Toyota Kluger 2003 review: road test

It's called the Kluger, which means a clever move in German.

While Holden decided to fit four-wheel-drive running gear to a modified Commodore for the new Adventra and Ford will build the new Territory here fitted with a Falcon engine, Toyota looked to Japan.

The Kluger is Toyota's version of the luxurious Lexus RX330 and is the closest competitor for the Territory, which should arrive around April.

It is a medium-sized four-wheel-drive that can handle some modest off-road work, but is no rock hopper.

There is no low-range gearbox or chunky tyres and it doesn't have masses of ground clearance.

That means the Kluger is also more likely to handle like a car than a truck.

The hard off-road work is left to the Toyota Prado and LandCruiser bush-bashers.

Kluger comes standard with a 3.3-litre V6 engine that generates a useful 172kW of power and 328Nm of torque.

Toyota's base-model Kluger CV costs $43,990, which is actually more expensive than the Prado's entry-level model.

That's because the base Prado ($38,990) misses out on anti-skid brakes, airconditioning and has to make do with an underpowered four-cylinder engine.

Luckily, the Kluger CV comes with a good level of standard equipment, including aircon, CD sound, anti-skid brakes, V6 engine, cruise control and dual airbags.

There are plenty of options, including two extra seats to bring capacity up to seven seats, for $1000.

The CVX is next in line with standard seven-seat capacity, 16-inch alloy wheels, leather seats, electrically adjustable driver and passenger seats for $48,990.

Both the CV and CVX use a regular four-wheel-drive system that includes a viscous coupled limited-slip centre differential, with a limited-slip rear differential.

The top-of-the-range Grande model, which costs $58,990, has an electronically controlled torque split system instead of the viscous coupling for smoother operation.

The Grande also gets leather seats, woodgrain, 17-inch alloy wheels and sunroof.

Grande also comes with a safety pack including front and rear side airbags as well as an airbag curtain for front and rear (for extra protection in a rollover), stability control and traction control.

This safety package is an option for the CVX model, but not available for the base CX model because Toyota says it won't have enough demand.

The Kluger only just qualified for the tax reduction imported four-wheel-drives receive, and Toyota even selected higher-profile tyres to make sure it had enough ground clearance to meet relevant government criteria.

With the new tyres, the Kluger has 184mm ground clearance, which is more than enough for most owners, but pretty low if you want to hit really rugged tracks.

The base model weighs 1740kg, but Toyota claims it can still do the 0-100km/h sprint in a reasonable 8.2 seconds. The Kluger has a claimed fuel consumption of 12.3 litres per 100km/h on a combined city and highway cycle.

On the road THE Kluger is a perfect car for the family which doesn't need a four-wheel-drive but wants one anyway.

Most only need a Camry, but want something that looks a bit tougher, has a higher seating position and could handle some dirt roads if they ever get around to taking that bush-trek holiday they have been dreaming about.

The Kluger offers all of this, but is not as big and bulky as full-blown four-wheel-drives, promises to be less thirsty and feels much more like a car to drive around town.

Toyota hopes families will find the Kluger is a smarter move than the bulky Prado.

It also benefits from having the third row of seats folding into the floor.

The V6 engine is quite capable and works well enough with the competent five-speed automatic transmission (there is no manual).

When driven normally, the Kluger rides quite well and sits pretty level around corners.

If you push harder, though, it starts to roll, more like the larger off-roaders.

Off-road grip is good and the ground clearance is satisfactory if you venture on to really rutted roads.

The interior has a quality feel, as you would expect from Toyota, and all the dials/buttons are simple to use.

Exterior styling is predictably bland.

The only way to make the Kluger look exciting is to rush it through a water crossing or cover it with mud.

The Kluger is much more sensible than the big off-roaders and offers a versatile family wagon at a reasonable price.