture

Twitter: @waewest

Location: Suncoast Towers & Hotel: A massive thank you to Nicole East and Palvi Oddone Aquino of Tsogo Sun, Suncoast for arranging the use of one of the Towers suites and the outside pool area for the shoot. Suncoast Towers and Hotel is ideally situation on the famed Durban Beach Promenade, it features a breathtaking sea view as well as access onto the beach of the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Adjoining the hotel complex, one can find Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World which houses a Casino, Movie house as well as a host of restaurants and takeaways. The hotel has its own restaurant as well, Jeera, offering a wide variety of Indian cuisine, from local to authentic Indian which will leave you salivating for more. After the shoot we were treated to a high tea, which you can read about more in my review. Suncoast Towers & Hotel really is the perfect beach front spot for any traveler, and you can read more about the Hotel and its offerings from my review.

All in all, I was extremely please with how the shoot turned out. I have to thank everyone who was involved that made it such a success. It was a major learning curve for me and I was glad I was able to take my idea and make it into reality. There was a lot of work behind the scenes to make it happen but it's all part of the game and I look forward to the next one, taking in the lessons learnt from this. one.

Behind the scenes video of the photo shoot, shot by me:

Bucket Seat: BMW X5 5.0i

The BMW X5 was the first SUV that went on sale from the German manufacturer, at the time, some might say it was a gamble taken by them since their forte was luxury and sports cars. The model proved to be quite successful and in turn saw a host of engine offered. The latest model was released last year, it's bigger, more powerful and much more clever than it's predecessor. Although it doesn't look bigger thanks to sleek designing from BMW, with a sloped roof line and rounded edges, trust me it is huge! Now lets be honest, the average BMW X5 owner doesn't buy one to go off road with, they're probably a successful individual (as they must be to able to afford one) that uses it more of a family car and to and from work, which is all good and well because if I'd bought one, the last place I'd take it is the bush.

Image

So essentially it is a family SUV, well sort of, you see the model I got to test was the 5.0i xDrive which came with the M Sport kit, the colour was a dark navy blue and it came kitted with 20" rims. Take one look at it and the first thing that comes to mind is "Gangsta", once in the car you feel the need to recline the seat, wear your pants lower, rock a basket ball jacket and baseball cap while blasting hardcore gangster rap from the 16 speaker, 1200W, R38 900 Bang & Olufsen system, but more about that later.

Power

Although it says 5.0i on the side, technically it is a 4.4 litre, 8 cylinder, twin turbo engine that is the heart of the beast. The power is apparent as soon as you start it, the tone of the exhaust is reminiscent to many other V8's and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand. With 650Nm of torque and 330Kw, it makes light work with hauling the almost 3 ton body around. In fact the acceleration of the X5 comes close to defying physics with a 0-100Km taking just 5.0 seconds! Reaching high speeds is effortless with this car, one can easily push the boundaries on highway driving without feeling nervous of losing control or the bulkiness of it all. The power steering is light and can be controlled with one hand but it's advisable to keep both hands on it at all times.

Consumption

While enjoying the power is one thing, one cannot turn a blind eye to the consumption, having a claimed average of 10.4l/100km is not bad for car this size, try maintaining that as the most I could manage was 17.3l/100km. The beast is a thirsty bugger and it consumes the 85 litre tank in no time if you're enjoying the thrill of all 8 cylinders being pushed to the max.

xDrive

The car comes with BMW's famous xDrive system which essentially is a fancy name for their 4 wheel drive system. It's pretty impressive too, like I was telling you early about having confidence at high speeds, the xDrive system has a lot to do with that. Working in conjunction with VSC, it varies the power transferred from the front and rear axle. Normally the split is 60:40 but with this, the car is able to transfer power to the wheels needing it the most. It is able to detect the road surfaces you're travelling and recognise which wheels are losing traction, therefore send more power to the ones that have a better grip and thus limiting the chances of a skid or getting stuck. The VSC also prevents wheel spins and the car from drifting, by applying brakes to the tyres that need them and controlling speeds of the rest, the vehicle will correct itself in a slide. Pretty darn clever if you ask me.

