Toyota Kluger 2021 Review – International

The Toyota Kluger has been a mainstay of Australia’s large seven-seat SUV market since the turn of the millennium, but the seven-year-old third-generation model didn’t cover itself in glory alongside newer competitors in our 2020 Best Family SUV shootout.

This new fourth-generation ‘XU70’ Toyota Kluger model aims to change all that. It has a much more modern interior, complete with infotainment that closes the gap to its chief Asian and European rivals, and it will come here for the first time with the option of (fourth-generation) hybrid power.

However, after its Australian launch was delayed from 2020, it’s now been almost two years since the Mk4 Kluger was revealed in New York and since then both the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento – our 2020 carsales Car of the Year – have both been renewed.

Can the fresh Toyota Kluger – finally due on sale in Australia by mid-2021, complete with 225kW 3.5-litre petrol V6 and 182kW four-cylinder petrol-electric power – convince us on this first drive in the UK that it’s going to stay at the front of the seven-seat SUV pack?

Clearly defining a visual link between itself and other pre-existing models in the Toyota SUV line-up including the latest RAV4, the 2021 Toyota Kluger is sort of inoffensively handsome, if not the most striking or desirable thing in its class.

Australian prices and specifications are not yet confirmed, but both expected to rise (the current Kluger starts at $44,850) and if it echoes the same GX, GXL and Grande model ‘walk’ as its predecessor, then top-spec variants in our market are likely to end up on the same 20-inch alloys as our European test vehicle.

These help bolster styling that majors on body-coloured themes, with less black plastic on show than previously – although the new Kluger still has such trims over its wheel-arches and on the very lower fringes of its bumpers.

Muscled haunches give some definition to the flanks and the seven-seat SUV sits on the same TNGA-K platform as the latest Camry, which means the XU70 Kluger has a lengthy 2850mm wheelbase.

Privacy glass in the rear windows and blacked-out pillars to the front of the vehicle all help to further bolster showroom appeal, but we wouldn’t say the new Kluger is the most daring thing to behold in this segment.

The 2021 Toyota Kluger’s new Toyota Touch 2 infotainment system looks mighty impressive perched up on the dash. It’s housed in a spur of dashboard trim that’s like a large tuning fork, which gives plenty of visual drama.

However, the actual touch-screen itself is only an 8.0-inch item, putting it behind most premium competition – which usually have at least a 10.25- or more likely a 12.3-inch display for consumers to play with.

Furthermore, the Toyota’s mapping and graphics are hardly resetting the whole in-car infotainment industry. And neither is an instrument cluster with two analogue dials framing a 7.0-inch TFT multicolour display.

That said, some people prefer the immediate legibility of analogue read-outs, while both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now supported by Toyota Touch 2, meaning you can bypass Toyota’s ho-hum software with your phone’s interface.

In terms of materials, the interior of the Kluger is fine enough – there’s contrast-stitched leather and some good use of different textures.

But that silver trim in the dash is smooth to the touch when it looks like it should be dimpled, there’s some fake wood in the doors that isn’t convincing in the slightest, and the overall ambience is not one that would hold a candle to something like a Volvo XC90 or BMW X5.

Pricing will therefore be a key determinant in understanding precisely where the Kluger sits among its seven-seat peers.

Again, in recompense, the standard equipment list ought to be good in the Australian-market Mk4 Kluger. Expect a fulsome suite of Toyota Safety Sense advanced driver assist systems to be fitted, while our European test car (similarly right-hand drive) featured a crisp head-up display, 11-speaker JBL premium audio system, three-zone climate control, and heated and ventilated seats up front. We would expect much of this kit to make it to our shores, at least in Grande guise.

Finally, seating and space. Access to the third row of chairs is fairly good, with the second-row seats sliding forwards and backwards by up to 180mm to allow a wide opening into the back of the passenger compartment.

The third-row seats still look to be only suitable for kids, though, as their low squabs would mean adults sat back there would have their knees up in the air in an awkward seating position.

Those two final pews do fold up and down easily, and the boot capacity starts at a usable 332 litres with a full complement of passengers onboard, rising to a huge 1909 litres with only the front two seats still in play.

Exact confirmation of launch models for Australia is yet to come, but the 2021 Toyota Kluger should be available Down Under with both a 225kW 3.5-litre petrol V6 and the 182kW four-cylinder petrol-electric powertrain in the car tested here, called the Hybrid AWD-i.

