If you want a glorified RAV4, then the latest Toyota Kluger will do the trick.  Arguably the best spacious mid-size SUV you can buy, you get safety, space, comfort, refinement and a smooth 3.5-litre performer. Four grades are offered, the Kluger starting at around $45k for the GX (4X2), with the GX (4X4) just $4k more expensive.  The top of the range Toyota Kluger Grande lays it all on with leather plus all the bells and whistles.  For the flagship you need to hand over around $66k for the 4X2 and $69k for the 4X4.

An edgier look with a sleek new headlight design and strong angular grille with a bulky bumper gives the Kluger plenty of road presence.  The design is in keeping with the direction that the RAV4 has taken recently, and it’s an attractive direction with a bit more aggression.  Side on the 2020 Kluger has a tall roofline that slopes gently away towards the rear of the car.  Strongly pronounced rear wheel arches look good and give the new Kluger some extra muscle.  Around the back, the Kluger finishes its design up nicely with a clean set of taillights and a rounded butt.  The chiselled outer bumper lines are pretty cool, a nice eye-catching connection which gives the Kluger’s backside view a broader, larger appearance.

There is no doubt about the new Kluger being comfortable.  The nice ride quality is backed up by excellent seat comfort for all new Kluger models.  GLX and Grande models get seat ventilation.  The occupant space is excellent front and rear.  The interior design is superb and classy, with soft-touch, quality materials used throughout the cabin in all the right places.  Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, so too is satellite navigation.  Boasting a split-screen display, you can even have navigation on one side of the touchscreen with your audio displayed on the other half.

Powering all the models, the superbly smooth 220 kW, V6 petrol engine which is linked to a really good eight-speed automatic transmission is the business.  A maximum of 350 Nm is available at 4700 rpm.  All four models can be had with FWD or you can opt for it as an AWD/4×4 SUV.  Put your foot down in the new Kluger, and the engine has a nice throaty growl, with acceleration that’s nice and strong (0-100 km/h in around 8.0 seconds).  The chassis is well set up for grippy, confident handling at high speeds out on the open road.  Body roll is very well managed.  Road undulations are well muted, and the suspension soaks up the bumps in an assured and impressive manner.  Big brakes give the new Kluger excellent stopping ability, and the steering feels confident and accurate at all times.  Nice job Toyota!

You’re up high in the new Kluger and forward visibility is superb.  The driver’s seat has multiple adjustments and the steering wheel has reach and rake adjustment.  You can get really comfortable behind the wheel of a new Kluger, and long distances are soaked up with impressive refinement and comfort.  On the steering wheel you have all the necessary buttons for audio and phone.  There is a huge classy touchscreen in the centre of the dash, with menu buttons and quick selection buttons under the screen but still a part of the one-piece design.  It looks good.  The touchscreen graphics and its fast processing speed makes life pretty good when it comes to using the infotainment features on-board the well-equipped Kluger.  The new Kluger features the more conventional menu buttons for the climate control, an excellent feature – yes simple, but much more practical than having to search through menus on your touchscreen just to change the temperature in the cabin!

A couple of phone compartments with a couple of cupholders is part of the Kluger experience for front occupants.  You can wirelessly charge your phone, and AWD models have mode buttons on the centre console for tracking over different terrain types.

You can seat up to seven in a new Toyota Kluger, with 195 litres of space for the groceries still available with the third row seats in place.  Flip the third row flat and luggage space is an impressive 529 litres under the luggage tray.   With all the rear seats folded away, you get plenty of cargo carrying capacity, with over 2000 litres available.  A pretty cool feature is that with passengers and gear up to the roof, you have a rear view mirror that can display a camera view of what is behind the vehicle should you need to reverse about tight spaces.  Too easy!  In the GLX and Grande models, when you select reverse you have a big 360 degree view all around the vehicle displayed on the centre dash screen. Too good!

Second row seats are superbly comfortable, possibly even best in house.  You have your own vents and adjustments for climate control, arm rests, big leg space, decent head room, reclining seats, heated seats (GLX, Grande), two USB ports and a power outlet.

Third row seats are a bit less accommodating, especially if the second row seats are slid well back.  The seats are set low and there is little thigh support.  There are some cup-holders but no USB charging points.  That said, the third row seats are usually like this in most mid-size SUVs.

Safety for the latest Toyota Kluger is off the top shelf.  Five-star safety has a comprehensive list of -crash avoidance technology, curtain airbags, a heads-up display, active cruise control, hill-start assist lane keeping technology, blind spot monitoring, and the list goes on.

The all-new Kluger is definitely one of the best vehicles in this class of SUV.

The current 2020 Toyota Kluger models include the:

• GX (4X2)
• GX (4X4)
• GXL (4X2)
• GXL (4X4)
• GXL Black Edition (2WD)
• GXL Black Edition (4×4)
• Grande (4×2)
• Grande (4×4)

For any more information on the Toyota Kluger or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Toyota dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours.  Private Fleet – car buying made easy!