Safety

Safety is paramount with with all cars coming off the assembly line with each one having to undergo stringent testing to make sure the end user is buying a car that is safe and meets all the requirements by the safety governing body. They BMW X5 is loaded with key safety features as standard and some as extras. One of them being "Dynamic Light Spot". I was honestly blown away by this extra feature, the car comes fitted with a camera in front which is not part of the parking assist but to identify objects/ people/ animals on the road. When detected, a light that is in the headlight shines directly onto the foreign object. With the large amount of pedestrians that walk on SA's roads, especially at night, this feature helps a lot in bringing to the drivers attention of what lies ahead on the roads. 

Extras

Like all press cars this one came loaded with extras, the dynamic light spot as discussed previously being one of them and earlier I made mention to the B&O speaker system. Now R38 900 may sound exsessive for sound but not if you're indian, it doesn't come with big sub woofers that takes up boot space but rather a 16 speaker, professionally tuned system to give the driver and it's occupants unparralled clarity and definition in the music they're listening to. The center speaker in the front is quite awesome to watch as it rises from the dash board, almost space ship like. The interior also has mood lighting, where you can change the colour of the lights in the cabin with various options located in the menu of the on board computer.

Offroad

Like I said in the beginning, the average buyer of this car wouldn't dare take it off the smooth tar surfaces but this was a test unit and I had to see how it handled it self in the bush. Much to my surprise the huge 20" rims handled the 20 kilometer dirt road with ease. Athough the M Sport comes with a stiff sportier suspension, the ride was reminisent to one floating on a cloud. Apart for the slight bumps here and there due to potholes on the track, the journey was smooth and quite delightful. The X5 made mince meat of any challenge the dirt road offered it and it was quite enjoyable for me the driver.

Verdict

They say dynamite comes in small packages, well this isn't a small package and it is probably way more explosive than dynamite, so it's more like a weapon of mass destruction. It's size, it's presence, it's power are all indictive of what the car is and meant to be. Its luxurious, ruggered, sporty and yet includes everything that makes a BMW what it is. It takes some getting used to driving and parking in tight spaces but you will enjoy every minute of driving this vehicle. 

Specifications

• 4.4 litre, 8 cylinder twinscroll turbo charged engine
• 8 speed automatic, step-tronic gear box
• 330kW
• 450bhp 
• 650Nm torque
• Consumption: 10.4ltr/ 100km
• Top Speed: 250kph (limited)
• 0-100kph: 5.0 seconds 
• Price: R1 056 900 (excluding extras)

Special thanks to YuviK Photography

Bucket Seat: BMW 428i

A while back, when we previewed the BMW 4 series, we said it is essentially a 3 series sedan but with 2 doors.... ya, we got that wrong, very wrong.  You see, even though it looks like a 3 series from the outside and the inside, it sure as hell doesn't feel like one when driving it. It comes down to that age old saying "don't judge a book by its cover". 

Impressions

I've been driving around in the 428i for the past 5 days and its been a breath of fresh air from BMW. When I was first told I was getting it, I was a bit disappointed that I was not receiving the range topping 435i, that is the closest thing you're going to get to the much anticipated M4 which is due in the 3rd quarter of this year but when this mineral grey beauty arrived in my drive way, I sort of fell in love with the car. Not only was the colour quite unique but the subtle sport package that it came with did the car justice in a way that represented both the elegant side to it and just enough to make you know it means business. 

Interior

Coming back to why I was wrong to compare it to the BMW 3 series, firstly it has two doors, ,duh, and they're frame less, so the elongated doors give the car that uber cool floating look. Secondly the ride height is much lower than the 3 series and the car is wider to its 4 door counter part so your center of gravity in the car is much lower overall. Sitting in the drivers seat is always special in these new beemers, I just love how everything evolves around the drivers cockpit rather than positioned so far away from the driver that he has to undo his seat belt to get across to it. The rest of the interior seems pretty much the same as the 3 series with one having multiple options on the colour coding and stitching. 

