mdv

My observations having done some mild off-roading on fire trails are: 1. OEM road tyres are a big drawback - on very rocky tracks, I was concerned about puncturing, and no traction on steep loose-rock inclines. And good luck trying to find an A/T tyre for the KX-S/Grande 19" rims. (BTW, yesterday I saw a Gen1 Kluger CVX with Wrangler 225/70R16 A/TRs on the rear - neat!) 2. Underbody clearance is adequate (if you take care) but the underside protection is very flimsy - plastic and aluminium (tin foil) - I had one stone impact on right side that caused left side aluminium protection sheet to come away (which required jury rig fix using coathanger wire). 3. Lack of low range is the biggest downside - and gimmicks like Downhill Assist Control (DAC) are not a proper substitute - DAC will work (albeit with lots of mechanial spring noises) for about 2 minutes and then, to prevent the brakes from overheating, DAC will automatically switch itself off. Pretty off-putting if you are only halfway down the steep slope. In summary, I think the Kluger is a capable soft-roader, but a proper off-roader it ain't. Very competent on most gravel roads, and fairly dust-proof although a lot of dust gathers on the inside of the doors and tailgate (between rubber seal and outer edge).

Canberra Toyota - Phillip, ACT. :)

Just thought it worthwhile to mention the excellent service I received today from my local Toyata service centre. On a 200km return trip home yesterday my Kluger started making god-awful rattle and grinding noises somewhere near the left rear wheel, particularly noticeable at lower speeds. Anyhow, I took Kluger into local Toyota service centre this morning, where they placed it at the head of the daily service queue (even though I had made no booking). Inspection revealed some tar and stones (from roadworks) had got caught up in the moving parts of the rear suspension. Fully expecting that the service centre would claim that the problem was not really a warranty issue and would therefore charge something around the $100 mark for the job, I was gobsmacked when the total cost for removing wheel, inspecting, fixing problem, and re-fitting wheel came to ZERO. Total wait from dropping in 'cold' to driving away was about 30 minutes. That's the sort of service that makes me smile. :) :) :)

Thanks. Good story ... which reaffirms all the good reasons why I chose Kluger KX-S (even the same colour). BTW, you wouldn't be from Canberra per chance. I saw a merlot Grande on the road in Canberra the same day I took delivery of my merlot KX-S in December, but haven't seen it for some months.

On the rear, there's only about one finger width between strut and inside of tyre ... so that's about 20mm at best. I am guessing that putting on a 255/55 would use up 5mm of that 20mm?? Is that likely to be a problem? Also on the rear, there is about 3cm (not 3mm) laterally from inside of tyre to the wheel arch trim. Not sure what might happen if this is reduced to, say 25mm by fitting 255/55's, and then bouncing around on rough ground. Or am I imagining a non-issue? Yeah, but were you not one of the first Gen 2 owners? I'm just a 'Johnny come lately' with just over 20,000km on these tyres (but wearing far too quickly IMO) ... so I am looking to the likes of you to lead the way.

Have you gone ahead with the Advan ST 255/55R19's? My local Bob Jane T Mart salesman suggested they would not be suitable. Although I a no expert on tyres, I can't see what the problem is given the OD is only 1% larger (763mm vs 756mm). Putting steering at hard lock with Bridgestone D400's leaves at least 3cm side clearance front/rear ... which suggests there is enough there to accommodate the extra width and OD of the 255/55's. However, it looks a bit tighter at the rear wheels where the inside clearance with D400's is less than 3cm ...hmmm. Grateful for any advice.

Having moved from a 2004 Odyssey to a Gen 2 Kluger, I would suggest the Odyssey is no better than the Kluger as a people mover in terms of space. Like Kluger, 3rd row in Odyssey is fine for pre-teenagers, but not for teenagers or adults. Also, neither has much boot space when 3rd row is raised. Biggest plus for Odyssey vs Kluger is handling. Biggest minus for Odyssdey vs Kluger is lack of power - especially when towing. And Odyssey is very ordinary on gravel roads compared to Kluger AWD (as one might expect).

If you put it in S2, it will stay there until you select S3. Essentially, S4 = 4 speed auto; S3 = 3 speed auto, etc. But if you select, for example S4, geabox will change down automatically to S3 if it sees the need. I find quite often that on hitting a steep hill in S5 (or even D5) the gearbox will change down to S4/D4 and then straight on down to S3/D3. I often see this when in cruise control. The other gripe with cruise control is that when it resumes (from cancel) it wants to get back to the set speed as quickly as it can ... this also causes gearbox to drop back to S3/D3 when S4/D4 or even S5/D5 would seem quite adequate. Example: set speed at 100kph and resume cruise control at 90kph when in 5th gear ... watch it kick back straight to 3rd and make up that last 10kph in a blink of an eyelid. Does nothing for fuel consumption.

Yep (unlike RAV whose AWD is 'on demand'). On the Kluger Price thread, you will notice many of the good buys used either fleet discount or novated lease. Some of us who did not have these benefits, paid somewhere around the $53K mark for KX-S AWD on-road (excluding extras). I paid just under $56k in Dec08 (Nov08 build) in Canberra which is without hesitation a terrible place to bargain for a car. This price included: nudge bar, tow pack, roof racks and rear parking sensors. By no means the lowest price, but I am so happy that the KX-S is everything I wanted. *Edit* I think side steps are not much more than 'eye candy' ... side step will not help one little bit in reaching rear roof rack which is in line with rear axle. Front roof rack is in line with centre of rear door, so just open rear door to reach that one.

