Volkswagen Tiguan vs Toyota Kluger

What's the difference?

If there is a catch to the discounted price of the Tiguan R Grid Edition it's that you'll have to live without leather seats and a head-up display, which is fine in my books as long as the dynamics and engine are the same, which they are in this special SUV.

What isn't ideal is the Tiguan R Grid Edition not having blind-spot warning or rear cross-traffic alert, which are standard on the regular Tiguan R.

Volkswagen had to make a hard decision there, and to be fair, the lack of availability of semiconductors is the reason behind this, not cost reduction.

If you are able to accept this, you'll have a relatively affordable SUV that can do both beast mode and family mode with impressive skill.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

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.

Some carmakers would go overboard in coming up with the styling of a 300+ horsepower mid-sized SUV, but not Volkswagen which is the master of understated, yet cool, design.

Any model wearing that R badge is special. On first glance the Tiguan R Grid Edition looks ready for a boardroom meeting but look closer and you'll see it's ready for battle.

Check out the Tiguan R Grid Edition's quad exhaust, its aggro R front bumper, the 21-inch 'Estoril' alloy wheels and the blacked-out grille.

The cabin is a premium looking place but like the insides of all Volkswagens it seems very business class, functional but not too fancy.

Thankfully the sports seats, while not Nappa leather as in the Tiguan R, stop it from all being a bit serious and grown up in here.

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 Tiguan R Grid Edition is a five-seater, mid-sized SUV, it's not a seven-seater like the Tiguan AllSpace and there isn't an R version of that larger Tiguan. There is an R-Line Allspace, however.

Still, the Tiguan R Grid Edition is spacious with excellent headroom and even at 191cm tall I could sit comfortably in the second row behind my driving position.

This sounds really nerdy, but I love the way Volkswagen does door pockets - they're gigantic and I tend to throw my wallet, house keys and the mobile clutter from the rest of my life in there.

There are four cupholders on board, too (two up front and two in the second row).

The cargo capacity of the boot is big for the class at 616 litres. There are two levels to the boot floor, along with cargo hooks.

You'd expect a $64K SUV to have a power tailgate but the Grid Edition doesn't have one and this is down to the global semiconductor shortage.

The manual tailgate is fine, just remember to close it yourself - embarrassingly, on the launch I pressed the 'blank' panel where the button should be only to almost drive off with it open.

Also missing is wireless phone charging, but there are three USB ports (two up front and one in the rear).

Dark tinted side windows in the rear and climate control with directional air vents in the second row are big ticks on my own checklist for a good family car - the kids will be protected from the Aussie sun and travelling in a comfortable temperature. Never had these luxuries in my day...

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.  

In that nose is 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine making 235kW and 400Nm, and it's driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

A superb engine, a great transmission with lighting quick changes and brilliant traction from the all-wheel drive system.

And exactly the same as found in a regular Tiguan R. Volkswagen hasn't taken anything out here.

That makes the Tiguan R Grid Edition a 235kW family SUV with a 0-100km/h time of 5.1 seconds. That is quick.

How much fuel does it use? Less than you probably think.

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.

You'll need to feed your Tiguan R Grid Edition premium unleaded petrol and Volkswagen says that over a combination of open and urban roads you'll use 8.8L/100km.

That's not overly high considering this SUV isn't small, but how much fuel you use will really depend on how you drive it and no there isn't a hybrid or electric version.

A 58-litre tank means the official consumption figure translates to a driving range of around 660km.

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.

If it's possible to drive in every condition over the space of eight hours then you can do it in Victoria. From grid-locked Melbourne CBD traffic in the hot morning sun to an awesome mountain run with the temperature dropping and mist rolling in.

So, in the space of that day the Tiguan R Grid Edition showed what it could do in pretty much every situation you'll be in.

Traffic is traffic, no matter what car you're sitting in but the Tiguan R Grid Edition is a comfortable place to be with those supportive sports seats, good visibility and light steering.

So, a normal Tiguan in everyday driving, right down to the comfortable and composed ride, even if this Grid Edition rolls on impossibly thin 255/35 R21 Hankook Ventus Evo S1 tyres.

But as we left the suburbs behind and pushed into the countryside towards Lake Mountain in Victoria's Alpine region, the 235kW turbo-petrol engine cleared its throat and made itself known.

Overtaking proved to be quick and simple on the highway, and hills were squashed easily by the grunt of that engine.

There's a little blue 'R' button on the steering wheel which puts the Tiguan R Grid Edition into 'Race' mode - more like Beast mode. The dampers firm up for flatter handling and the exhaust note changes to a deep rumble.

The Tiguan R Grid Edition isn't just powerful, it turns into corners beautifully, the transmission downshifting like a pro, the grip from the tyres impressive and the traction from all-wheel drive reassuring.

That same day I drove the T-Roc R Grid Edition as well, the little brother of the Tiguan R Grid Edition. I found the mini-monster T-Roc to be more fun and agile, but it is smaller and lighter with only a fraction less grunt.

Still there are not many mid-sized family SUVs that could outperform the Tiguan R Grid Edition at this price.

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 Tiguan Grid Edition is covered by Volkswagen's five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.

A five-year servicing plan costs $3200 (annual average $640) and you'll need to get the car serviced every 12 months or 15,000km.

Expensive servicing and no standard capped prices lowers the score here.

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.