Toyota Kluger KX-S 2WD 2011 Review

Model: Toyota Kluger KX-S 2WD
Price guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $50,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Nil
Crash rating (ANCAP): Five-stars
Fuel: 91 RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 11.0
CO2 emissions (g/km): 259
Also consider: Ford Territory, Holden Captiva, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-7, Nissan Murano, Subaru Tribeca

I haven't driven the second-gen Kluger, but I spent a fair amount of time in the first incarnation, and I can say there are two notable differences: size and NVH.

This looks like a much bigger car from outside, and it feels bigger inside. It's also quieter and smoother, thanks to Toyota's redesign and repositioning of the engine mountings to absorb more engine vibrations.

Not that it drove like a Flintstone car before. It's always been a typically middle-American inspired SUV. Like John Goodman's Dan Connor in Roseanne – big outside and in, soft round the underparts with a skew towards ease of use over complex genius. In other words, utterly predictable and absolutely reliable. And with each new incarnation, it just becomes more of all that.

With the update, Toyota has sharpened the pricing across much of the Kluger lineup. For example at $50,990, our mid-spec KX-S comes in $500 cheaper than before. The four-paw drivetrain pushes it up to $55,490 (that $4500 premium applies across the range).

But the whole point of this reconfiguration of the lineup when Toyota implemented it in 2007 was to accommodate the true needs of a good 50 per cent of Kluger buyers (Toyota forecasts a 53:47 split in favour of the front-wheel drivetrain). Kluger owners are urban lifestylers, not farmers, so all that extra complication in the diff goes wasted (not to mention the extra fuel) in light-duty commuting.

In the heat of competition expected from Ford's overhauled Territory later this year, you do get a fair bit of car for your $50K. Inside, the third row of seats for which they want $800 in the base KX-R come standard. And this time round, they're split-fold, for more flexibility in accommodating people and stuff.

Along with the now almost universal electric windows and mirrors and remote central locking come height and reach adjustment on the steering, tri-zone climate control, cruise control, roof rails, leather trim, electric adjustment and heating for the front seats, wheel-mounted audio controls, six cupholders, maplights all round, Bluetooth, MP3-compatible six- CD audio with six speakers, front foglights and 19-inch alloys.

With the update, Toyota made quite a thing of the inclusion of reversing cameras at all spec levels. That's a good thing – it's not hard to mount a credible argument for making them mandatory in these kinds of vehicles. But the four-inch screen is too small and the picture quality is crappy; more so when the sun's shining through the windscreen on to the facia, because the screen is barely recessed. In the next generation, it would be nice to see the eight-inch screen from the top-spec Grande filter down.

Other than that, climb up, up, up into the cockpit and you'll find classic no-fuss Toyota. The ergonomics are well thought out, including the audio and HVAC controls in the centre. It's easy for anyone from the smallest to the tallest to find a decent driving position.

It's nicely screwed together, although the world's biggest selling brand clearly hasn't bucked the trend towards plastics from the factory that makes cheap printers and kitchen tidies. There are acres of the stuff atop the dash. It's not that it's low quality – it's probably hardier than the soft-touch stuff we all love so much. It just feels like rubbish.

The interior bears the proportions of a hotel ballroom, with the acreage of glass to give it a light, airy feel. Legroom in the middle row of seats is the stuff of Statesmans and LTDs.

Even the fold-up back row has enough – just – for adults, although you wouldn't find this 90kg six-footer in there for anything more than an errand. There's zero fuss and bother pulling the seats out of the floor, and fitting baby chairs. A fold-down divider individualises the middle row seats when there's no third bum to accommodate.

When the third row is down, the cargo area is cavernous. Toyota doesn't publish the exact volume, but it's big, real big. The top-hinged opening window in the tailgate provides convenient access to smaller things – doubly useful because the tailgate on our vehicle proved annoyingly hard to close. Storage is as good as it gets even in these vehicles, with huge glove and console boxes, big door pockets and cup holders aplenty.

The quality of the audio was a pleasant surprise. I've driven vehicles costing a good deal more that fail to match it. It's helped by the Kluger's quietness; not only is it smooth and silent through the drivetrain, there's also little road or wind noise even at speed.

Not that speed is a great idea here, or indeed a high priority. The engine is calibrated for silky refinement over raw performance; the suspension for ride over handling.

It takes 6200 rpm to hit the 3.5-litre V6's peak 201 kW of power, and 4700 rpm to touch its peak 337 Nm of torque, but still there's some palpable torque steer on hard take-offs. It's rated at two tonnes' towing capacity; while I've no doubt it's up to the task, I can't see it doing that comfortably.

The American marshmallow ride is pleasant, but it's no virtuoso on corners. Change direction with any pace and it feels unwieldy and top-heavy – the price of the aplomb with which it negotiates big-displacement bumps and bangs on the road surface.

Considering the Kluger's bulk, the distance of the driver from the ground and the relative softness of the springs, it's admirably precise. It would certainly be up to the job should anyone wish to tighten the suspension settings.

The rack-and-pinion steering – now electrically assisted in the name of fuel economy – isn't razor sharp, but I've felt worse on smaller SUVs.

But to judge it on ride and handling is to miss the point. Like that bank in the ads of old, the Kluger is big, safe and friendly. It's five-star ANCAP safe, with seven airbags including a driver's kneebag and all the usual electronic aids: stability and traction control, brake assist and handy hill-start assistance.

Fuel consumption was a pleasant surprise, too. Toyota claims a combined-cycle 11L/100 km and an urban-cycle 15L/100km. Our only foray out of the urban cycle was a day trip barely out of Sydney and, despite the usual lack of attention to the relationship between foot and pedal, our trip computer twice returned figures in the early 12s.

So what's it like to live with? With some notable exceptions, Toyota's true genius lies in building cars for people who don't like to think about cars. In that respect, the Kluger remains bang on target: comfortable, practical, sensible, polite, filled with thoughtful touches and conveniences, and easy on the adrenal gland.

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