2021 Toyota Kluger Reviews

The third-generation Toyota Kluger was an extremely popular large SUV during its time in showrooms thanks to its space and safety. And these days, it's a great used-car buy.

The Toyota Kluger is all-new, and the Toyota Prado is all-time. These are two very different SUVs but, strangely, they could be cross-shopped by plenty of potential customers. So, do you go for the Kluger, which now comes with hybrid power? Or is the hardcore 4WD Prado diesel SUV the better bet? It's going to depend on how you plan to use it, says Nedahl Stelio.

The Toyota Kluger and Kia Sorento are seven-seater SUVs and Aussie family favourites, but we discovered in this comparison that they're very different in a few important ways.

The difference in looks between the Toyota Kluger GXL Hybrid and Mazda CX-9 GT SP is like chalk and cheese, day and night, Morrison and Keating... but which is better for your family in terms of practicality, safety, efficiency and daily driving?

One of the Toyota Kluger's biggest weaknesses used to be its thirst for petrol, but now the Hybrid version has arrived

The new Toyota Kluger Grande Hybrid is the first hybrid to hit the large SUV category in this price bracket, and it's entered the market with a bang.

The Grande is the king the Kluger range with a list price starting at $68,900 for the front-wheel drive and topping out at $75,400 for the hybrid version.Coming standard on the GXL are LED headlights, 18-inch alloys, leather seats, the 8.0-inch media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a proximity key with push button start, leather steering wheel and a JBL 11-speaker stereo, head-up display, three-zone climate control, moon roof, gesture tailgate and 20-inch alloys.There are two powertrains – a hybrid and a V6. The hybrid is all-wheel drive exclusively, while the V6 comes in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.The hybrid has two electric motors at the front and one at the rear which work together with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.The power output of the petrol engine is 142kW and the electric motors make 184kW. The engine torque is 242Nm. The front electric motors are able to produce 134Nm and 270Nm, while the rear can make 121Nm. All Klugers come standard with AEB with pedestrians and cyclist detection, there’s also blind-spot warning, lane keeping assistance, rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control. There are also front and rear parking sensors.For child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX locations in the second row. It’s disappointing to see, however, that the Kluger’s curtain airbags don’t cover the third-row occupants.

The GXL sits in the middle of the Kluger range with a list price starting at $58,850 for the front-wheel drive and topping out at $63,350 for the hybrid version.Coming standard on the GXL are LED headlights, 18-inch alloys, synthetic leather seats, the 8.0-inch media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a proximity key with push button start, leather steering wheel and a six-speaker stereo. It also picks up three-zone climate control, roof rails, a power tailgate, sat nav, plus heated driver and front passenger seats.There are two powertrains – a hybrid and a V6. The hybrid is all-wheel drive exclusively, while the V6 comes in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.The hybrid has two electric motors at the front and one at the rear which work together with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.The power output of the petrol engine is 142kW and the electric motors make 184kW. The engine torque is 242Nm. The front electric motors are able to produce 134Nm and 270Nm, while the rear can make 121Nm. All Klugers come standard with AEB with pedestrians and cyclist detection, there’s also blind spot warning, lane keeping assistance, rear cross traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control. There are also front and rear parking sensors.For child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX locations in the second row. It’s disappointing to see, however, that the Kluger’s curtain airbags don’t cover the third-row occupants.

The GX is the entry-grade into the Kluger range with a list price starting at $47,650 for the front-wheel drive and topping out at $54,150 for the hybrid version.Coming standard on the GX are LED headlights, 18-inch alloys, fabric seats, the 8.0-inch media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a proximity key with push button start, leather steering wheel and a six-speaker stereo, and air con for the front and second row – or if you have the hybrid you’ll get three-zone climate control.There are two powertrains – a hybrid and a V6. The hybrid is all-wheel drive exclusively, while the V6 comes in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.The hybrid has two electric motors at the front and one at the rear which work together with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.The power output of the petrol engine is 142kW and the electric motors make 184kW. The engine torque is 242Nm. The front electric motors are able to produce 134Nm and 270Nm, while the rear can make 121Nm. All Klugers come standard with AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection. There’s also blind-spot warning, lane keeping assistance, rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control. There are also front and rear parking sensors.For child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX locations in the second row. It’s disappointing to see, however, that the Kluger’s curtain airbags don’t cover the third-row occupants.

The Toyota Kluger has long been a common sight in Aussie driveways, but is this new-generation model worthy of that honour?