RICE RACING

LOL, someone needs to call Toyota and rip into them for total false advertising the car is 0.8 seconds faster than their *claimed* 0-100kph I read somewhere that LEXUS like to understate their times by 0.5 second range looks like this is the case here :o pleasant for a change to get better than what is advertised :) Here is some figures recorded on another KX-S Kluger with VBOX but on a FWD model, tested in same temperature conditions, you can see speedo variation is the same as I recorded posted earlier. http://editorial.carsales.com.au/car-review/2822729.aspx PERFORMANCE: TOYOTA KLUGER KX-S FWD Power to weight: 105kW/tonne Speed at indicated 100km/h 96 km/h Speed in gears: 1 61m/h @ 6600rpm 2 109km/h @ 6600rpm 3 166km/h @ 6600rpm 4 210km/h @ 5600rpm* 5 210km/h @ 4000rpm* Standing-start acceleration: 0-60 km/h: 3.6 sec 0-80 km/h: 5.7 sec 0-100 km/h: 7.8 sec 0-120 km/h: 11.3 sec 0-140 km/h: 15.0 sec 0-400 m 15.9 sec @ 145 km/h Rolling acceleration: (80-120km/h) drive 5.6 sec Track: Tooradin Airfield, dry. Temp: 12°C. Driver: Bruce Newton * Estimated or Manufacturer's claim

Oh yeah, one of my mates rang me to say the new Toe Rag R50 ($130,000 850NM all talk) SUV was tested by Wheels with their VBOX equipment to verify manufacturers claims v's REALITY This is what it got testing it one million times for best performance. "Touareg R50 0-100 8.2 seconds, 1/4 Mile 15.9@143.7 Kph (Times to Beat Pete)" ^ Did some one say OWNED by the mighty Kluger!!!

Oh yeah economy update 327km covered (I call driving hard) with this performance testing and its using a mighty 11.5lt per 100km ............. did I say I love this car? :D I still have half a tank of fuel left and have covered nearly 1100km! and only filled it twice (it came with just over half a tank from the dealer). The car is flat out sick! could not be happier, I hope others who use forums to base a decision from fact and BS find some value in this information. Here is the economy figures as detailed in previous posts (very hard driving) also I reset the computer after this mornings VBOX 1/4 mile testing and went from home to town, stopped at 3 sets of traffic lights and drove back up hill to my place with no full throttle stupidity and you can see the average economy over 30km distance when driving normally. NOTE: BP Ultimate 98 is only fuel I run. Economy run Total Km's covered since new and fuel left in tank Average after six 0-100kph tests (in total), one 1/4 mile run, and full load running in on hills and from starts + long idling and general dicking around on farm at low speed as well (327km covered)

BIG NEWS! KX-S Kluger with over 1/2 tank of BP98 Ultimate fuel and 1055km on odometer (run in) with tow bar, rubber cargo mat and bolt on plastics (heavier than stock) TEST conditions: Ambient temperature 11 deg C, RH 60%, Pressure 1021Kpa, Tire pressure 36psi, Traction and stability control OFF. OFFICIAL 1/4 mile and 0-100kph figures :D :D :D R U Ready???????? 0-100kph 7.45 seconds ! & 7.43 seconds ! 0-60mph 6.99 seconds ! & 7.00 seconds ! 1/4 mile or 402.34 meters 15.71 seconds ! @143.01 kph or 88.86 mph (compared to MOTORTREND's 87.7mph same time though) 400m 15.65 seconds ! @ 142.74 kph I will post up the VBOX Tools analysis graphs for full split times and also altitude verification (flat road!) I did the 0-100kph test on two seperate pieces of road just to be sure ! :D :D :D This thing is a freaking bullet!!! and I still have not put in my new engine oil yet So for any jockies out there wanting to debate the speed of the Kluger feel free to give them my number and I will supply my data or even my car for any doubters hahahaha ! GO THE MIGHTY KLUGER!!!

