Holden Acadia vs Toyota Kluger

What's the difference?

The Holden Acadia is a proper seven-seater SUV in that it will fit adults in the third row without turning your friends into enemies. It’s also practical and well fitted out with storage places and utilities such as USB ports.

I was particularly impressed with the advanced safety equipment on-board even at this entry LT level. Yes, it’s a V6 petrol and it’s not the most fuel-efficient SUV, but our time with it showed that with cylinder deactivation and the stop-start system it might not be as thirsty as you’d think.

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.

To fully understand the look of the Acadia, take a peek at the GMC website - but make sure you shield your eyes in the same way you would during a solar eclipse, or when welding, or in an atomic blast.

You’ll understand when you get there but suffice it to say contained within the site are some pretty confronting trucks and SUVs. Once you’ve recovered, you’ll realise the Acadia is the supermodel of the GMC family.

Yep, it has a big, blocky, truck-like look but it’s a refreshingly tough styling alternative to more elegant looking SUVs such as the Mazda CX-9.

The Acadia is also one of the smallest members of the GMC family, yet its dimensions position it as a large SUV in Australia. Even then it’s not huge compared to other large SUVs here, so you won’t have an issue piloting it in Aussie car parks or fitting into spaces.

The Acadia measures 4979mm end-to-end, 2139mm across (with the mirrors out) and 1762mm tall.

Along with the Mazda CX-9 the Acadia would also consider the Kia Sorento and Nissan Pathfinder to be among its rivals.

Inside, the Acadia is a modern and stylish looking place, although it’s a bit unrefined. Still, as one YouTube commenter reminded me parents will like the wipe clean surfaces.

Well her comment wasn’t written that politely but being a parent, I concur that the hard plastics have that advantage.

The interior is not all unrefined. The seats, even in the entry grade LT we tested, while cloth (and only available in Jet Black) are sculptured with bolsters and finished with a textured pattern that looks and feels great.

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 Acadia’s practicality game is strong. It boasts seven seats with third row positions actually able to fit adults, five USB ports sprinkled through the cabin, and a cargo capacity of 1042 litres with the third-row seats folded flat and 292 litres with them in place. If you have three kids, even teenagers, the Acadia could be the perfect family personnel carrier for you.

All three rows are spacious and even at 191cm tall I had good shoulder and elbow room up front, and in the second and third rows I had enough legroom to sit in each seat behind my seating position without feeling cramped.

Feeling a bit down because you might not be able to stretch the budget to get the LTZ-V? Well, cheer up – the LT has more headroom and that’s because it doesn’t get the sunroof which eats into the ceiling height.

Cabin storage is excellent. There’s a wide and deep centre console bin, a hidey hole in front of the shifter, a tray for second row passengers, six cup holders (two in each row) and decent-sized door pockets.

Directional air vents for everybody on board, three-zone climate control, two 12-volt power outlets, privacy glass and proximity unlocking complete a great practicality package.

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.  

All Acadias come with a 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine which makes big dollops of power and torque or 231kW (at 6600rpm) and 367Nm (at 5000rpm).

A nine-speed automatic swaps gears, and in the case of our two-wheel drive LT test car the drive went to the front wheels only.

The V6 gets the thumbs up for its stop-start fuel saving system and cylinder deactivation, plus good acceleration and the smooth power delivery you’d associate with a naturally aspirated engine, but a thumbs down for needing to rev hard to make that mumbo.

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.

We were surprised by the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. After filling up the tank I drove for 136.9km on a combination of hilly country roads and peak hour evening city traffic and then filled up again – only 13.98 litres were used. That’s a mileage of 10.2L/100km. The official combined consumption figure is 8.9L/100km.

So, while the engine is big and not particularly new (it’s an evolution of the V6 built by Holden in Australia for the Commodore) it does have fuel-saving tech like cylinder deactivation and a stop-start system – which you can’t switch off.

Still, not the most fuel-efficient seven-seater – those with turbos and smaller capacity engines such as Mazda CX-9 are truly amazing in the way they can deliver grunt without getting thirsty.

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.

I drove the Holden Acadia back-to-back with the Nissan Pathfinder – you can watch the model comparison in the video above, but the upshot of that experience was important.

See, while I wasn’t a major fan of the Acadia driving experience when I first met the SUV at its Australian launch in 2018, when I drove it straight after the Pathfinder the difference was like night and day.

The Acadia is comfortable, from the big seats to the smooth ride. If you’re covering a stack of territory the Acadia makes a great highways cruiser and will chomp up big distances  effortlessly.

That V6 does need to rev hard, but it’s powerful and acceleration is swift, while the nine-speed automatic shifts pretty seamlessly. Noise cancelling tech keeps the cabin fairly serene, too.

Look, it’s not the most dynamic of SUVs and there was a bit of tyre chirp in the corners when pushed, but this isn’t a performance car and nor is it trying to be.

Small windows mean a cooler, tough look, but the downside is a dark cabin and occasionally visibility is limited by the A-pillars or out the rear windows.

A 2000kg braked towing capacity will rule the Acadia out for many thinking of pulling a large caravan or big boat. The Pathfinder’s 2700kg braked towing capacity is a strength of that SUV.

Do you need all-wheel drive? Nope, but it’s handy for dirt and gravel roads. Still the 198mm ground clearance with only front-wheel drive should see you get down bumpy roads that regular sedans couldn’t handle.

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 Acadia is covered by Holden’s five year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Servicing is recommended every 12 months or 12,000km. Expect to pay $259 for the first service, $299 for the second, $259 for the third, $359 for the fourth and $359 again for the fifth.

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.