Ford Everest vs Toyota Kluger

What's the difference?

The Everest is a very impressive seven-seat 4WD wagon, with real off-road capability.

As standard, it has a lot going for it. It’s quiet and refined on-road, very capable off-road and packed with features.

Do you need any of the Wildtrak additions? No, but if you have the cash and fancy a nice-looking, feature-packed off-road wagon you could do a lot worse than an Everest Wildtrak.

I still like the Sport, though…

The Kluger Grande Hybrid is outstanding among its peers for fuel efficiency, practicality and ownership costs. It's just that this grade is overly expensive. Really the GXL is the sweet spot in the range for value but you do miss out on some good features such as the sun blinds and leather seats.

That said, hybrid is the way to go with a large SUV, delivering fuel savings and a more peaceful driving experience.

Comfortable, easy, practical and peaceful, that's all parents really want.

The Everest Wildtrak retains the same dimensions and design as regular grades, but its few styling differences boil down to a front bumper with darker accents, LED fog lights, black wheel arch flares and window trim, as well as Wildtrak badging and branding.

As mentioned, it has 20-inch Asphalt Matt Black alloy wheels with all-season tyres – but you can option 18-inch ‘Boulder Grey’ alloys and all-terrain tyres for no extra cost.

On the inside it has 'Ebony' leather upholstery with 'Cyber Orange' stitching, a panoramic sunroof, 360-degree camera, and interior ambient lighting.

Exterior paint jobs include the no-cost 'Arctic White', or choose from 'Aluminium', 'Meteor Grey', 'Absolute Black', 'Blue Lightning', 'Equinox Bronze' and the Ranger Wildtrak’s distinctive like it or loathe it 'Luxe Yellow' paint on our test vehicle.

The Toyota Kluger is the New Balance sneaker of cars. Yep, Toyota has nailed Mum-and-Dad fashion with the look of the Kluger, without any hint of irony.

This generation came out in 2021 and you can guarantee Toyota won’t bring out a new-gen version until about 2028, possibly 2030.

And even then that one will also look like a loaf of bread, just with a different face. Like this one, and the last one and the one before that.

That reminds me, we need bread.

The Kluger looks tough, but not elegant. It looks modern, but not avante-garde. It looks functional and tells the world, 'if it wasn’t for the kids I wouldn’t be driving this'.

Get past the Kluger Grande’s uninspiring exterior and you’ll find a surprisingly upmarket cabin that's full of air and light, well appointed with premium seats as well as a modern and stylish dashboard.

The Grande grade adds some nice trimmings I didn't mention in the features section such as the wood-look elements, ambient lighting, and the soft-touch instrument panel.

The exterior also gains chrome elements in the grille, roof rails and larger 20-inch chrome-look wheels.

There are some elements which bring the tone down in the cabin. The JBL speakers in the windscreen pillars look like big plastic novelty ears and the wood-look trim doesn’t look or feel like wood (why didn’t they use real wood?), but it’s not worth getting uppity about.

The leather-appointed interior is comfortable and functional, but in the Wildtrak everything has an extra level of classiness to it.

There are plenty of storage spaces with sizeable bins, bottle holders in each door, cupholders for everyone – even third-row passengers get cupholders and places for their bits and pieces.

The driver and front passenger have access to two 12-volt sockets and two USB ports.

The portrait-style touchscreen is easy to use although there’s a confusion of choices going on and sometimes it takes a few substantial taps on the screen to activate the function you want.

The power-adjustable front seats are comfortable and supportive, without ever being too much of either. 

The cabin feels a bit too cosy – narrow but tall – and second-row seating is a bit squeezy for three adults, especially in terms of hip and shoulder room for larger blokes, but it’d be fine with slighter adults and even gangly teens. 

Second-row passengers get a pair of pop-out cupholders in the armrest, and can control their air con temp and fan speed, as well as open or close their air vents as they see fit, and use a 230-volt or 12-volt socket from their seat.

The second-row has a 60/40 split-fold seat back and the third-row has a 50/50 split-fold. There are five child-seat anchor points, and two ISOIX anchor points in the second row.

Third-row seats can be manually deployed or stowed away. The third row is for kids only, I reckon, with shallower room all-around.

When all seven seats are in use there’s a claimed 259 litres of cargo space in the rear; 898L when the third row is stowed away; and 1823L of cargo space when the second row is also lowered. The area behind the third row has bag hooks each side, and luggage tie-down points on the floor. 

There is a 12V power outlet in the rear cargo area, plus the Wildtrak has a hands-free power tailgate.

The Kluger is vastly more practical than many of its rivals despite them also being large and seven seaters. 

That’s because the Kluger’s use of space inside is excellent for storage, luggage and people. There’s thoughtful practicality everywhere. 

Take the Kluger’s dashboard, which doesn’t eat into the cabin too much and has built-in shelves running the width from front passenger to driver. 

