New Kluger

[Taka]

Anyway, I'm getting of topic, so I think it time I go ...

No compare with people in other forum, you are the most in tune!

I realise this thing will never handle the way the SP23 does, nor do I expect it to, however, it definitely needs improvement.

The advertised mileage is rubbish. I only managed to achieve 11.6 ltr/100kms on a drive to the coast. Around town I'm averaging 12.9 (Not using the sport shift).

We actually upgraded my wife's SP23 automatic to this one. Let me tell you the SP23 does 10-11L/100km no matter how good you drive. And it is 9L/100km on the highway from Adelaide to Melbourne and back. I found the SP23 handles better but the Kluger is much more comfortable. B)

Sway bar is a good idea and I will look into the suspension side of things, since I do a lot of research work and tune it to what I like for my RX-8. I doubt it will have the alignment setting as flexible as the RX-8, but hey anything is better. Sometimes a slight lean is not a bad thing, since we have low grip tyres. I race my RX-8 and I know when the car is too low and it actually reduces my lap time. A balance is what we need.

I have also noticed some people comparing the Kluger Grande to the Lexus RX-350 on other forums. Let's make one thing clear. This is no Lexus and the two shouldn't be compared. This vehicle is almost $20K cheaper (fully optioned) than the RX-350 and in my opinion is much more suited to a young(er) family.

Let them compare! We can fit 7 people, quality is better and much cheaper. Drive.com.au said some features of Grande should make Lexus proud . Lexus RX is just a Toyota Harrier in Japan. So it is more like our brother than a rich cousin :D

[mrbishi]

Cogratulations on the new car and may I say a very nice choice indeed.

I will have to reserve my judgement on the handling until we take delivery of ours, but we test drove a few of them and had our hands on one for quite a few hours and I thought it was okay, its not like sports car handling, but hey what are we buying here. Im coming from an Alfa 156 and Ill be sacrificing a lot of the sport car benefits, but hopefully it wont be too bad.

Like Takahashi said it may be a good thing to have a bit of roll, the safety features and dynamics would be taking this all into consideration, so it might be good to have a think of what the side effects might be before we starting to stiffen up the suspension ??.

Hopefully the Toyota boys will have a sports setting they can dial up or upgrade to?.

PS I still dont know how to use all the forum quote thingos yet......

[PC XT]

Let them compare! We can fit 7 people, quality is better and much cheaper. Drive.com.au said some features of Grande should make Lexus proud . Lexus RX is just a Toyota Harrier in Japan. So it is more like our brother than a rich cousin :D

So true, the hill holder works on forward slopping hills aswell. Body roll and the way it takes speed bumps aren't its best assets either is city fuel consumption 17.5 at the moment. As I said I could not drive it every day for work

[PC XT]

I couldn't be bothered waiting for two to three months for a car to be shipped from overseas, so we opted for the Sand Beige on Ebony model the dealer had in the show room. Got a VERY good price on the car due to a few very minor scratches from the hoard of people jumping in and out of the car while on show. How good I hear you ask. Let's just say Toyota must be desperate to take the crown from Ford. Between 5 and 10K desperate. Just tell them the Ford Dealer next door is ready to do a great deal on a Territory!

So your telling us you got your car for $55k Drive away? I dont think so!

Not with those extras

[Taka]

PS I still dont know how to use all the forum quote thingos yet......

PM sent...

Oh also I meant this difference in tow bar... the tow bar is black and sticks out, and my 3 year old can sit on it!

Tow bar: Note the tow bar and its anchor is black (non painted) and sticks out

Non tow bar (note the colour of diffuser is body colour = Graphite)

Edited November 9, 2007 by takahashi

[PC XT]

PS I still dont know how to use all the forum quote thingos yet......

PM sent...

Oh also I meant this difference in tow bar... the tow bar is black and sticks out, and my 3 year old can sit on it!

Tow bar: Note the tow bar and its anchor is black (non painted) and sticks out

Non tow bar (note the colour of diffuser is body colour = Graphite)

They must be specific to colour and Model I think ours is all one colour with no black on it, will know when the budget is available for the tow bar soon.

[Taka]

They must be specific to colour and Model I think ours is all one colour with no black on it, will know when the budget is available for the tow bar soon.

The painted diffuser is on KX-S and Grande only. It is body coloured so our should be white and it look great. It just lost it with the tow bar . I have asked to keep it so I can change it when I wish

[PC XT]

They must be specific to colour and Model I think ours is all one colour with no black on it, will know when the budget is available for the tow bar soon.

