Toyota Kluger (September 2007)

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Launched: Toyota Kluger

Wheels Magazine
August, 2007

Stretching the platforms of family cars upward wasn't fashionable when the Camry-based Toyota Kluger first romped into Australia in 2001. It quickly seized territory that was free of, erm, Territories and other competitors, but things soon changed. The market is now thick with 'crossovers', and the Kluger is just one not-very-pretty face in a crowd of a dozen vying to be your clan's tall-transport unit.

Despite not being the handsomest, quickest, or cheapest of the maxi-sized soft-roaders, the Kluger has held its own based largely on Toyota's sterling reputation for sterling quality. But even that has been shadowed by internal Toyota issues and the undeniably improving competency of competitors, particularly Hyundai. In redesigning the Kluger for its thirdquarter '07 launch in Australia, Toyota has moved forcefully to protect its franchise.

The '08 Kluger, with its robust 201kW 3.5-litre V6 and choice of front- or all-wheel drive, looks cleaner, runs quicker and grows substantially - and maintains its price premium.

Simply laying back the windscreen, tapering the nose, and rounding off the corners has done wonders for the Kluger's overall appearance. Crease lines tracing the front and rear wheelarches - giving much-needed depth to the body side - are how Toyota livens up the vast expanses of sheet metal. There's a strong link to the new RAV4, too, and the sense that actual wind was used in the wind tunnel this time.

The Kluger also gets another 74mm in the wheelbase, and this stretch improves legroom accommodation for middle and rear passengers - and adds to the total cargo volume, too. The third row of seats that before felt like an afterthought (and they were, wedged in later in the old Kluger's lifecycle) now has acceptable knee room for adults.

Getting back there is easier, too, with longer sliding tracks under the middle seats. The second bench can also be split, the slim centre cushion folding up and stowing between the driver and front passenger under the centre console. It takes practice to do it quickly (and the cryptographic instructions don't help) but once removed, kids and adults of modest waistlines can wriggle through to the back without pulling any levers to fold seats. Should you wish to fold while loading through the tailgate, remote releases drop the middle row smartly.

The dullness of the old Kluger's cabin is swept away with Lexus-like cues that include large, ringed dials in an organically sculpted dash trimmed with titaniumcoloured plastic, chrome filigrees, and, in the Grande models, counterfeit wood. The à la carte choices are many. Wire the car with sat-nav, rear climate control and power tailgate if you like frills. And an optional multi-function display gives you trip metering and reversing camera if you don't want the full-zoot navigation system.

With an extra 41kW from the new 3.5-litre V6 (replacing the 3.3-litre), power flows smoothly through a five-speed auto. Its short first and long top gears mean the Kluger rips away from the lights and delivers median fuel economy of 11.8L/100km for front-drive and 12.4L/100km for the AWD, better than the previous model, claims Toyota, despite gaining 136kg in the redesign.

But whether Toyota has worked similar miracles with Kluger's suspension remains to be seen. On the standard suspension of our US-spec test cars, the  rolling, floaty ride was disappointing, but hopefully these gripes won't translate into Australian. Toyota Oz tells us that local Klugers will run a unique suspension calibration much closer to the optional 'sports' tune available in America. Which is a good thing, because the sports-suspended cars felt far more controlled, without wrecking ride comfort. Positive news for keen drivers, especially those who read a car magazine right down to the last line of a review.

QUALITY CONTROL
Kluger is the first vehicle produced under Toyota's 'Customer First' quality initiative. After years of costcutting, the company believes fit and finish quality had slipped. So it increased the Kluger's engineering head count, quadrupled the number of dedicated quality watchdogs, and budgeted more prototypes to ensure parts hung together better before assembly. The changes "turned the engineering organisation upside down," according to Kluger executive chief engineer, Yukihiro Okane.

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