I got a bit excited today after finishing some alloy tank fabrication and decided to get rid of all of the plastic crap from underneath my Klugie :D WOW it took a fair bit of time! basically only thing left is front most plastic guard but all else removed up to the fuel tank heat shield :D Will let the engine run cooler when I tow but also let me look under neath and check mechanicals with ease, in my experience of real racing cars the half ****d attempt by toyota to put this stuff under the car will yield SFA benifit in aero drag only adding extra weight for no reason (other than to pretty it up and stop people from working on the car) and a heap of stuff that catches stones and debris and generally vibrates with time ......... have to weight the stuff but its probably 10kg+ of various brackets, bolts, plastic shields etc. Take some pics tomorrow. Oh and had to silicone the front metal extension to the alloy heat shield on the tank that basically had no bracing and moved a fair bit, Toyota put some rather tacky foam spacers on inside of this guard to stop the rattles, I just stuck it to the tank for a vibration free fix. My oil did not arrive today so have to wait till next week to do service and more VBOX tests, will do 400m as well as another 0-100kph.

My personal feeling, I have not run a controlled back to back test that would stand up to any proper scientific standard to say either way. However, I only fill my Kluger with 98 BP Ultimate fuel, the reason I use to justify this is the static compression ratio is quite high at 10.8:1 and also the engine is tight on emissions so while I have nto stuck the AFR gear on it yet I can say that the car will not be using much fuel dumping to keep things cool and thus the ignition will be trimed to keep away detonation or pinging, this tends to have a decent effect on power and efficiency at high power (higher than what you use driving like miss daisy). My economy over that last 250km of my run in has been unbelievably good (11.3lt per 100km!) and that include 2 x 0-100km VBOX tests and quite hard full load acceleration from most get aways and any uphill sections to help engine stabilize. maybe the fuel quality and the extra ignition advance it will do through the Klugers knock sensors and ECU control does make this a justification worthy of the extra expense? I just like knowing that my engine will take anything I can dish out on it and be 100% safe, these more advanced fuels also build up far less carbon in the engine too and are generally better for it overall long term if that suits your situation. The car uses so little fuel (9.9lt normal driving) I am not going to skimp and ever fill it with ethanol blended rubbish or el cheapo 91 :D My 0-100km time is 8.07 seconds V's the only other Aussie test (AWD Kluger KX-S but lighter than mine *no tow bar, extras etc*)using racelogic gear of 8.4 seconds... so not sure if that is down to the fuel? UPDATE: http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/inde...25&start=25 I have run 7.43 seconds 0-100kph time, and 15.65 seconds 400m time, with average hard driving economy or 11.5lt over 300+km distance and economy run (in hills 2 way average over same course) of 8.8lt per 100km

Performance Max. speed (km/h) 180 0-100km/h (sec) 8.2 ^ Taken from Toyota's official press release kit on the AWD model listed here (look at bottom of page) http://www.pressroom.com.au/press_kit_deta...0&kitID=229 So I can officially say Toyota have *understated* the figure by .13 of a second :)

Here is a link to USA test of AWD model http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/suv/11...highlander.html 7.3 sec 60mph! (I ran to 100kph which is 62.15mph) but 15.7 and 141kph for 403m or 1/4 mile is very impressive ! I will do this after a service and a few more km on it ...

OK VBOX3 figures First is of a speed check, 100kph on speed = about 96km actual speed on my KX-S AWD Klugie Next I COULD NOT RESIST! 0-100kph test had to see if I broke in engine good and if it has advertised power ** My Kluger had well over 1/2 tank of fuel, has tow bar and extras that makes it heavier than normal ** This was my first attempt. Showing test road start, and pull up after end of test and photo of figure 8.07 seconds ! 0-100kph distance covered 128.89 meters I will do my service now and put in the new Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and also let the tank go down to a 1/4 and remove all extra crap out of the vehicle :P I have no doubt it will crack a 7 sec 0-100 time! which is better than the other VBOX official test figure, lol is a heap better right now :D Looks like my break in method has worked though, not used one ounce of oil and with driving like a total maniac now and a crap load of idling (listening to all injectors and bearings with my Automotive stethoscope) and 1st gear crawling around the farm for 10km its at 11.6lt per 100km! I cant believe it :o

