Toyota Kluger KX-R, KX-S & Grande

Toyota Kluger KX-R, KX-S and Grande

Not so much
>> All or nothing power delivery
>> Foot-operated parking brake
>> Lack of a sixth forward gear

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 3.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.0/5.0

About our ratings

OVERVIEW
-- Added value complements cleaner styling
Toyota has redressed what many felt was the weakest link in the design of the company's mid-size Kluger SUV -- its looks. The facelifted Kluger is more attractive than the vehicle it replaces; on first approach from the side or the rear it looks for all the world like a RAV4 and the leaner frontal styling certainly is more modern and better proportioned than the puffed-up LC200 looks of the pre-facelift model.

Toyota has crafted a new bonnet and front quarter panels for the Kluger. Along with revised headlight clusters featuring projector beam units and restyled bumper cover, the SUV now looks more like the smaller and quirkier Rukus hatch -- but better. To our eyes, the frontal styling of the Rukus suits the proportions and size of the Kluger.

At the rear the changes continue, with redesigned tail lights and bumper cover, plus a new chrome garnish. Detail changes include chrome accents around the vehicle, with coordinating black surrounds.

The mid-range and high-grade variants (KX-S and Grande) gain chrome-finish roof rails and restyled front fog lights, while the basic KX-R variant adopts the same large rear spoiler fitted to the other levels of trim. While the KX-S Klugers stick with the same 19-inch alloy wheels as before, the Grande's 19-inch wheel and the KX-R's 17-inch alloys are a new design, distinguishing all three levels of trim by the wheel design alone.

Toyota has respecified all variants of the Kluger along with downward price adjustments, providing a two-fold boost in value. The upgraded Kluger comes at a time when Toyota is eyeing the success of Holden's Captiva -- and without a diesel engine option in the works for the Kluger.

Plus there's Ford's impending Territory upgrade. Territory is a vehicle that kept the Kluger honest in the past and with the added attraction of a turbodiesel V6 in the Ford, could history repeat itself? Toyota will be hoping not, but rather than trusting in fickle consumer sentiment, Toyota is undertaking to limit the damage the upgraded Ford may do... to say nothing of the threat posed by a whole host of new entries in the medium SUV segment since the original Kluger was launched here back in 2003.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
-- Currency exchange rates relieve pressure on Kluger?
Toyota has dropped prices of Kluger variants across all three levels of trim and kicked in more equipment as a further incentive for prospective buyers. Currency exchange rates are probably helping Toyota in this regard, with the landed cost of the Kluger presumably lower now that the Japanese government is committed to reducing the value of the yen. That suggests that lower pricing for the Kluger should be sustainable.

How this translates for the Kluger consumer is a starting price of $39,990 for the entry-level KX-R five-seat variant with front wheel drive. Toyota says that this vehicle is now priced as it was on introduction to the Australian market at the end of 2007. It's also $1000 lower than the price of the pre-facelift KX-R five-seat front-wheel drive. If buyers order the car with the seven-seat (third-row) option, the price is still $800 less than before. Moving up to the KX-S is $500 more affordable than before and the range-topping Grande is priced $414 lower.

As standard, the KX-R features air conditioning, electric windows/mirrors, cloth seat trim, variable-dwell intermittent wipers, four cupholders, front maplights, cruise control, trip computer, rake/reach-adjustable steering, single-disc CD audio system with six speakers, remote (steering wheel) audio controls, Bluetooth connectivity, remote central locking and 17-inch alloy wheels. AWD adds another $4500 -- $44,490 for the five-seat KX-R and $47,190 for the seven-seat version.

The $50,990 KX-S builds on that with standard seven-seat configuration (optional for front-drive KX-R), three-zone climate control, illuminated vanity mirror for driver, roof rails, leather trim, electrically adjustable front seats, six cupholders, rear maplights, MP3-compatible six-disc CD audio with six speakers and 19-inch alloy wheels. It is also offered in AWD form, at a price of $55,490.