This is an evolution of the drivetrain seen in the RAV4, with electric motors both up front and at the back teamed to a 2.5-litre Atkinson-cycle petrol engine and an electronically controlled CVT.

Toyota never likes to quote maximum system torque outputs for its hybrids, due to the way the petrol and electric motors deliver their Newton metres at different points of the rev range.

But with 239Nm provided by the 2.5 and another 270Nm from the electric units, there’s enough grunt here to see the two-tonne-plus Kluger hit 100km/h in 8.3 seconds. Its top speed is limited to 180km/h.

In practice, this drivetrain works well in the Kluger, especially as it can – like so many Toyota hybrids – run in full electric mode more often than you might think.

Around town, it keeps its petrol engine switched off for around 50 per cent of the driving time, which is most impressive for something so big.

However, while Toyota has done sterling work recently in improving the refinement and responsiveness of its CVT-equipped hybrid propulsion systems, the Kluger still has too much engine roar if you ask for full acceleration – holding high revs and not feeling as natural as it could.

Performance is decent, though, and so is fuel economy: on a challenging 140km test route, the Kluger turned in an easy 8.4L/100km without too much throttle caution on the part of its driver.

By that rationale, the manufacturer’s combined fuel consumption claim of 7.1L/100km ought to be easier to achieve in the Kluger’s more natural driving habitat of semi-urban commuter runs.

There are no fancy adaptive dampers or air suspension options in the 2021 Toyota Kluger, the company instead saying it has fitted the TNGA-K platform with soft springs.

Toyota also says the Mk4 Kluger has the lowest centre-of-gravity of any model in its class, while its engineers have mounted the electric power steering system on the rack itself for better responsiveness.

All this, says Toyota, makes the Kluger feel smaller and nimbler than it is.

In reality, it’s not quite that clear cut. For starters, the ride quality in towns feels too firm. Maybe the platform was set up with smaller alloys than the 20s, but the big Toyota can occasionally thump and bang through potholes.

Its composure settles down out on faster thoroughfares and roads, but it’s not exactly class-leading for comfort or for the suppression of road noise.

This latter statement is odd, because there’s thicker sound-deadening materials in the front bulkhead and the wheel-arches, as well as triple-layered glass in the front windows, all of which is supposed to cut this sort of ruckus out before it enters the passenger compartment.

And while smaller vehicles on the TNGA platform, such as the latest Corolla, have proved themselves to be entertaining in the corners, the Kluger can’t pull off the same trick.

A direct corollary of its 2105kg kerb weight, it has plenty of grip and impressive traction, but there’s significant body roll to work around with higher turn-in speeds.

The sheer mass of the vehicle is always evident through the brake pedal, and in general light steering and an inert chassis means you won’t ever want to throw the Kluger around enthusiastically.

Sure, not many seven-seat SUVs are that great to drive, but Korea’s latest offerings come close and in that sort of company the Toyota is unlikely to lead the pack for dynamism.

The pricing and specs of Australian-market models may give us some much-needed additional clarity on exactly what sort of an achievement the new Toyota Kluger represents.

There is no doubt it has better infotainment, a more modern cabin design, a sleek exterior aesthetic, and a largely capable hybrid drivetrain. It’s a step up in all regards from the outgoing Mk3 Kluger.

And if it stays priced from under $45K then Toyota will deserve your serious consideration.

However, that shadowy word ‘upmarket’ hangs over the Kluger and in markets where it is being sold for the first time, such as Europe, the Toyota is robustly priced to the point it is almost as much as some of the established premium opposition – like the Audi Q7, BMW X5, Mercedes GLE and Volvo XC90.

Is it good enough to stand comparison with a Skoda Kodiaq? Yes, it is. Is it good enough to stand comparison with an Audi Q7? In this Hybrid AWD-i format, probably not, no.

Therefore, if the Kluger turns out to be too expensive, it will undo all the good work Toyota has done in polishing this product from the mediocre old Mk3 into the nicer, more appealing Mk4.

How much does the 2021 Toyota Kluger Hybrid AWD-i cost?
Price: TBC
Available: By mid-2021
Engine: 2.5-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder petrol with full hybrid system
Output: 182kW/239Nm (engine), 270Nm (motor)
Transmission: e-CVT (electronic Continuously Variable Transmission)
Fuel: 7.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 160g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not yet tested

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