These engines are great so there is no timing belt to change or valve adjustments required, the only minor head ache is the spark plug change at 100,000km and again even that is pretty ***** easy IMHO. Real basic stuff like fuel filter, air filter, oil filter and oil changes see you through most of it....... when the pads wear down simple pad change. This thing will be a dream compared to some other cars The BIG belt hanging off the front is pretty much identical to whats on a FD RX7 and I have seen them not changed for 150,000km and still fine, should be many years of very cheap and trouble free low maintenance motoring

No I am in process of purchasing a trailer to suit the FD... IF this proves too difficult or costly I may make my own. SO now towing as yet. Yeah Toyota use a semi synthetic oil (depending on dealer, each has their own contracts with various suppliers, Valvoline, Castrol or Mobil etc) none will use full synthetic of the grade like 0W-40 as its simply far too costly for them (cant cover it in $150 fixed price and pay for shop hourly rate *NOT LABOR COSTS!* read below! *). As an idea @ wholesale you need $80 ~ $100 worth of oil alone to do the change inc filter amount (6.1 liters) without filter I think its 5.7lt and totally dry engine its around 7lt or so... * The oil any dealer will use will only cost them about $20 per 6lt !!! add a $6 filter on top and the KENTS are making a fortune each time you take the car in ($112 profit!!!) to pay an apprentice $12 for 1 hours work to change your oil and to TRASH your car around the block "to test it" So I look at it this way, I buy the BEST oil money can buy, take much more care than any apprentice will working on my own car and do the job properly and it costs me about $50 LESS than if I went to my dealer + my car does not get FLOGGED by some young KENT in the name of a "test drive" (Below is e-mail today from a company I enquired about the tool to remove the oil filter body assembly and the reply they gave me RE new part number etc... my local dealer is giving me one for $41.05 and I am picking it up tomorrow, but this is the go for anyone else interested or if they want to hit up their local dealer wanting this part and getting a crap answer from the spares department Peter.Rickard@servicesolutions.spx.com Hi Peter, Part number 09228-06501 has been discontinued. It has been replaced by 09228-06500-02 65MM across flats, 14 flats. We don't have this part in stock, but can get one from the US in about 3 - 4 weeks from order. Price including delivery and GST would be $36.56, but would need to be pre-pay as you don't have an account with us. Normally, cash sales would have to exceed $250.00, but I can make a bit of an exception! Curiously, we have the same product under a different part number, that is in stock ex-MEL, but three times the price. So if you have to have one now, it would cost $66.30 incl. delivery & GST. Any questions, don't hesitate to email me. Thanks, Pete.

The only reasonable thing you can do there is lock it into 2nd and or FIRST gear on the really tight steep decents and hairpin curves of the Clyde! I don't see any issues as the engine is 10.8:1 compression and the engine braking is excellent once in suitable gear from my drive in mountains the other day

I will set this up and take a photo of the output when I do the acceleration tests, in traffic I seem to be on par with other cars but the VBOX3 will give iron clad "certified" proof of the actual speed :D ...... seems to be close, we will see what my feelings are like compared to the hard reality hahaha. Will get on this next week OR if I get excited I might try it on Friday :) On the engine oil, I don't think this is the case in modern engines, they don't really use old cork gaskets anymore (like an old 60 series landcruiser etc) that used to get conditioned to certain oil types over time so I would not think there will be any issues at all to do with sudden leaks that will pop up etc. So far as bearings and rings go, there is zero effect between changing oil types at any time in the engines life cycle *in my books*

Good luck with your hunting Holmsie. Our price was only after a lot of persistence and being told by a couple of dealers that the best price we had been quoted must have been a mistake. One particular dealer had me sit there for over half an hour giving the impression they could give that price only to turn around and say $2.8K more was the best they could do. In the end we went back to our local dealer and got the price I mentioned above. I paid 56.5k for my KX-S AWD with tow bar, mats, cargo rubber mat, light protector, bonnet protector and drivers weather shield, I was just happy to get my baby in blue ... and to be driving it :D