At the peak of the range, the $60,990 Kluger Grande adds a moonroof, woodgrain veneer trim, electrochromatic mirror, auto-on/off headlights, four-disc audio system with front DVD player/rear-seat entertainment system and satellite navigation. The AWD Kluger Grande will set you back $65,490.

For a detailed rundown on Kluger pricing checkout out our facelift news story.

MECHANICAL
-- Inaudible is laudable, but who can tell the difference?
Mechanically, the Kluger is what it was, with its 3.5-litre DOHC alloy V6 developing 201kW of power and 337Nm of torque. Drive is taken by a five-speed automatic transmission to either the front wheels directly or via a permanent four-wheel-drive system to front and rear wheels. Brakes are disc all around (ventilated at the front) and the vehicle is suspended by struts front and rear.

Just two technical changes have been effected by Toyota for the upgraded Kluger. One is the move to new engine mounts, which have reduced NVH, and the other is the introduction of electric power steering (rack and pinion) to benefit fuel efficiency. We're not sure that anyone other than an owner of a pre-facelift car will be able to pick the quieter ambience.

PACKAGING
-- Split-folding kids' seat is the big news!
If the Kluger is now more appealing on the outside, the same holds true in the cabin also. Toyota has wrought a series of changes inside the Kluger and out, starting with a keyless entry system that switches on puddle lights.

All three levels of trim adopt the same black carpet for the floor and vehicles finished in 'Sand Beige' throughout the interior come with a black dash top. KX-R and KX-S variants now boast high-gloss silver decorate trim in the centre fascia, in lieu of the Grande's woodgrain trim. Remote control switchgear on the steering wheel is now finished in black, as opposed to the silver finish of the pre-facelift Kluger.

The entry-level Kluger KX-R picks up Bluetooth and a USB input for its audio system. Up one level, the Kluger KX-S also gains the USB input, but with a newly-designed audio head unit as well. Kluger Grande's audio system now comes with a 3.5mm Aux input.

Enhancing practicality and ease of packing gear and kids in the one vehicle, the Kluger's third-row seat is now a 50/50 split-fold type, rather than the single-piece folding seat fitted previously.

Slipping into the driver's seat in the Kluger after driving a German prestige sedan, it's immediately apparent that Toyota knows how to set up a seat, controls and pedals for a driver to select the position offering optimum comfort -- within 30 seconds. Everything falls readily to hand, nothing is over-complicated and the driver can read the instruments without having to haul a huge steering wheel around. While we're not enthusiastic supporters of the foot-operated parking brake, there's no doubt it's easy enough to use and it's a fixture in many Japanese or Korean peoplemovers and SUVs, so the Kluger isn't out of place among those peers.

The Kluger Grande has power-adjustable thigh support, which really enhances what the seat has to offer in its default setting: decent comfort and lateral support.

One of this writer's points of criticism of the previous Kluger was the olde-worlde seat trim that, in the KX-R grade, threatened to look shabby in very short order. The seat fabric in the facelifted Kluger KX-R is certainly better, in the sense that it doesn't look archaic and it feels durable enough too. It will never win awards for leading-edge design, but it is a step forward for sure. As one final nit-pick, when will Toyota give us striations on its radio volume control knobs once more?

SAFETY
-- Safe in a stack, but can Kluger avoid one?
Back in 2008, ANCAP reckoned the Kluger was five-star safe. The Carsales Network was on hand at the time to witness the Toyota plough at speed into a concrete block located within the Crashlab facility in Sydney's west. Nothing of any substance has taken place with the Kluger upgrade to warrant reconsidering the Toyota's crash safety credentials.

That same year, a popular motoring magazine tipped a Kluger on its side during a test that basically called for the car's stability control system to correct an instance of oversteer at approximately 100km/h on dirt. At the time, the driver at the wheel of the vehicle blamed the incident on the failure of the stability control system to intervene. The car, as a consequence, tripped up while travelling sideways.

As you'll read below, the upgraded Kluger's stability control system proved up to the task of curbing any tail-out fun on dirt during the drive program -- after what this writer considers a reasonable length of time. In other words, the stability control system, which Toyota calls VDC, didn't step in too soon and nor did it leave things too late.