I had 2 x mountain bikes in the back of mine last weekend (laid flat on their side, one on top of the other) ... but had to put the rear seats down. And it was only a short trip (too lazy to mount the towbar bike rack). :)

Its not a very cold winter in Canberra this year - my Kluger outside temp has not gone below -3 :) But I do like the heated driver's seat - very therapeutic too.

2009 Wheels Road Tests Annual includes a comparison (p72) of 7-seater SUVs (Territory AWD vs CX9 vs Tribeca). But no Kluger KX-S AWD! Wheels wanted to include a Kluger but reportedly, "Toyota cancelled the booking, saying there wasn't a Kluger to spare." Editorial comment suggests the no-show could be linked to the previous Wheels COTY incident where the Kluger was crashed. Anyhow, looking at the various categories of comparison, I reckon the KX-S would win its fair share, and IMO would probably come out better overall than any of the models compared. Wheels comparison reaffirms my decision to go with a KX-S. :D

No wind nosie from Toyota roof racks on my KX-S

Would be nice ... but I do not see any Coopers tyres (or anyones elses A/T tyres) for a 19" rim - I think this has been discussed in another thread on this forum.

Creek crossings too - Deua NP. I reckon Kluger does pretty well off road, provided the conditions are not too difficult. Got me to and from Bendethera no probs. But I did reach its limits on a steep uphill rocky stretch of track. Biggest issue for me is only having road tyres ... especially when driving on tracks with sharp and/or large loose rocks.

While on the subject of DAC, I noticed on descending a trail with erosion control humps that DAC appeared to drive the Kluger at the controlled 5kph up and over the humps ... or was it just my imagination?

DAC only works in S1 or Reverse gears, and emulates low-range gearing by electronically applying brakes to control descent to a max of about 5 kph. It does work, having had to use it extensively on fire trails in the Deua National Park last week ... although the associated nosies can be a little off-putting at first - twangs and boings of spring mechanisms working (sorry for the non-technical speak). On steep off-road descents where 1st gear alone gathers too much speed, DAC does the trick quite nicely ... and certainly provided me with confidence. One warning with DAC though ... it wants to turn itself off automatically after about 2 minutes of continuous use - lights start blinking to alert that it is about to disengage. That can be a little discomforting if not at the bottom of the descent.

I agree - Kluger cruise control is poor on uphills. Why it wants to so readily kick back to 3rd is beyond me. Same craziness when you resume cruise control when anymore than 10kmh below the set speed - Kluger wants to get back to the set speed almost instantaneously. Eg set speed is 100kmh and you press resume at 90kmh when in 5th and cruise control instantly wants to kick back to 4th or even 3rd sometimes, even on the flat - crazy!

Thanks for the compliment - both dogs are ex-RSPCA ('plug' for RSPCA?), and are quite at home in the back of the Kluger. Good luck with your future Kluger. I do, however, highly recommend getting the rubber boot mat as well. In hindsight, it should have been my highest priority accessory after towing kit.

Quite a few $$$ more than the 'no-name' mat you would pick up from an auto accessories shop ... but I think it is well worth the investment. Extremely well-built: thick, fits the boot space like a glove (including slits for 3rd row seatbelts), and has a lip all round to prevent liquid spills from getting out - in fact, the front edge has a double-lip barrier. Only downside is that the rubber mat smell is stronger than the new-car leather smell ... can't have everything I guess.

Thanks for tip and sympathy for my dogs. Anyhow, splashed out on the genuine Kluger mat ... dogs seem happy, and I am happy. :D

I have gotta get a boot liner for my new KX-S. ATM, I use a car blanket to keep the boot area free of dog fur, sand and other stuff. On the way to my outlaws in the country, Dog #1 (sheepdog) lies peacefully while Dog #2 (black lab retriever) slides from one side to the other. Every corner, a sliding noise followed by the thud of dog striking car interior. Then the other side of Goulburn, Dog #1 scratches at the window wanting to get out. OK, I'll stop in a couple of minutes besides Pejar dam ... wrong decision. This dog wants out right NOW ... and so deposits a No2 on my car blanket. OK, stop, clean out the cr$p, wash the blanket the best I can using my bottled drinking water, roll it up .. and we'll fix things at the other end. 10 Minutes later, Dog #2 decides that all this boot-surfing (and the lingering smell of Dog #1's effort) is too much and throws up ... just where the car blanket used to be. I have now learned my lesson. Get a rubber boot liner ... non-skid, removable and washable by hose.

Nah, I haven't been stalking your Kluger out your way. I was originally going with the Tidal Blue but while metallic paint job looks good at a distance, the close-up look didn't turn me on. So I decided to go with a mica metallic paint job ... and the merlot seemed the pick of the crop ... reinforced by your posts and photos on this forum. In fact, picking up my Kluger was the first time I saw merlot 'in the flesh' ... so I guess I owe it to you and your photos. ;) Thinking I had the only merlot kluger in Canberra, I was somewhat dismayed on Day 2 to be passed by a merlot Grande :( Not quite a dead ringer ... I don't have the side steps - they seem a bit pointless coz the roof rack is positioned so far back. Now to get the rubber boot liner ... but that's a story for another post (to come shortly).

Just got my KX-S AWD (merlot) ... although its a little difficult to appreciate this lovely colour after some gravel road testing. Great car ... just love it: powerful, quiet, comfortable, so much interior space compared to my previous Honda Odyssey. While Odyssey handles better on bitumen, on gravel the Kluger is so much better that there is no comparison. Only complaint is that its a tad difficult to wash/polish the roof by hand ... unless you are Inspector Gadget.