You will love it! I listened to my engine today with my "doctor type" automotive stethoscope :D and its just a gem of a donk :D

Well just found supply of Mobil 1 0W-40 at wholesale in Melbourne (no way am I paying extortion prices in retail outlets). Some good reading here http://www.performanceoilnews.com/oils_against_oils.shtml Also ordered the SST to properly undo and do up the oil filter assembly from the engine block ($41.05) after I provided them with a picture of it and part number She will get new full synthetic oil and filter and all be good next week :D

http://www.sportwing.premiersitecreator.co...893.htm#image_1 ^ Anyone know if these will match my blue? ...... look like a good idea and they kinda break up the big panel effect of the doors

Once I run in my car I will use my $30k Race Logic VBOX3 analysis gear to verify the cars basic performance parameters 0-100kph 0-400m time/speed and also 80-120 time... just to get an idea of Toyota claims and see how they stack up to reality. I am one of the few people in Australia to use this top end spec of the VBOX, most magazine testers use a lower grade unit (like Wheels and the numerous other publications in print and on-line), will also log the air fuel ratio as well. Mines the AWD model so figures I found to date (tested on a race logic equipment were, http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleD...ArticleID=45916 0-100kph = 8.4 seconds 0-400m = 16.7 @ 136kph Done as below: (of above link) "There's only one way to accurately determine exactly how fast - or slow - a car is. Each of Drive's 2007 Car of the Year finalists was subjected to independent performance testing in a controlled environment using a Racelogic Drift Box. GPS satellite-based measurements included a standard 0-100km/h test and a 0-400m dash. The figures give an indication of a vehicle's standing start acceleration and how it compares to other vehicles in its category. All testing was conducted in a controlled environment. The 0-100km/h testing was conducted on a flat piece of race track at the Broadford State Motorcycle Sports Complex. The 0-400m testing was conducted on an undulating piece of track at the same complex. Each car was tested by the same driver on the same day, ensuring each vehicle underwent the same test. Cars with an automatic transmission were left in "D" (drive) and the accelerator floored from rest, just as average drivers would do. Weather for the day of testing was warm (hovering around 30 degrees Celcius)." *** I will run my tests on a total flat test track :) and in winter time so IF my engine is run in correctly I should obliterate the above recorded figure for the KX-S AWD model ***