Comfort

The car I had came with a 2+2 configuration which means 2 in the front and 2 at the back but a full bench is available as an extra. With having a coupe, it can get annoying having passengers at the back which means constantly moving the seats back and front and dropping the back rest to allow them entry and also means that you have to stand outside while all of this is being done. The 4 series however has comes with auto moving seats so while it still takes some time to do, its pretty cool to move the seats by pressing a button instead of just sliding it manually. This may prove an issue if you're parked in the rain as the seat doesn't move particularly quickly. Seating in the back is comfortable as any sedan with plenty of space for a full grown adult to sit in comfort. 

Power

Having driven the 328i GT I was expecting a similar sort of drive, while the 2.0ltr twin scroll turbo engine was powerful in the GT it did seem sluggish at time however with the 428i, it was a whole new ball game. The engine pushes out the same figures but the guys at BMW tweaked the engine a bit to give the 4 series a sportier feel. How so? Well for starters, when pushing it at high acceleration the gear box maximises the using of all the gears, taking each one up to 6000 revs per minute, this pulling power results in the car reaching 100kph in about 5.3 seconds. The grunt from the engine is quite spectacular too with the noise filtering through the cabin making your hair stand on ends. 

Control

The wider wheel base makes the car more agile and gives the driver more confidence in entering a corner at high speed, couple this with the 50/50 weight distribution is gives the car a real sports car feel. Whilst it is pretty fast on acceleration, deceleration is pretty quick too, so add that to the sharp breaking from the ABS the stopping power on the car is damn good. 

Extras

The car came with most of the bells and whistles which included the light package, lane change assist, sat nav, the ones I found most helpful were:

• Camera Package: The cars design is more sleek with the bonnet slightly raised than what you're used to so over looking the sides can be tricky when parking especially since the driver is sitting in quite a low position so the 5 camera's are pretty darn helpful when it comes to navigating through tricky spaces. 
• High Beam assist lighting: The adpative LED head lights are brilliant as it is but this extra takes it to the next level. Having this option on, it automatically detects when you're entering extremely dark areas and automatically switches from low beam to high beam lights to lighten up those areas. Even in cases where the left side is darker than the right, only the side that is dark will switch to high beam lights. With the anti dazzle technology, on coming cars won't be affected that much by it and when it does detect light, it will switch back to low beam. 

Cons

• Access to the back seats, besides it taking long it does feel like you're a prisoner in the car, it is comfy but your access depends on the person in front. To be honest, the person that buys this car would be doing so for him and his partner travelling, the added seats that actually serve its purpose unlike other coupes are just a bonus.
• Those long doors, they're a nightmare especially in tight parking lots. You have to be a contortionist at times to manoeuvre yourself out of the car if parked too closely to the car in the next bay. 
• It's thirsty, yes the high revving might be fun and a joy to hear but damn does it gobble up the fuel. I haven't managed to get the cars consumption under 10 litres per 100km! Eventually only managed to do 483km on the tank before the range said 0 and had me shitting myself till I reach the petrol station.
• The car came with the extra LCD display at the bottom of the instrument panel, its a waste of time since the steering wheel blocking the info most of the time. 

Verdict

The car is brilliant, it's everything a sports coupe should be and to be honest, even with the cons, those come with coupes so if you're going to buy one you already know what you're in for. It's not as expensive as the 6 series but it does give you a bang for buck experience but while I say that this car doesn't come very cheap either. Whilst the 435i will be better in performance, I honestly think the 428i would be the better buy from the two, purely from the fact that if you wan't fast, you should get the M4, if you want a coupe, get the 428i. 

Specifications

• 2 litre, 6 cylinder twinscroll turbo charged engine
• 8 speed automatic, step-tronic gear box
• 180kW
• 245bhp 
• 350Nm torque
• Consumption: 10ltr/ 100km
• Top Speed: 250kph
• 0-100kph: 5.5 seconds 
• Price: R587 600 (excluding extras)

Special thanks to YuviK Photography and Avishkar Singh for the pictures.