My driving impression (Kluger AWD)

[Taka]

Day 1.

I started off on a RX-8 cruise, since I am the President of the club I had to turn up. Had my official appearance and chat.

Then we went to Off road driving.

Cape Lintrap

Lighthouse Lintrap

Then we arrive the Venous Bay

Edited December 16, 2007 by takahashi

[Taka]

Day 2 going to Wilson's Prom

Top of the hill

We can get any off - road opportunity we can get

Dirty car needs a clean.

The whole trip cost just over a tank of petrol

[Taka]

Driving Impression:

The car is rock solid

The engine perform beautifully although some hill I did not expect the automatic not to downshift but it did. Prob need a 6th gear and closer ratio.

The fuel consumption though is very good. On highway with crap normal unleaded, it does 10.2 on highway and 10.8 for the whole trip (from home - back home).

The steering light and responsive. I like the driving position and even I drove 3 hour straight with twisties, I have holding just ok. Kluger is a grand tourer.

The suspension though need a slight work up. Although there is a little lean but the traction is as solid as I expect from a 2 tonne high in the ground mobile. The lean does not affect the traction but I think it is the height of the front end is. I think dropping the front, with sacrificing the ground clearance and off road entry angle, you can have a much better drive. There is a slight understeer (push) when you enter as far as I would normally for the Mazda 3 SP23 or the RX-8 (haha). But I can keep up a fast FWD (a Honda Accord Euro). I think keeping up is not just 90% driver. There is at least 10% of the car involve

Love the car! I cannot think of anything negative about it so far.

[mrbishi]

Nice one there Takahasi, some nice shots too.

Good to hear youre really happy with it so far. Thats great economy too.

I wouldnt expect it to handle like a sports car, bit hard when youre moving 2 tonnes around, buit I think it handles very well also for the type of vehicle.

Cant remember if you got the AWD, and wonder if an AWD might haver different front end feel?.

We will be taking ours up to QLD during Christmas and will try and get an idea on economy and driving.

[Tae]

Love the car! I cannot think of anything negative about it so far.

thanks for sharing Taka... some nice pics too.. The white giant stands out nicely hehe... We will be heading down to P.Island around xmas too.. Hopefully there will be some nice day ahead.. Of course we need some rain too.. but they can go to the catchment way.. hehe..

[Taka]

Cant remember if you got the AWD, and wonder if an AWD might haver different front end feel?.

I have AWD of course.

I doubt the drive train makes a lot of difference in the way that the car dips in and turn on minimum throttle. It does push in couple of occasions on moderate speed around corners... as I said it is not a sports car although I own at least one all my life!

Believe me... I will not drive the same if I were driving an XC90. The according driver was quick and I keep up with him by driving faster than most of people do in those brand on a normal sedan. The car is still within the limit and never comes close of losing traction. The tyres are bad as I though either. Lucky my wife enjoyed my driving.

[PC XT]

Cant remember if you got the AWD, and wonder if an AWD might haver different front end feel?.

I have AWD of course.

I doubt the drive train makes a lot of difference in the way that the car dips in and turn on minimum throttle. It does push in couple of occasions on moderate speed around corners... as I said it is not a sports car although I own at least one all my life!

Believe me... I will not drive the same if I were driving an XC90. The according driver was quick and I keep up with him by driving faster than most of people do in those brand on a normal sedan. The car is still within the limit and never comes close of losing traction. The tyres are bad as I though either. Lucky my wife enjoyed my driving.

Nice drive and Pics

Good to confirm the quoted fuel economy figures are achievable

If you want to go faster in a smaller box on wheels get a Forester much better drivers car (My daily drive) Nearly as much fun as a rotary as I use to drive and race with them for over 10 years.

The Kluger may not handle like a sports car but I think the motor is sweet when on song....Nice.... some what out of place in a largish 4x4 AWD but still nice for the rev head in you.

Good to see you are very happy with your new ride takahashi

[PC XT]

Cant remember if you got the AWD, and wonder if an AWD might haver different front end feel?.

I have AWD of course.

I doubt the drive train makes a lot of difference in the way that the car dips in and turn on minimum throttle. It does push in couple of occasions on moderate speed around corners... as I said it is not a sports car although I own at least one all my life!

Believe me... I will not drive the same if I were driving an XC90. The according driver was quick and I keep up with him by driving faster than most of people do in those brand on a normal sedan. The car is still within the limit and never comes close of losing traction. The tyres are bad as I though either. Lucky my wife enjoyed my driving.

