The much anticipated fifth generation Toyota LandCruiser Prado, the latest version of Australia’s best-selling large SUV, has arrived in the showrooms of Sydney City Toyota.
The five-model range creates new standards for off road capability and on-road safety and driveability.
A new variant, the five seat Altitude, is the first purpose built no compromise off roader, intended to tackle any longdistance outback exploration – and any weekend off road getaway. Innovations abound.
New LandCruiser Prado is built on an entirely new body on frame platform with torsional rigidity claimed to be a massive 50 percent improvement over the vehicle it supersedes.
Unbraked towing capacity has increased to 3500kg –making LandCruiser Prado ideal for hauling many leisure craft and horse floats.
A new eight speed transmission, replacing the six speed in the previous model, and a 48V electric motor-generator combine to reduce fuel consumption and provide quieter and more responsive performance.
A raft of electronic active safety innovations provides increased protection for occupants and other road users.
New generation LandCruiser Prado is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre Toyota warranty which can be extended to seven years on its engine and drive train.
Toyota capped-price servicing has also been extended to five years or 100,000 kilometres, whichever comes first.
The new Toyota LandCruiser Prado is available in ascending grades from GX, GXL, VX, Altitude and the range topping Kakadu.
Hybrid petrol electric cars lead the charge
SYDNEY CITY TOYOTA PRINCIPAL JOHN ROCA OFFERS A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
Petrol-electric hybrid power trains aren’t just the way of the future. They are already leading the charge.
If our hybrids were separated from Toyota they’d be the sixth biggest selling brand in Australia – with Toyota’s conventional vehicles still at Number One.
The time will come, soon, when our petrol electric hybrids will be dominant in their own right.
I’m not making the point to be boastful; far from it. My intention is simply to point out that with all the hype surrounding alternative power sources, especially BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) the quiet achiever is the HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle).
Toyota has now delivered just on 400,000 HEVs since our first Prius arrived in Australia in 2001. Last year we delivered 72,064 alone – and the numbers will only continue to grow.
There’s confusion in the marketplace about future direction. Early adopters are betting on BEVs, and you can only applaud them.
But just recently we’ve had two BEVs traded back on HEVs because their early adopter owners have discovered that despite their best intentions, the fully electric route was not fit for their purpose.
There’s a lot still to be done to lay down a support network of charging stations before the BEV will become the universal solution. As one customer put to me recently: “It’s like owning a really good train, but someone forgot to lay the tracks”.
Toyota has all bases covered with every available power train, but our salespeople at Sydney City Toyota spend a lot more time with intending BEV buyers to make sure they’ve thought through their purchase. We don’t want them to discover the pitfalls brought about by their own expectations.
By comparison, we can’t get enough HEVs. There’s great demand in the certified used vehicle market.
HEVs – everything from Corolla and Camry through RAV4 – have become the new-norm. The power train is pretty much invisible.
In the cycle of ownership, our customers are holding their HEVs and trading up in about the same time span as they did with their previous petrol-only Toyotas.
They’re not trading them sooner for fear of unreliability, or later because they’ve proven so reliable.
They are simply treating them like Toyotas where there’s an obvious pathway to maximising your retained value in your driving choice.
Anecdotally, we’ve discovered that fuel economy is a big plus, now that fuel prices have gone through the roof. But equally customers are appreciating having to endure the service station experience far less, one visit a month for example, instead of two or three.
HEVs will be the key to meeting the requirements of the Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standards program, and they’ll do it naturally through market demand, not through rigid enforcement.
Australia’s best seller turns an incredible 30
We’re celebrating RAV4’s thirtieth birthday. It’s an absolute milestone.
More than 500,000 have now been delivered in Australia.
When RAV (Recreational Active Vehicle) was launched in 1994 it was promoted as “the car that goes on when the road runs out”.
In those days if a car looked like a four-wheel drive off roader (and RAV4 did), it was expected to be every bit as competent as a LandCruiser.
RAV4 was a pioneer. It took a lot of persuasion to have people understand its true position, representing a brand-new concept – SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle).
We still took it over ’impossible’ terrains where it performed way above expectation.
But today RAV4 is far more. It’s a true multi-purpose vehicle
and a global leader in hybrid petrol-electric power train technology in its class.
More than 14 million have been delivered globally and in Australia earlier this year it was the biggest selling vehicle of the month, bar none, including the one tonne Utes which now lead the annual sales race.
RAV4 in now in its fifth generation.
It’s been many things to many owners – a three-door sports vehicle and a five-door workhorse.
This month Toyota announced it would now be available in Australia exclusively as a hybrid petrol-electric vehicle.
