Toyota Kluger Problems

You've missed my pick, and our current Car of the Year, the Kia Sorento. It's better than any of your contenders and a top car that gets The Tick from me.

Getting the Jeep would be overkill if you don't go off-road and it seems you've answered your own question in favour of the Nissan. I give the Pathfinder The Tick and it tops the Kluger for me.

The running costs will be much the same for all three cars you mention, but the Grand Carnival is probably the better bet given your needs for carrying three teenagers and two young kids. The rear seats in the Prado and Kluger are probably not as suitable.

Yes, definitely a secondhand Kluger is a good choice.

Looking at seven-seater SUVs, the new Kia Sorento is excellent in all areas to earn The Tick and the Nissan Pathfinder is a good choice. One of them should work for you, your budget and your towing duties.

With modern stability control systems and on-demand all-wheel-drive you are far less likely to get caught out with understeer (where the nose of the car pushes wide) than you once were. Having said that, the Kluger — and the LandCruiser for that matter — aren't city-friendly vehicles. If you no longer need to tow but still like the safety net of all-wheel-drive, why not look at a Subaru Outback or Forester?

It's an interesting put-down of the Mercedes-Benz. The Territory is an all-round good car that has been developed for Australian roads, it might be more comfortable than the 'Benz, but I wouldn't say it was of a better quality. You could also look at a Toyota Kluger or a Kia Sorento, both of which would handle the roads well, be comfortable and are of a decent quality.

Definitely not the Captiva. The Kluger will cost more because of the Toyota badge. I'd favour a Territory — but make sure it's had necessary upgrades to the ball joints. As an alternative, a Hyundai Santa Fe would be a good choice.

With traction control etc. it shouldn't be prone to wheel spinning as you suggest it is. I would have the electronics checked to make sure all is in order in that area. As for the creaking doors, I wouldn't expect the doors to be creaking because of heavy towing. In fact I wouldn't expect them to be creaking at all at 68,000km and only three years old. I would suspect it's been used on rough roads in the bush.