Toyota boosts Kluger’s standard safety

TOYOTA Australia has lifted the standard safety equipment levels of its Kluger SUV, filtering technology previously reserved for its top-spec grade across the line-up but also increasing prices by as much as $1400.

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure alert, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams and a pre-collision safety system are now standard on the base GX variant, while mid-tier GXL grades also gain automatic wipers, blind-spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert.

Toyota says the boosted safety features will “help prevent or mitigate a collision in different traffic situations” with the pre-collision technology using a forward-facing camera and radar to detect upcoming vehicles and pedestrians.

The technology will then warn drivers of an imminent collision with visual and audio cues, and, if no action is taken, the AEB system will apply the brakes to avoid or reduce the severity of impact.

As a result, however, the Kluger line-up now starts from $950 more than before with the $44,500 before on-roads two-wheel-drive GX and $48,500 all-wheel-drive version.

GXL grades however, move $1400 upstream to $54,950 and $58,950 for the two- and all-wheel-drive forms respectively, while the top-spec Grande – which received no changes to specification – remains static at $65,646 (2WD) and $69,617 (AWD).

The new Kluger range is powered by an unchanged 3.5-litre petrol V6 producing 218kW of power and 350Nm of torque that is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Fuel economy ranges from 9.1 litres per 100km in the 2WD GX and GXL up to 9.5L/100km in AWD-equipped vehicles.

The Kluger seven-seater is the third Toyota model since October to receive boosted safety equipment following the RAV4 mid-size crossover and Prado large SUV.

Last year Toyota Australia sold 12,509 examples of its Kluger after an update was introduced in February that saw an increase to engine performance, improved fuel economy and tweaked exterior styling.

The Kluger finished second in the sub-$70,000 large SUV category behind stablemate Prado on 15,982, and well ahead of other seven-seat rivals including the Mazda CX-9 (9012), Hyundai Santa Fe (7974), Kia Sorento (4725) and recently-introduced Skoda Kodiaq (630).

2018 Toyota Kluger pricing*

2WD	Price
GX	$44,500
GXL	$54,950
Grande	$65,646
AWD
GX	$48,500
GXL	$58,950
Grande	$69,617

*Excludes on-road costs