Ford Endura v Toyota Kluger 2019 Comparison

Ford had to wait for two long years before it was able to offer a suitable replacement for the Australian-made and Australian-developed Territory large SUV. Its successor, the Canadian-built Ford Endura, came in December 2018, flaunting appealing new looks and a suitably high-tech design that brought a comprehensive suite of safety technology in an ever so slightly larger package.

Known in other markets as the Ford Edge, and different in just about every way to the Falcon-based Territory, the Endura comes to market as a diesel-only five-seater building on a platform that supports either front-drive or AWD.

Its closest rival is Toyota’s Kluger which, though it remains as thoroughly-dominant in its sector, is not only being crowded for space by Mazda’s CX-9, but also has Holden’s new Acadia to think about in the fight for sales in Australia’s sub-$70K large-SUV segment.

In this part of the market the Kluger, which – apart from an update in February 2017  – has been around in its current form since 2014 and is expected to be replaced by a new, larger model that will be revealed internationally later this year – is feeling its age, certainly when lined up against the Mazda CX-9 and Holden Acadia.

The just-launched Ford Endura, though essentially a facelift model based on the offshore-market Edge SUV, is also pretty fresh.

However the Kluger remains the one to beat: In the segment, it’s the dominant player and sits second only to the off-road-ready Toyota Prado – which is arguably not a competitor anyway.

Despite its age, it’s hard to imagine the Kluger being toppled from its perch any day soon.

Realistically, Ford would be very disappointed if its Endura was not immediately thought of in the same breath as the Toyota Kluger – though playing five seats against seven is always going to be something of a stumbling block.

The two cars are as different in as many ways as they are similar. But the end buyer should nevertheless fit a basically shared demographic: Somebody who is in need of a large, spacious SUV that’s capable, spacious and comfortable on the road, will have the grunt to tow a trailer/boat/caravan weighing up to 2000kg and not be inordinately thirsty and expensive to run.

Running a tape measure over the two reveals there’s no real separation in terms of overall dimensions: The Endura has slightly more wheelbase (58mm) and stands fractionally taller, while the Kluger is a bit longer and, in top-spec Grande form as reviewed here, 23kg heavier than the also-premium Endura Titanium.

But, while both offer a choice between front-drive and AWD drivelines and feature eight-speed automatic transmissions, the engines could be barely more different: The Kluger soldiers on with a recently up-powered 218kW/350Nm 3.5-litre normally aspirated, direct-injection V6, while the Endura is exclusively diesel, its 2.0-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder producing less power (140kW) but more torque (400Nm) than the petrol Toyota.

The result for the Ford is that though there is less power, there is more torque per tonne than the Toyota – which helps balance out the final power delivery.

If you have absolutely no need for that extra row of seats, the Endura will impress with its unremittingly large rear storage area. Before folding the rear seats down to reveal a total capacity of 1847 litres it already offers as much as 800 litres to play with, way more than the 529 litres provided aft of the Kluger’s centre-row seat.

The total capacities show little variance however – 1872 litres for the Toyota and an only slightly less generous 1847 litres for the Ford.

The difference is in the shaping: The Ford’s load area has a clean, uniform width from front to rear, while the Toyota squeezes in a little extra space via a dogleg that increases the width behind the left-side wheel arch.

Plaudits to the Kluger however for the opening rear window that helps no end when loading smaller shopping bags into the boot. The Kluger also gets an externally-located, full-size spare while the Endura’s space-saver is located in a more common position under the rear floor.

Obviously it takes a bit of work to extract the Endura’s spare when the boot is loaded, while the Kluger’s involves more back-bending as you get down and dirty dealing with the accumulated grime from its exposed position.

Different engines lend quite different characters to the two vehicles.

The Kluger’s aspirated 218kW V6 is revvy – particularly for a large SUV – and doesn’t really get into its stride until quite deep into its torque band which begins at no less than 4700rpm. From there to the 6300rpm red line it’s all a mellowed roar as the smooth V6 tackles the considerable 2100kg of Kluger. The 9.5L/100km claim is questioned by our readings which, during the review period, were typically beyond 12.0L/100km.

The Ford Endura didn’t match the official (6.7L/100km) claim either, averaging on test more like 8.0L/100km. But the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel was remarkably quiet, even on cold startup, and came with a mid-range torque band, beginning at 2000rpm and topping out at 3000rpm, that contributed to a more relaxed driving experience across all types of situations.

Talking about cold start-ups, the Endura was as quick in initial firing-up as any diesel in memory.

The Ford Endura Titanium and Toyota Kluger Grande could hardly be more competitive in terms of pricing: Although the AWD Toyota Kluger Grande is tagged at a slightly higher $69,617 (before on-road costs) than the $67,990 AWD Ford Endura Titanium, factoring-in those extra two seats helps begin explaining away some of the $1,627 price gap.

