Toyota Land Cruiser Prado TX is a vehicle associated with the genuinely powerful, impatient or in some cases the wannabes.

Those who own the vehicle, tell The Standard that it accords you a mheshimiwa status in almost all social venues that you’d go to. Be it malls, weddings, the market, funerals, restaurants, or even political gatherings, the TX will shore up the respect people have for you.

Its off-road capabilities are not in doubt. Its ground clearance is legendary. Its resilience is tested and proven.

The sport utility vehicle dates back to 1990, when the first in its line, the J70, was produced.

At the time, the car was marketed toward on-road use despite its body-on-frame design that made it highly capable off-road.

Today, the Land Cruiser Prado is in its fourth generation, the J150. The J70, which was the first generation, ran between 1990 and 1995. The second generation, the J90, was produced between 1996 and 2001; the third generation, the J120, was manufactured between 2002 and 2008, and finally the fourth generation which is still in the market, the J150, started being produced in 2009.

The petrol version of the vehicle has a 2,700cc four-cylinder engine that produces 163 horsepower, accelerating from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in an average of 11.2 seconds.

The diesel version of the TX comes with a 2,800cc four-cylinder engine that produces 161 horsepower and 410 newton meters of torque. It accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 9.9 seconds.

There are trims of the TX that come in 3,000cc diesel engines, and some with 4,000cc six-cylinder (V6) petrol engines.

However, the most common ones are the 2,800cc diesel version and the 2,700cc petrol version.

The TX produced between 2011 and 2018 has a tank capacity of 87 litres. The petrol price in Nairobi in the month of May-June was Sh150.12 for a litre of the fuel. That would mean that for one to fill the tank, he or she will need Sh13,060. For the TX motorists whose vehicles are diesel-powered, they’ll need Sh11,400 to fill the tank at the cost of Sh131.0 per litre of diesel.

The 4,000cc petrol version of the TX is, expectedly, the least economical, giving some 7.5 kilometres per litre. On full tank, the vehicle could take you some 650 kilometres.

The vehicle offers 8.7 inches of ground clearance, making it ideal for off-road drives, including on rocky or muddy rural roads. This is the TX’s major selling point.

The five-door vehicle can sit either five or seven people depending on the specifications of the car.