And the centre console box with its roller door opening that reveals a wireless phone charger and below that deck is a huge hidden space.

There are cupholders in all three rows and generously sized door pockets.

Legroom in the second row is excellent and I can sit behind my driving position even though I'm 189cm tall.   

I could sit in the third row, but my head touched the roof and my knees were getting friendly with the back of the seat in front. As with most third rows in SUVs they’re best suited for kids.

Along with the wireless phone charger there are seven USB ports (five up front and two in the second row).

Three-zone climate control means the second row can set their temperature (this comes on the GXL grade, too), and the Grande adds sun blinds and privacy glass to the rear windows.

The rear doors also open tall and wide making entry and exit easy.

The tailgate opens high so there's less chance of bumping your head and it’s the gesture type which means you use a kick motion to open if your hands are full.

Boot space is excellent. The cargo capacity with the third row folded flat is 552 litres and with the third row up its 421 litres.  

If you’re reading this you’ve decided to find out more or possibly just want to know why I called out the price of the Kluger Grande Hybrid in the introduction.

Here’s why. The Kluger Grande Hybrid lists for $80,230. That’s before on-road costs like rego, stamp duty, compulsory third party insurance and dealer delivery charges.

That’s a lot of money and it’s because this Grande grade sits at the top of the range. 

The entry-level Kluger GX Hybrid lists for $58,290. That’s $22K less than the Grande. You could buy an entire car for $22,000 - a Hyundai Venue, a Kia Stonic or a Suzuki Swift.

So, why does the Grande cost so much? I don’t know. The features don’t seem to justify the higher price.

All Klugers come standard with alloy wheels, LED headlights, proximity unlocking and push-button start, three-zone climate control, rear privacy glass plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. And all have seven seats. 

The GXL adds built-in sat nav and a big 12.3-inch media display, heated and power-adjustable front seats, and an auto tailgate. 

The Grande then adds leather seats (heated and ventilated up front), a wireless phone charger, head-up display, panoramic glass roof, kick-function tailgate, sunshades for the rear windows and an 11-speaker JBL sound system.

Really, the GXL Hybrid is the one to get and it lists for $67,810.  

The Ford Everest Wildtrak has a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine producing 184kW at 3250rpm and an impressive 600Nm from 1750rpm to 2250rpm and a 10-speed automatic transmission.

The Wildtrak has a full-time 4WD system with selectable two-wheel drive (2H), four-wheel drive high-range (4H), four-wheel drive low-range (4L) and four-wheel drive automatic (4A = 4Auto) that sends drive to the front and rear axles as needed, and which can be used on sealed surfaces.

It has selectable drive modes including 'Normal', 'Eco', 'Tow Haul', 'Slippery', and for off-roading: 'Mud/Ruts', and 'Sand'.

These all adjust engine outputs, throttle control and transmission behaviour to best suit the terrain you’re on and the driving conditions you’re exposed to.

The Wildtrak has a locking rear diff.

If you're concerned a hybrid system will have trouble pulling a large SUV around, let me tell you, the Kluger is powerful and has no problems doing the work. This hybrid SUV could well have more grunt than any car you've ever driven.

Okay, so the Kluger Grande we tested was a petrol-electric hybrid variant which combines a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with three electric motors powered by a battery.

The engine’s output is 142kW and 242Nm while the motors make a combined 184kW. The front two electric motors make 134Nm and 270Nm of torque while the rear motor produces 121Nm.

The continuously variable transmission keeps the motion smooth and sends the drive to all four wheels, so yes, the hybrid is all-wheel drive.

Official fuel consumption is 8.5L/100km on a combined cycle. 

Our fuel consumption on this test was 15.4L/100km after a lot of 4WDing.

The Everest has an 80-litre fuel tank, so, going by those fuel figures, if your trip involves a lot of high- and low-range 4WDing, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 520km out of a full tank.

There are plenty of large SUVs with big V6 and V8 petrol engines out there with heaps of power but they use three times the amount of fuel the Kluger Grande Hybrid does. 

I know this first hand. I’ve just tested a V6 powered seven seater SUV which used 20L/100km month in, month out.

I drove the Kluger Grande Hybrid on exactly the same roads every day, doing the same things like school drop offs, the supermarket run, swimming lessons and the work commute and it used 6.6L/100km. I measured this at the fuel pump.

So, 20L/100km for another V6 seven-seater SUV or 6.6L/100km for the Kluger Grande Hybrid? Which would you prefer?

Toyota’s official consumption figure for the Kluger Hybrid is 5.6L/100km (based on a combination of open and urban roads) but mine was mainly suburban and city driving when more fuel is used.

The Kluger Hybrid has a 65-litre fuel tank which means a range of approximately 1160km is technically possible.

The Kluger Grande Hybrid doesn't need plugging in to charge. The battery recharges on the go through regenerative braking.

So, unless you’re a driving enthusiast who loves high-performance or classic cars I’m not sure why you wouldn't choose the hybrid option when it comes to a large SUV. Or a small one.

