REVIEW | What it’s like to drive a bulletproof Armormax Toyota Prado

SA has a major problem with violent crime and a large part of it is committed on our roads, which has spawned a booming armoured car industry so well-heeled motorists can protect themselves while driving.

The latest product offered by Joburg-based Armormax is an armoured version of the new, fifth-generation Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.

The discreet B4 package provides protection against handguns up to a .44 Magnum. All doors, panels, pillars and other exposed areas are reinforced with lightweight ballistic composite materials. The windows are 21mm ballistic glass and the package includes armoured roofing, run-flat bands and a push-to-talk intercom system.

The Armormax B4 package for the seven-seat Prado costs R754,000 excluding VAT, which includes a three-year warranty on the armouring components and workmanship, and takes about five weeks to implement.

Armormax claims the B4 package has no noticeable effect on the vehicle’s performance or dynamics, which I can attest to after taking a test drive in their demo unit.

The composite ballistic materials Armormax uses are much lighter than traditional steel armour, and the B4 protection adds 187kg to the Prado, which weighs 2.5 tonnes standard. That’s about the weight of two passengers and has very little effect on performance or handling, and the vehicle doesn’t require upgraded brakes or suspension.

Powered by Toyota’s iconic turbodiesel 2.8l engine — the same unit used in the Fortuner and best-selling Hilux bakkie — the armoured Prado has the typical touch of turbo lag in a standing start at Joburg altitude. Once on the move it accelerates through the gears with gusto and cruises effortlessly.

When pushed harder through corners, the vehicle has the typical body roll of a large SUV, but not noticeably more than a non-armoured Prado. The thick glass and armour plating make for a quieter ride as it insulates road noise, though wind noise is apparent.

I didn’t drive through dodgy areas to try to test the Armormax Prado’s ability to stop bullets; the three-day drive was to determine how easy it is to live with an armoured car as your regular ride.

In most respects it’s like operating a normal vehicle except the doors are slightly heavier to open and close, the rear windows don’t open, and the rain sensors don’t work because of the thickness of the windscreen. The front windows open about three-quarters of the way instead of all the way down, which didn’t impede my ability to reach out and collect parking tickets. The Prado’s electric tailgate operates as normal.

The car is largely unchanged on the inside and outside, and there’s little to visually tell it apart from normal vehicles. The thickened glass didn’t have any imperfections to impede the view. Armormax does note in vehicles with head-up displays, images are projected onto several layers of glass and will appear as “double vision”.

The armouring package did not have a major effect on the test vehicle’s fuel consumption, which was a respectably frugal 10l/100km and 1l more than we achieved in a standard Prado. Also, there were no squeaks or rattles in the test car, which came as a bit of a surprise after I saw how vehicles were stripped down to the metal in the Armormax workshop. All the car’s panels, fixtures and fasteners have to be removed and refitted during the armouring process.

The company armours about seven cars a month for politicians, entrepreneurs and other wealthy clients seeking protection on crime-ravaged roads.

Large SUVs such as the Prado, Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Rover Defender are among the most popular vehicles that come into the company’s Northriding workshop. Armormax also offers high-grade B6 protection designed to stop high-powered rifle bullets.

Armormax is an original equipment manufacturer partner to brands including BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Ford, Land Rover, Nissan and Mahindra. Toyota isn’t among them, but marketing manager Michael Broom said warranty claims that do not arise as a result of armouring are covered by Toyota. He said Armormax has fitted packages to more than 1,700 vehicles and has not had a single penetration or injury to date.