TOYOTA KLUGER
Renovation rescue
WELCOME to the end of the beginning of New Toyota. Back in late 2011, after a series of damaging recall setbacks and criticism over his vehicles being too dull, the company’s newly crowned president, Akio Toyoda, promised a “fun to drive again” rebirth. With the bold C-HR hitting the streets and re-engineered Camry, Yaris, Corolla, and RAV4 successors coming, the revolution has started.
Which leaves the MY17 Kluger as the last of the old-school brigade. Defiantly middle of the road, and all the way from middle America to boot, the full-sized seven-seat SUV is all about delivering exactly what consumers want, and with little surprise and/or delight.
Except… we’ve grown increasingly fond of this thirdgeneration iteration since its early 2014 launch. In our recent people-mover/suv Megatest ( October 2016 issue), we praised the GX 4WD’S creamy V6 grunt, comparative handling agility, and relative fuel efficiency.
None of the above reset benchmarks, while a fidgety ride, road-noise intrusion, a lack of wet-weather tyre grip, and unsupportive front seats raised our ire, yet the chunky Toyota managed third among its direct crossover rivals ( behind Mazda CX-9 and Kia Sorento), and fifth overall. Not bad for a high-riding SUV prioritising family-friendly packaging… which also includes vast cabin space, logical dash and switchgear, seemingly endless storage, easy access to reclinable second- and third-row seats, and roof-mounted HVAC vents ensuring sufficient air supply to all passengers.
Does the facelift move the Kluger closer to the pointy end of its class?
An overhauled 3.5-litre V6 (now with direct injection and a higher compression ratio) is big news, linked to a new eight-speed auto (replacing a six-speed). An additional 17kw and 13Nm meant the Us-spec Highlanders we drove around LA didn’t hang about. Eager off the mark, quick through the ratios ( sometimes dropping three gears instantly for maximum response), and pleasingly punchy in the mid-to-higher rev ranges, the improvements are subtle yet welcome and useful.
Fuel savings of 10 percent (running on 95 RON premium unleaded – though regular is doable too) further boosts the MY17 Kluger’s appeal (especially as no diesel is offered.) There have been no changes to the Australian-specific steering or strut-front/double-wishbone rear suspension tune, so we’re expecting the newcomer to uphold its muted yet confident handling and occasionally
unsettled ride characteristics. Our time in the light-helmed, understeer-prone Us-market Highlander through some of Southern California’s more curvaceous corners at least showed how much better our locally tuned chassis is.
Finally, the mid-range GXL gains an electric tailgate with separate flip-up glass, sat nav, and digital radio, while the Grande scores a bird’s-eye view mode on top of the range-wide standard rear camera, reverse cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning with steering assist, and sway warning.
That sums up the changes to our best-selling monocoquebodied seven-seat SUV – yet the powertrain improvements are overshadowed by the lamentable non-availability of stop/start and range-wide AEB to Aussie buyers ( see sidebars). We’re hoping New Toyota tries harder with the nextgen Kluger Mk5 in 2020.