COMPETITORS
-- Never mind the knobbly-tyred set
Buyers tend to home in on a specific type of vehicle that meets their needs, whether those needs be entirely practical or just about boosting the ego. With SUVs, the ability to meet the needs of a customer can also be underscored by an element of wish fulfillment.

By that, we mean that people can and do buy SUVs for the great offroad odyssey they'll undertake one day, up the Birdsville Track or visiting Katherine Gorge perhaps. In the medium SUV segment, very few cars will take you in ultimate safety to either of those places -- and the Kluger is one of those in the majority. The compensation there is the Kluger is a lot more refined on the road than some of its more offroad-capable rivals.

All of this is a precursor to explaining that the Kluger shouldn't be cross-shopped against the Jeep Wrangler & Cherokee, Land Rover Defender, the Mitsubishi Challenger & Pajero or Toyota's own Prado. So let's forget those immediately.

For the business of carting kids, dogs, sporting equipment and shopping around, the Kluger is up against the Dodge Nitro, Ford Territory, Holden's Captiva, the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-9, Nissan Murano and the Subaru Tribeca. As a seven-seater, it will also be up against at least one people mover -- the Dodge Journey -- and some of the larger compact SUVs perhaps. Kluger outshines most of its medium SUV competitors, but lacks a diesel engine, which is increasingly important, even if the buyer plans from the very outset to stay on the black-top. With the all-up weight of the increasingly obese SUVs in this category a diesel is a must, just for the fuel economy. Even the locally-manufactured Territory is due for a diesel before the end of the first quarter next year.

ON THE ROAD
-- Silent and swift, but no offroader
Our preliminary exposure to the upgraded Kluger was lengthy, but not especially enlightening. Initially we drove a mid-spec Kluger KX-S from Canberra Airport to the small town of Hall for lunch. From there we drove a Kluger Grande to Gundaroo and the following day, after sampling a 200 Series LandCruiser in between, we made our way from the Canberra Hyatt to the Toyota LandCruiser Club facility at Willowglen in a Kluger KX-R, the base model.

Most of the driving took place on open roads or the flowing thoroughfares of Canberra's inner suburbs. There was some limited opportunity to try out the Kluger's stability control on gravel during the drive to Willowglen. It basically operated according to spec, putting a crimp in one's fun rounding a corner with the tail out. On these kinds of rally roads, the Kluger felt fairly poised and safe, but the smooth-graded gravel demanded no more of the Toyota than it would of a typical small hatch.

On sealed roads the Kluger's turn-in seemed a little reluctant initially, but once committed the SUV came around respectably well. It's not a sports car, but it's easy enough to place on the road, which is to Toyota's credit given the Kluger's accommodating ride and the electrically-assisted steering.

Toyota claims the Kluger is smoother and quieter than before, due to new engine mounts that damp more of the powerplant's NVH. It wasn't like the previous Kluger was a bucket of bolts where NVH was concerned anyway, but curiously, the KX-S driven from Canberra did produce some labouring vibration through the drivetrain from launch. It seemed to be peculiar to that car, since the vibration wasn't encountered in either the Grande or the base-grade KX-R the next day.

Otherwise, the engine was typically Toyota smooth in all three cars. It develops plenty of power, but it tends to be in the upper reaches of the rev range. The way the engine delivers its power is almost an argument in itself for Toyota to go for a six-speed box in the next Kluger upgrade. On moderate hills the Kluger would kick down to a lower gear and suddenly the driver was handed a surplus of power and the Kluger would accelerate on the hill, when the driver's intention was merely to maintain speed. Would that the Kluger could be offered with the Prado's 4.0-litre V6...

But it's the Kluger's V6 that particularly makes it such a refined animal, although the Toyota is very quiet and composed in all aspects. At open-road speeds on coarse-grade bitumen even the tyres are subdued. There's a little wind noise present also, but the drivetrain is inaudible, to all intents and purposes.

That will inevitably be among the selling points for the Kluger. If prospective buyers can afford the running costs, the Toyota is a much smoother alternative than its diesel-powered rivals. It's easy to drive and provides the mix of performance and comfort attributes most families want in their SUVs.

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