RAV4 has stood the test of time. Good examples of the original 1994 model are occasionally available in the used vehicle market – and invariably they sell for far more than their original recommended retail price.
Testing Tundraa customer’s perspective
Sydney builder Michael Dunn looks like setting a mileage record in his Toyota Tundra, the full-sized pick-up he’s driving as part of our Tundra Insider Program.
In just four months, Michael, a committed off road caravanner and snow skier has clocked up almost 12,000kms at work and play.
Three hundred selected customers are helping Toyota evaluate the U.S. built Tundra in real world conditions to determine whether it will join our model range in Australia.
Michael, his wife Olga and their three children are long term friends of Sydney City Toyota and they leapt at the opportunity to become our participants in the program.
So far they’ve towed their 3.5 tonne twin axle Pro RV caravan to Lightning Ridge, to camping sites around Sydney and on regular trips to the Snowy Mountains during the ski season.
Michael also uses his Tundra as his daily work vehicle, and particularly enjoys using its hybrid system to try to beat his own fuel economy targets.
“I’m a big bloke – 195cm tall and 130kg,” Michael said. “There was a big incentive to get into a full-sized pickup that gave us plenty of room front and rear.”
Michael admits he’d been on the waiting list for another vehicle “but I’m a big fan of Toyota. It’s better built.”
The evaluation Toyota Tundras develop an impressive 326kW of power and 796Nm of torque using the 3.5litre turbocharged V6 i-Force Max hybrid powertrain. Michael’s initial evaluation has been very positive.
“I’m getting as much fuel economy when I’m towing as I did with my Toyota Hilux,” he said.
“On the open road it’s the amazing torque that stands out – hills are no longer a challenge.”
Michael and his family are reporting back to us every three months during their 18-month trial.
So far their constructive criticism has centred on cabin adjustments which could be more intuitive in the local right hand drive conversion, and we’re taking them all on board. The conversion has occurred in Melbourne under strict Toyota protocols and many of the components used are from the LandCruiser 300.
A decision to proceed to local Tundra production will be made at the end of the trial, and Michael has already put his hand up.
“If you go ahead, I want the first,” he said.
E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N –change for the better
Last quarter Sydney City Toyota shut its doors for half a day.
It was unprecedented, not just for us, but perhaps for the entire retail motor industry.
But we thought it was justified. Just under 300 of us, including our valued business partners, met at an off-site location to plan the next evolution of our business. The focus was customer centric.
We talked of what our customers expect of us and, for that matter, what we expect of them.
We discussed having a better understanding of our customers’ needs, what we called “a customerised experience”.
And we explored ways of achieving and earning a long-term relationship with our customers.
It’s not unrealistic to reach a point where we have customers for life. The results are already being felt, dealership wide.
Part of our evolution is to share our achievements with our customers.
We’re proud to announce that Con Hatzivasiliou, our general manager, service, and Jacob Roca, our business development manager (and Dealer Principal John Roca’s son) have graduated from the two-year Toyota Future Leaders’ Program, a pathway to running their own dealerships.
We’re also delighted to announce that Alex Kostopoulos has been promoted to retail sales manager of our Glebe dealership. Alex joined us as a cadet seven years ago.
In more team news, it’s wonderful that technical advisor Sargon Shaba and technician Abby Cortez have become our entrants in the Toyota regional skills contest.
And it’s marvellous that our entire service department won bronze for service excellence in this year’s Toyota Dealer of the Year awards.
Matthew Stillone, senior business manager at Waterloo has retired after 33 years. Our group general manager Alan Dabbagh snuck in and decorated Matt’s office with farewell gifts.
Don’t fear a recession
Economic analyst Mark Bouris AM was a keynote speaker at our E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N conference. Mark is a Sydney City Toyota ambassador, a commonsense commentator on matters which to most of us are highly complex. His overriding message to our conference was: Don’t Fear A Recession.
“Recessions are short term corrections –usually between nine and fifteen months, and historically they’re followed by good periods, usually five to ten years,” Mark said.
“They are part of the cycle of our (economic) lives. It’s a bit like working hard all week and having a big rest on Friday night to recover.”
“The media loves a recession because for them it creates a negative headline. But it’s not necessarily bad – it’s a structural correction to help the economy get back into positive growth.
“In 1991’s economic downturn the then treasurer Paul Keating famously said it was the recession we had to have. I wouldn’t go that far but I would say it’s necessary to bring our national inflation rate to between two and three percent (it’s currently 3.8percent) in line with wages growth of three percent. That’s the way to assure maintenance of our standard of living.”