Here goes *keep in mind this are just my ideas I apply to all engines from my racing rotaries to my little 3.5cc Nitro Methanol RC buggy* (I build my own engines and pull apart many so its the basis of my ideas behind run in) Do not apply any great load on your engine until properly warmed up (even after run in) *temp needle has stabilized mid way* * My KX-s had 11km on it when I picked it up. 1. First step (sub 3000rpm) No speed higher than 80kph for first 200km - very light throttle application (1/4 and avoid any big hills and if approaching any use minimal power) - vary speed if possible but not crucial at this stage 2. Part 2 (sub 3000rpm) - 200km with speed increased to 90kph - 1/4 to 1/3rd throttle but again taking off like the proverbial grand mother is the go still here 3. part 3 (up to 3500rpm) - 200km with maximum speed lifted to 100kph - same 1/4 to 1/3 throttle, still not using any great amount of available power to accelerate vehicle, as a guide you should be getting 10lt per 100km region in non city (excessive stop start) driving to give you an idea of how gentle I do this phase (by this time your @ 600mk covered *if it applies to your car*) and now you can start to find a nice area and manually control the gearbox to allow the revs to be held before its allowed to shift into next gear 4. part 4 (4000rpm) - 200km maximum speed to 110kph 1/2 to 3/4 and NOT FROM STAND STILL YET but from 40 to 60 kph I hold the gears working them from 2nd to 4th and shifting at 3500 to 4000rpm as your accelerating, either up to speed or up a hill, hills are great as they will impart good load on the engine and facilitate correct level of sustained load on the engine to seat critical elements like piston rings, bearings, etc, combined with the higher revs will do a good job of this. 5. last stages (4500 rpm) - 200km same max speed 110kph 3/4 throttle majority when accelerating (still not from a dead stop but as explained above) but using up to 4500rpm again only possible by manually flicking lever, on hills or inclines I use these as an opportunity to hold the load for longer, like accelerating in 3rd gear from about 60km to 105kph or so at 3/4 throttle etc then changing to top and finding next bit of suitable road to repeat this. In my last picture of the 83km trip I did this acceleration procedure about a dozen times? or probably more. To know you have done a good of fair job your exhaust system should be blue/ brown in color from the end of the catalytic converter to the start of the big muffler opposite the petrol tank. This basically means you have made enough heat and worked your engine to an acceptable level to allow a proper break in. **me personally I change my own oil and only use Mobil 1 5w-50 grade, after 1000km running on factory oil (semi synthetic) I will dump it and the oil filter as its done its job, the Mobil or similar quality has far great level of protection from my experience and after break in I am focused on reducing as much wear as possible not promoting it, I use 50 weight on the high temp end as it is a thicker viscosity when warm and it provides far lower wear and far great protection of the engine in hard conditions for a documented reduction is metal inclusions in oil analysis between services (engine not getting eaten up! to save .1lt per 100km!) 30 weight hot oils like factory prescribe are too thin and while giving marginally better fuel consumption they come at a cost, greater engine wear and tear. I will post up my economy figures on Mobil 1 5w-50 for anyone concerned on interested on its effect of the factory filled oil, I doubt there will be any difference here.** After you have reached 1000km and progressive step up of load and revs the engine should be happy enough to accept some full throttle applications, again I would limit the use of this from a dead stand still as your still breaking it other parts of the car like the gearbox, differentials all joints and bearings. I think if you employ this or another break in procedure you will have a better overall car that should return great economy and power, but also other drive line parts will be long lasting. The idea behind it all is no matter how good parts are machined/manufactured (I am a mechanical engineer and also a machinist by trade) there will always be a basic mismatch of elements be it a simple ball bearing running in a race or a something more complex like a piston ring in a bore, there are literally thousands of such interfaces in your car and all of these need to be given time to "find their own place" as a mating part to another. Basic stuff like the rear diff on my 16km drive at 80kph back home from my local dealer was running quite warm for such a short journey (this is due to stuff like seals and gears generating excess heat from rubbing various high spots etc and thus developing heat) these things settle down allot over time but if you give excess load to these items before they have a chance to settle it then they wear funny as a result. I dont want to worry anyone who has not had the opportunity to do this in such an anal way as id do all of my mechanical items but its just a thing if you have the opportunity to do then it can be shown to provide positive effects in terms of longevity, efficiency, and basic power output as well. For those who have taken time to read this and think oh I missed out on doing that or cant do it due to various practical restrictions please don't feel bad, i have had many company cars that I TOTALLY RAPED from brand new (full load full revs from dealership door!) and they all survived a total flogging (some I owned to 220,000km's)... economy I never really monitored though nor was concerned about long term quality of car but I'd say its probably all marginal at end of the day, however there is benefits to be had if you can do so. Good luck and enjoy your Klugers :D I'll post up some more stuff as I get along with mine .... IF I can stop driving it and staring at it when parked haha