Nice drive and Pics

Good to confirm the quoted fuel economy figures are achievable

If you want to go faster in a smaller box on wheels get a Forester much better drivers car (My daily drive) Nearly as much fun as a rotary as I use to drive and race with them for over 10 years.

The Kluger may not handle like a sports car but I think the motor is sweet when on song....Nice.... some what out of place in a largish 4x4 AWD but still nice for the rev head in you.

Good to see you are very happy with your new ride takahashi

[Taka]

Thanks

More pics

Power door in action

Edited December 21, 2007 by takahashi

[boleh]

..although some hill I did not expect the automatic not to downshift but it did. Prob need a 6th gear and closer ratio.

The fuel consumption though is very good. On highway with crap normal unleaded, it does 10.2 on highway and 10.8 for the whole trip (from home - back home).

The steering light and responsive. I like the driving position and even I drove 3 hour straight with twisties, I have holding just ok. Kluger is a grand tourer.

The suspension though need a slight work up. Although there is a little lean but the traction is as solid as I expect from a 2 tonne high in the ground mobile. The lean does not affect the traction but I think it is the height of the front end is. I think dropping the front, with sacrificing the ground clearance and off road entry angle, you can have a much better drive. There is a slight understeer (push) when you enter as far as I would normally for the Mazda 3 SP23 or the RX-8 (haha). But I can keep up a fast FWD (a Honda Accord Euro). I think keeping up is not just 90% driver. There is at least 10% of the car involve

Love the car! I cannot think of anything negative about it so far.

are u saying the gearbox dowsnhifted when the car was going uphill or? was it steep and do u remember what speed were u going?

we have an accord euro too (wife driving it mostly).. while it does not have the outright take-off power, it handles great on winding road. if the kluger could just keep up with the Euro around bends, thats mighty impressive!

[Taka]

Yeah my racing lap times are slow... I can catch any car on the road with my Kluger

I refer to downshifting at 100kmh up a big hill like going a long 10% gradiant hill. It is not bad just the fact that I expect a big engine will survive those. I am sure a HSV V8 will even they weight nearly the same .

[Zirion]

Nice Pics. I Loved Them Makes Me Wish I Had My Ebony Kluger Grande With Sand Beige Interior Now.

Edited January 7, 2008 by Zirion

[mrbishi]

Driving Impression : 2400km round trip Sydney - Gold Coast - Sydney over 13 days.

Vehicle: Kluger Grande AWD 4100km at start of trip.

Laden: 4 persons (2 Big + 2 Small), 3 Huge Suite cases (what for Ill never know), cooking equipment, food and almost everything else resulting in the back being filled to capacity. Must have been a couple of hundred kilos in the back

Normally we take the Flying Kangaroo for most of our vacations but this time round with the new machine we decided to drive.

We set off on Sunday 6th Jan knowing that our progress may be hindered by possible flooding due to heavy rains in northern NSW, we did see quite a lot of flooding in areas around the Pacific Highway in Northern NSW but we did not encounter any problems so our trip was hassle free to and from the Gold Coast.

The car enjoyed the trip very much, and you can really appreciate the benefits of having such a grand touring machine at your disposal.

The Kluger didn’t miss a beat, and would keep plodding along at whatever speed you required, just set the cruise control and let it do its thing. Uphill down hill, left or right the car felt firmly planted and responded well to any requests. For my requirements the dynamics instilled confidence and pleasure. I was just amazed at how quiet and smooth this machine is, at 110kmh it was so quite and smooth it felt like 70kmh. With 201Kw when coming up to slower cars or vans overtaking was effortless so it meant you could get the job done quicker and safer.

There were no complaints of discomfort from anyone which was quite amazing, so the seating positions must be okay. Up in Queensland we were laden up with 4 adults and 3 kids, and everyone was very comfortable or so they said. When all seats were used there was just enough room in the boot area to carry a few small bags and backpacks which was enough for what we required. When we did require extra room there was a massive amount of space between the front and second row seats to carry any extra bags with still comfort and room to spare.

The DVD kept the rear occupants entertained while the Sat-Nav told the dummies in front where to go.

Fuel consumption was pretty good overall it looks like we averaged around 10l / 100km. Fuel used is Caltex Vortex 98.

The best result we obtained was 9.4l/100km which was almost all highway. I should imagine the fuel economy might get a little better as the engine wears in a little more. However I don’t have any complaints, to travel around in comfort and lug around 2000kgs + , Id say the fuel economy was excellent.

In conclusion all I can say is the car drove beautifully, so much so that we hope to do it again in the near future. The drive was a pleasant effortless journey for the Kluger and its occupants and I must congratulate the boys at Toyota for coming up with such great all round machine.