The painted diffuser is on KX-S and Grande only. It is body coloured so our should be white and it look great. It just lost it with the tow bar . I have asked to keep it so I can change it when I wish

Thanks for the info takahashi, I will have to make sure I get all the bits when I buy the TOW kit (fitting it with a friendly Toyota mechanic one day soon)

Edited November 10, 2007 by PC XT

[Taka]

4 more hours and the white beast is in my hand!

[mrbishi]

4 more hours and the white beast is in my hand!

I hope you picked it up on schedule and are enjoying a nice long drive and "maybe have a sleep out tonight in the back, Im sure the wife and kids wont mind" Besides you have to read the manual and part of reading the manual is to practically try what it says, it could take a while.

We want pics too....

PS Thanks for the quoting tip, Ill have to keep experimanting.

[Taka]

I hope you picked it up on schedule and are enjoying a nice long drive and "maybe have a sleep out tonight in the back, Im sure the wife and kids wont mind" Besides you have to read the manual and part of reading the manual is to practically try what it says, it could take a while.

We want pics too....

I am reading the manual. Driven 35km around the city and concur everything that people say. It is not boat, fast .... comfy sofa.

Have not tried all the gadget in the Grande yet, but after 1 hour of ownership... all the extra are worth it. The sat nav is great and spot on, the phone Bluetooth is perfect, rear camera is an asset and the 8" screen reverse is huge!

PS Thanks for the quoting tip, Ill have to keep experimanting.

No worries

[PC XT]

I am reading the manual. Driven 35km around the city and concur everything that people say. It is not boat, fast .... comfy sofa.

Congrats on the new toy, So true about the heated sofa and the thing goes harder with more K's and premium unleaded! The motor on full song sounds like it should be in a sports car not a AWD family mover now with 600Kms in a week and a half, 3600Kms on the car total

Have not tried all the gadget in the Grande yet, but after 1 hour of ownership... all the extra are worth it. The sat nav is great and spot on, the phone Blue tooth is perfect, rear camera is an asset and the 8" screen reverse is huge! Notice how it is speed sensitive?

the 8" screen was a big factor in our purchase its brilliant isnt it

Edited November 12, 2007 by PC XT

[saintly]

congrats on the new kluger! :)

how much did it cost on the road?

[kluger07]

Hi guys,

Apologies for not posting the promised pictures of my new toy (AWD Kluger Grande).

I lost interest after finding some careless knob put a dent in the driver's side door on Saturday night. This followed eight hours of hard yakka detailing the damn thing. Oh well. It's the first dent that hurts the most I suppose.

Anyway, I thought of another issue with my particular Kluger which frustrates me and was wondering if anyone else had experienced the same thing. When filling the car at the service station the pump continually cuts out and I have to keep repositioning the nozzle in order to fill the tank. This has happened with each refill.

I also need to revise my fuel mileage. I'm now averaging about 13.8ltrs/100kms. How are you guys finding the mileage on your Klugers?

BTW. Congrats on the new Kluger PC XT. Enjoying it?

Also ... in relation to my earlier query about the poor quality of the audio system, I found this on ZDNet ...

"Those who option up the navigation system get two fewer disc spaces in the in-dash changer, but the same JBL sound system and Bluetooth."

So, I take it from this statement we should be able to upgrade our systems by installing an amp and additional speakers?!?!

Edited November 14, 2007 by kluger07

[Taka]

congrats on the new kluger! :)

how much did it cost on the road?

Depends who you ask? ;). Mine price is higher than the others

Already got some small HID driving lights to go on and take my HID out of my Berlina for the head light up grade.

PC_XT, how is your HID?

I am shopping for my car!

[PC XT]

congrats on the new kluger! :)

how much did it cost on the road?

Depends who you ask? ;). Mine price is higher than the others

Already got some small HID driving lights to go on and take my HID out of my Berlina for the head light up grade.

PC_XT, how is your HID?

I am shopping for my car!

Still not in Takahashi, not touching the new car until the old is ready for sale which it is now nearly! They will be fine used HID'S for many years now if you know what your doing and how to set them up.

[PC XT]

What a top day with the sun shinning bright........ so I took the car and the kids for a drive on the old Putty road to Mt White then on to Wismans Ferry and back through Durral.

The performed on the windy stuff was better than I expected on the open road especially with the use of sport shift mod it is very lively and revvey! Over taking is easy, not as brisk as the Forester, the Kluger gets the job done very happy. Fuel economy nudged to 12.2 briefly even with a heavy foot so 11.6 could be achievable if you drove like a Sunday driver which I over took my fair share of today!!!!