A likely indicator of an upcoming recession will be if the government calls an early election, Mark said. “They don’t want to run an election during a recession, people will blame them.
People always vote on their standard of living. If it’s beneath their expectation, they’ll want a change of government.”
The upside of a recession, Mark said, is that “interest rates will always lower – you can bet your house on it.
“As we come out of the downturn there’ll be more money for people to spend on things which enhance their quality of life. It could be investment in a better environment, alternative energy, cars.
“Once you understand it, it’s all about ensuring that our standard of living matches the rest of the world, and hopefully is even better.”
(Mark Bouris AM is executive chairman of Yellow Brick Road, a leading home financier).
Supporting our community
The Sydney City group, encompassing both our brands, has made a pact with the local branch of St. Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) to work four times a year on overnight food and shelter delivery.
It’s our way of being worthy corporate citizens.
We’ve provided Vinnies with a one tonne Hilux utility to tow its food van full time, but we’ve also promised to staff if once a quarter with our own volunteers.
It’s a humbling and yet rewarding experience. There’s a whole community out there in need of help. And you really only become aware of them when you’re part of Vinnies’ organised support system.
We’ve promised a team of 10 each time and there’s been an overwhelming response. We have said we’d pass on the opportunity to our customers, so if you’d like to donate, please contact Josie.Charbel@vinnies.org.au
For three years, Sydney City group has been supporting the Mark Hughes Foundation, established by the former football great to fund research into brain cancer.
Mark was diagnosed in 2013 and he based his fight and his own recovery on doing something truly positive. This year, in its Beanies for Brain Cancer promotion alongside Round 13 of the NRL competition, the foundation raised $3million –for the third successive season.
Sydney City group bought fundraising beanies for all 256 of our team members, asked them to dig deep on the day of
the company-wide BBQ and has raised over $23,000 in the past 3 years.
We support the Mark Hughes Foundation in the loving memory of our dear colleague and friend, Aykut Bayraktar, our parts and pre-delivery manager, who we lost to brain cancer in 2021.
Daisy Lacey just walked from Annandale to Lindfield for charity. Not bad for a kid that was confined to a wheelchair just five years ago.
Recently, Daisy Lacey walked out of her front door in the Inner West suburb of Annandale, and headed north. She made it all the way to Lindfield on Sydney’s North Shore without a break – a distance of almost 17 kilometres.
Along the way, the 11-year-old raised much-needed funds for a Buddy Bench for her local primary school.
What is more remarkable is that just five years ago, Daisy was diagnosed with a very large brain tumour in her cerebellum and rushed to the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, where it was successfully removed.
Unfortunately, the pressure from the tumour left Daisy with a severe case of posterior fossa syndrome, meaning she was unable to speak or move. She started kindergarten at the hospital school until finally, she was well enough to go home…in a wheelchair.
It has taken six years of weekly physiotherapy, and occupational therapy to get Daisy back on her feet again and find her voice. Nowadays she loves playing on the monkey bars, singing along with Taylor Swift and watching F1 on the TV.
Daisy is also a regular visitor to the Sydney City Lexus showroom, where she pops in for a hot chocolate and a biscuit. We were proud to support Daisy on her walk. She raised enough money for not one, but two buddy benches, so now kids who are looking for a friend will have somewhere to sit. Good on you Daisy.
New GR86 Spotlights Stars of tomorrow
Toyota’s GR Cup, featuring our sensational recently updated GR86 sports car, is now in its eleventh season – discovering and nurturing young talent.
The new GR86 is more powerful and even better handling and it’s the go-to sports car in our range.
Sydney City Toyota has been a proud supporter of the race series.
The Australian-born GR Cup is so successful that it has its own development series. It has been taken up by other countries, including the USA, and is a featured video competition on Grand Turismo 7.
We were one of the first sponsors and our driver Luke King has gone on to a professional racing career.
This year 32 young hopefuls are racing in the Australian GR Cup. There are some great names amongst them.
Max Geoghegan, grandson of five times Australian Touring Car Champion Ian ‘Pete’ Geoghegan is one of the leading contenders.
The next round of the championship is at Sandown Raceway in Victoria on 15 September; then they race as a support to the Repco Bathurst 1000 on 13 October.
Toyota is one of the largest manufacturer supporters of the sport in Australia.
We’ve won the Australian Rally Championship seven times. Neal Bates has won it four times. Neal’s son Harry has
won it three and is the reigning champion. His brother Lewis is looking to take the title from him this year. Harry and Lewis are both driving Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 cars, built at the factory.
The next round is in the Adelaide Hills on 13 September with the grand final in Tasmania on 22 November.