Reflecting the differences in AWD and front-drive pricing, the two-wheel drive Toyota Kluger Grande is tagged $3,971 cheaper, at $65,646 before on-road costs, while the front-drive Ford Endura Titanium reviewed here, at $63,990, is $4000 less than the AWD version (last-minute complications made it necessary to switch to a front-drive Endura, we were unable to fully assess the relative handling/roadholding merits of the two vehicles, a situation discussed a little further on).

Both cars are very similarly-equipped in terms of safety tech – seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking (high and low-speed in the Toyota), pedestrian-avoidance, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning with lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and all-round cameras with birds-eye viewing from the centre display are common to both, although with its standard self-parking ability the Ford takes out a lot of the work squeezing such a large vehicle into a tight parking spot.

The turning circles are similarly expansive: the Endura quotes a kerb-to-kerb 11.9m, while the Kluger is quoted at 11.8ms.

There’s not much optioning-up to do here: The Endura Titanium can be had with optional dual-screen rear-seat DVD (the Kluger Grande comes as standard with a single, vision-obscuring 9.0-inch rear screen) 12-speaker premium audio, and a 180-degree front-split view camera. Tick off adaptive LED headlights, panoramic glass sunroof, power tailgate with foot-swipe activation and a power-adjusted steering column as standard in the Endura Titanium.

Betraying its advancing age, the Kluger Grande comes with a small glass sunroof and halogen headlights, while also persisting with the clunky, foot-operated park brake that is common across both Toyota and Lexus.

And though Toyota’s recently-introduced five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty now equates with most of the new-car market, including Ford, there’s still a deficit in its six-month/10,000km service intervals which contrast with Ford’s 12-month/15,000km arrangement.

The Endura also comes with a $299 fixed-price servicing deal for its first four years/60,000km, while the Kluger is covered by a $180 fixed-price servicing for the first six services over three yeast/60,000km.

In all honesty there’s not a huge gap in the dynamic abilities of the two SUVs. Both offer similar responses to the similarly-geared, electrically-assisted steering although the Endura, as you’d expect of a Ford, and with the help of larger 20-inch wheels (19 inches for the Kluger) and lower-profile tyres, tends to feel generally more precise. Ride quality, in both cases, is acceptably absorbent, perhaps slightly softer in the Kluger.

Though we did find in some circumstances that the Kluger’s on-demand AWD system behaved more favourably than the front-drive review Endura – which was prone to tyre-squealing torque steer if the front-end broke grip under acceleration – past experience has shown that front-drive Klugers exhibit similar characteristics.

The bottom line is that neither the Ford Endura nor the Toyota Kluger match happily with the “Sport” aspect of the SUV (Sport-Utility Vehicle) acronym; and were never intended to.

Strap yourself into any Kluger and you’re likely to be impressed with the smooth 3.5-litre V6 engine and the generous interior stretching space – Including, surprise, surprise, the third-row seats which, with just a little fiddling of the fore-aft centre-row adjustment, are acceptable even for adults. And the access mechanism that slides the mid-row seats forward is as simple to use and understand as the levers for folding them flat and exposing the cavernous maximum-load area.

Also, whether it appeals or not, there’s no questioning the innate sense of durability – hinted at in the quality of the trim materials and the functionality of switches/levers/buttons – that pervades the Kluger’s interior. The massive centre console bin with its two sliding shutters is a winner too.

The interior of the Ford Endura, however, looks straight away more edgy. A cleaner, crisper overall presentation includes such things as the rotating gear selector on the centre console, as well as the powered steering column adjustment and the automatic rearward slide of the driver’s seat on switching-off which add a sense of high-end class – as does the hi-res colour screen set into the dash.

Though both cars present with an appropriately plush, leathered-up interior, the Kluger looks a bit fusty and old-school. The low-res screen is a downer for sure, and seems more glare-affected than normal, which doesn’t help at all when reversing, or trying to decipher the sat-nav. The foot-operated park brake is an anachronism too.

The Ford Endura, truly, does most everything better than the Toyota Kluger. But the limitations imposed by the fact it’s only a five-seater conspire mightily against it. A bit like Mitsubishi’s Pajero Sport that began life as a five-seater, the Endura won’t really hit its straps until such time as it caters for an extra couple of passengers.

Although there’s an obvious caveat on the final decision, the Ford Endura comes away with the laurels in this comparison test.

The Toyota, though it’s head and shoulders above all other contenders in terms of market popularity, is not necessarily the best vehicle in its class.

That’s not to say the Kluger, apart from its thirst for fuel, doesn’t do everything well. It has an indisputable reputation for being bulletproof and does a remarkably good job of providing for seven passengers while performing the tasks required of a large SUV.

However, the Ford Endura’s modern, functional cabin, the performance and economy of its refined turbo-diesel engine and the levels of comfort and space provided for five passengers, without even mentioning the capacious boot in five-passenger mode, give it an unarguable lead in just about all respects over the Toyota Kluger.

How much does the 2019 Ford Endura Titanium cost?
Price: $67,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 140kW/400Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 176g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: N/A

How much does the 2019 Toyota Kluger Grande cost?
Price: $69,617 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.5-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 218kW/350Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 223g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (2014)