See some photos below. :) SO IS THIS NEW KLUGER UGLY :D

Edited November 18, 2007 by PC XT

[mrbishi]

What a top day with the sun shinning bright........ so I took the car and the kids for a drive on the old Putty road to Mt White then on to Wismans Ferry and back through Durral.

The performed on the windy stuff was better than I expected on the open road especially with the use of sport shift mod it is very lively and revvey! Over taking is easy, not as brisk as the Forester, the Kluger gets the job done very happy. Fuel economy nudged to 12.2 briefly even with a heavy foot so 11.6 could be achievable if you drove like a Sunday driver which I over took my fair share of today!!!!

See some photos below. :) SO IS THIS NEW KLUGER UGLY :D

Looks like a nice day out.....great pics.

I cant say weve pushed ours too much, I dont think the tacho has gone over 4k yet, but hope to give it a good run real soon, some nice bendy stuff. Not bad feul economy and I suppose it will only get better as things start to wear in. We took ours for a run down to the 'Gong on Sunday, but it was a real Sunday drive. I was almost sure our speedo was out it was reading approx 110km and felt like less than 80 until I wound it up just a bit to get a reading on those overhead speed warnings that picked us up okay.

SO IS THIS NEW KLUGER UGLY :D......NO WAY!, infact the more I see on the road, the more they make all the other SUV's on the road look old, bland and outdated. They look a whole lot better in the persona than they do in pics.

[Taka]

Been driving around for a week and enjoying it (had to leave it in the garage while we were overseas).

Now on the 2nd tank and I put some Shell V power in it. The power is the same (may be more I dunno) but the economy is much better.

First tank is 17L/100km. The 2nd tank so far is 13.5L/100km. Same roads. Just 300km on the clock so far I expect the economy will improve.

[slow_sam]

congrats on the new kluger! :)

how much did it cost on the road?

Went for the bottom of the range Kluger 4x2 KX-R automatic. The only extra I got added was the alloy nudge bar and paint (Silver pearl).

Was told a drive away price of $45,000 first up. After going to afew other car yards, which takes time, got the price down to the $40,500 mark. Lot of time spent sitting with dealers while they give you a sad story why this is going to send the company under. In the end they have room to move with rebates and discounts. Its your money, their sale. Just have to find time to get the best deal you can on the day.

[PC XT]

Been driving around for a week and enjoying it (had to leave it in the garage while we were overseas).

Now on the 2nd tank and I put some Shell V power in it. The power is the same (may be more I dunno) but the economy is much better.

First tank is 17L/100km. The 2nd tank so far is 13.5L/100km. Same roads. Just 300km on the clock so far I expect the economy will improve.

Your first tank will always be very high as you sit idling looking at all the gadgets in the dash! We are at the 4k mark going back to the dealer tomorrow to get the front window tint fixed.

Has any one used E10 Yet?

[Taka]

Your first tank will always be very high as you sit idling looking at all the gadgets in the dash! We are at the 4k mark going back to the dealer tomorrow to get the front window tint fixed.

Has any one used E10 Yet?

I think it is right foot and where u drive. After my wife had a go in couple of days. It jumped up to 16kmh and I had to drive for a while to get down back to 15.4L/100km. City driving only take lots of petrol.

I don't use E10 91 RON unleaded. Don't see the point. I may use E5 100 RON V Power racing though . There is a good Shell station near home and in Victoria Shell is better than BP. Sydney may be different.

Went for the bottom of the range Kluger 4x2 KX-R automatic.

Welcome Sam! Good job on the deal.

[mrbishi]

Still waiting to see how our economy goes we are using Caltex Ultimate.

One thing I noticed though is that you get much better fuel economy, or so it seems, if you use the cruise control on highways especially when going up hills. It seems to be a lot more gentle on the accelerator and the live fuel consumption bar graph is below maximum when going up hills, but when I drive it never drops below full scale???

[mrbishi]

And welcome slow sam

[Taka]

Still waiting to see how our economy goes we are using Caltex Ultimate.

One thing I noticed though is that you get much better fuel economy, or so it seems, if you use the cruise control on highways especially when going up hills. It seems to be a lot more gentle on the accelerator and the live fuel consumption bar graph is below maximum when going up hills, but when I drive it never drops below full scale???

It is call right foot syndrome

Cruise control always rock.

Will bring the K instead of the RX-8 for a trip next weekend..... although it is an RX-8 cruise......