The Everest has always impressed me as a refined drive and it’s one of the best large SUV wagons on-road.

The V6 is a gutsy unit, consistently delivering sustained power and torque at low and high speeds. It’s torquey and plenty of its 600Nm is available across a broad rev range. 

The 10-speed auto transmission has had the previous-gen’s thrashiness between ratios smoothed out – and if you want to take over duties yourself you can do so via the 'e-Shifter' in this 4WD wagon. 

At 4940mm long (with tow receiver; 4914mm without) with a 2900mm wheelbase, and at 2207mm wide and 1837mm high, the Everest is a sizeable SUV, but it never feels too bloated to steer accurately, with a well-weighted helm keeping it under control. 

But you do have to drive with absolute focus, otherwise it’s long undercarriage may suffer the consequences – but more about that soon.

The cabin is very quiet, with nothing much intruding in terms of NVH (noise, vibration and harshness), other than low-level wind-rush around the wing mirrors. 

The suspension set-up – with coil springs at every corner – helps to produce smooth, composed ride and handling.

So, while it is impressive on-road, it’s not too shabby off-road, either.

For a large 4WD it feels nimble, even on tight overgrown tracks, but, as mentioned earlier, it requires the driver’s full attention at all times.

Approach angle is 30.2 degrees, departure angle is 25 degrees, and ramp break-over is 21.9 degrees.

The Everest has a long wheelbase making its undercarriage vulnerable to scraping rocks, tree stumps or exposed tree roots, especially during more technical 4WDing sections.

The sidesteps are also pronounced enough to be magnets for damage when off-roading.

Low-range gearing is good and the Everest has an electronic rear diff lock to enhance this wagon’s dirt-grabbing abilities.

Driver-assist tech aimed at making 4WDing safer and easier for everyone includes off-road driving modes such as Mud/Ruts and Sand, which adjust engine outputs, throttle, transmission, braking, traction and stability controls to best suit the driving conditions.

Hill descent control kept the Wildtrak to a controlled 3.0-4.0km/h while we tackled short steep downhills.

Wading depth is 800mm and while I didn’t get to test it this time – no mud around – I have tested the Everest previously through water and it has performed admirably. 

The Wildtrak as standard has 20-inch alloy wheels on Goodyear Wrangler Territory HTs (255/55 R20). A 20-inch tyre doesn’t give a 4WDer much flexibility in terms of how much air you can drop out of it for off-roading and correct tyre pressures are crucial for 4WDing.

Ford offers an easy fix, though, in the shape of 18-inch black alloys on all-terrain tyres as a no-cost option.

If you’re thinking about using your Everest as a touring vehicle be mindful that the Wildtrak’s payload is 741kg, gross vehicle mass (GVM) is 3150kg, and gross combination mass (GCM) is 6250kg. 

The Everest’s towing capacity is 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked).

Smooth, easy, comfortable. Let’s be honest, the Kluger is the SUV version of the Toyota Camry and like that sedan it’s not trying to be a performance vehicle.

Besides, as a dad of small children, smooth, easy and comfortable is all I want these days. I’m still hurting all over after giving piggybacks down a hill all after yesterday. I think I’ve punctured a lung or something. So yeah, smooth, easy, comfortable please and dull sounds good to me right now.

The hybrid powertrain with the continuously variable transmission means motion is smooth with no jerky gear changes and at lower speeds the Kluger glides in silence under the power of just the motors.

If you've never driven an EV before a hybrid like this is the perfect place to start. There's no plugging in to charge yet at low speeds it operates just like an electric car, moving silently and smoothly through the world.

It's serene and makes traffic far less taxing with no gear changes or idling engine.

The steering is light and accurate, while the visibility is good making the Kluger easy to pilot and park.

The suspension is set up for a composed ride and this is helped more by the big, comfy seats.

The Kluger Grande Hybrid isn’t fast in a straight line, but it isn’t sluggish either. The combination of the torque from the electric motors and petrol engine make it feel just as quick off the mark as some V6-powered SUVs I’ve driven lately.  

The Kluger was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2021 and all grades through the range come with the same high level of safety tech.

So, like all the other grades the Grande has AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, there’s blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, plus front and rear parking sensors.

The rear view camera’s view is wide and the resolution is excellent - vital for reversing out of driveways.

Child seats can be fitted only in the second row with three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts.

You should also know that airbags don't fully cover the third row occupants in the Kluger.

The Everest is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Ford offers a five-year roadside assistance, and a capped-price service plan.

Service intervals are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km and the maintenance cost for the first 48 months/60,000km (the first four services) is capped at $329 a pop for MY22 or MY23 Everests.

As always, check with your preferred dealer for up-to-date pricing.

The Kluger Grande Hybrid is covered by Toyota’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. The hybrid battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty.

Servicing is needed annually or every 15,000km and is capped at $265 per service for the first five years.