New Kluger: bigger, stronger, faster…and cheaper?

Following the international launch of the US market Highlander, further details of Australia's version, the Toyota Kluger, have been made available.

The Kluger is set for a local launch on August 6. As mentioned previously (more here), the new model will be available with an entry-level front-wheel drive variant to do battle with Ford's locally manufactured Territory and Holden's Korean-built Captiva.

Toyota is claiming that the new generation Kluger will be more fuel efficient than the previous model, despite being larger and powered by a V6 displacing 3.5 litres -- versus the 3.3-litre engine of the current car.

The new engine features variable valve timing and will develop in excess of 200kW of power, according to Toyota. That gives it a significant 'on-paper' advantage over the Ford Territory (190kW of power).

Toyota says it's taking aim at Kluger's "main competitor [which] uses at least ten per cent more fuel", based on the ADR 81/01 standard.

If the Kluger's main competitor at the low end of the medium SUV segment is RWD Territory, then the Kluger's combined fuel consumption figure should be around 11.0lt/100km. By way of comparison the similarly powered Aurion, which also shares the basic floorpan with the new Kluger, returns a figure of 9.9lt/100km.

Territory displaces over ten per cent more volumetric capacity than the Kluger, but one question that's going begging for the moment concerns torque. Based on the American market figure of 336Nm, Kluger's 3.5-litre V6 is still some way behind the Territory on this front.

More importantly, Territory's torque all happens at 2500rpm, considerably lower than the Kluger's torque peak, which occurs at 4700rpm according to the American figures for Highlander. That has implications for off-road use or towing.

The engine drives through a five-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission, bestowing a marketing advantage of sorts over RWD Territory (the 4WD Fords are specified with the ZF six-speed box).

A longer wheelbase for the Kluger is offset by higher ground clearance, so Toyota asserts that the new Kluger's off-road capabilities constitute an improvement over the old model's. That may well be a further advantage to the Toyota over the Territory, since the Territory's ground clearance is far from the best in class.

According to the American press information for Highlander, the new vehicle boasts an extra inch of ground clearance (25mm) and the current Kluger already offers 5mm more ground clearance than the Territory.

As NVH is reduced for the new Kluger and more safety features are incorporated in the standard specification, expect weight to go up.

These new features include longitudinal ribbing under the bonnet -- for added strength in the event of an impact -- and a five-point mounting system for the engine -- contributing to an ambient noise reduction of six decibels, according to Toyota's press information from America.

Toyota is aiming for the Kluger to be a "class-leader" in safety features and seven airbags -- including a driver's knee airbag -- will be fitted to all models.

We'll know more when the Kluger is launched here, but in the meantime, anyone care to take a stab at pricing?

Here's one scenario we anticipate for the new Kluger: Toyota will possibly price the base FWD model at around $38,500 (skewed closer to base Territory pricing than base Captiva V6) and the base 4WD model around $42,500 (significantly less than base Territory TX 4WD).

If so, that would price the new 4WD base model marginally higher than the current entry-level Kluger, which is 4WD only.

Of course, don't expect Ford to allow the Toyota marketing machine to roll over the top of the company's best-selling SUV.

Effective from July 1, Ford announced, among other changes, that pricing of the Territory had been reduced. The new price for the base Territory TX is $37,990 or $42,990 for the 4WD version (more here).

Assuming the prospective figures suggested for the new Kluger would now be higher than the Territory's or closer to the price of the Territory than Toyota would like, will Toyota launch a price-based counter-offensive so close to the launch of the Kluger?

Toyota may already be locked into a price structure for the Kluger, so Ford's announcement certainly is timely. It may force Toyota to reprint pricing information for thousands of staff and hundreds of dealers, at the very least. That assumes that they will play ball with Ford.

As far as marketing goes, Toyota may choose to capitalise on the Australian market's perception of Japanese build quality and Toyota's traditional reputation for thrift and reliability to attract Captiva prospects.

If the pricing goes the way we think it will, Toyota is very likely to promote Kluger's power, economy and pricing advantages over Territory at the other end of the spectrum.

Pricing the base 4WD model at $42,500 would position the new 4WD within cooee of the price for the current (4WD only) base model Kluger.

There's a sales and marketing gain in pricing a brand new design at the same price or just marginally higher than the old model.

Watch out for next week's winning lotto numbers tomorrow.

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