Here is a few more pictures :) This is how nice the engine looks without the silly cover on top of it, I removed this to keep the wiring harness from suffering heat damage and also let coil packs run cooler, removed nipples and replaced with cap head screws...... Its such an impressive motor I needed to see it each time I popped the hood :D Here is a picture of the consumption I got today on a 83km trip, it consists of final part of run in process, and its really starting to show its potential on 1/2 to 3/4 throttle accelerating up to 110kph and using 4800rpm, I probably did this 10 times on this trip not including the 3rd and 4th gear pulls up 20% incline hills to continue the progressive loading up on the engine, its getting better each time I drive it And I have covered a grand 850km or so, another 150km *maybe a touch more* and I can then feel the full acceleration like when I test drove the demo car :) I cant believe how efficient this donk is! (I am running BP ultimate 98) its going to return some amazing consumption figures once I finish this procedure I have no doubts at all. Even father cant believe how good it is (and he has a 100 series turbo diesel) it uses less fuel than that and I am driving it harder and much faster in acceleration, a testament to how good an engine is in the Kluger. Oh and yes 100% about the tire pressure, another family member commented that the car was quieter inside (I did not tell them about the tire pressure change) and my feeling this afternoon was the same as last night too :D

I intend to drive mine manually when I tow my RX7 and trailer :) I read the user manual but can see zero reasons to leave the car in 4th gear only especially at speed on highway on flat land where it will pull the load no worries and will save a crap load of fuel (just as it does when driving car alone) *see difference between sitting @ 100kph in 4th v's 5th! The excuse for "battery charging" is rubbish in my books as I don't know any theories on how a trailer and car can cause more electrical load??? IF car is not hunting up and down gearbox which it wont do unless your on a climbing grade or head wind etc then I will be driving mine in 5th in S mode as you can select this normally. Engine braking? well your in S mode and you use appropriate gear yourself, all you need to do is pull or push lever :) just as I did today in mountains to control the vehicle without killing the brakes. I expect you will trip well over a full liter off your high 14's consumption when traveling at 100~105kph. Cannot wait to start towing with mine :D this thing is going to be just what I wanted and ultra efficient for the immense power on tap.

Oh yeah....... forgot to mention. Upon filling it up tonight I lifted the tire pressure to 38psi front and rear on on my way home noticed the ride was much better! less road noise (go figure?) and seemed quieter too? pretty odd as generally noticed in all my years things on the comfort side got worse with more pressure normally, was only a 16km trip and I was tired...... so could have been dreaming

Yeah :) They are an awesome rig! I took mine today to the local drags (not to compete lol) and had a great time backing her up the the track, popping the tail gate, and sitting in comfort watching the racing.... after that went for a drive to Dargo to do the bigger parts of the break in process and the roads are just so ideal for this, always varying the speed and load (still not full throttle or full power) but up to 4500rpm and 1/2 to 3/4 throttle and used every gear up to max speed of 100~110kph. Its a very winding and has a great altitude variation got up to 750km on it now and average for this fairly high duty mountain drive was 10.6Lt per 100km (did over 525km) using 3/4 tank of juice (1/4 still showing on gauge) she took 56lt on the fill up. This for me today was the real test as nothing screws up or tests "official" fuel economy more than doing mountain drives especially while doing a run in procedure where your loading the engine to allow a proper break in and seating of rings/bores etc. Back on the flat going home and she was around 8.5lt or so sitting on steady state 100km flat land. ** My average over 750km thus far inc all driving situations ** is 10.05Lt per 100km which is bloody excellent as I live in an area where there is quite a bit of altitude variation and speed changes (tight corners) stopping to open gate, close open garage, put around town etc + putting some real engine load today on the 250km drive so far from looking for maximum economy or frugal driving which I will try to do once she is settled in. I like mine more each time I drive it :) After I have done my 1000km break in I will change out factory oil and bin the filter and put on a new item and my Mobil 1 5w-50 I use in my race engines and customers cars. Got another pic of me in Dargo with the Klugie

Hi I just wanted to post up a picture of my new Kluger I have only had it a 2 days so still bonding with my new baby but she is having a good positive effect on me ONLY MODS so far is taking of engine cover and removing nipples and replacing with cap head bolts as to not hold in heat over wiring harness and coil packs under high heat load, I work on all types of cars (performance tuner/engine builder) and like to have an engine look like it and not be dressed up with plastic crap Wanting to share my path to getting this car with people considering it or otherwise. Prior to this I had started a journey on the quest to find a efficient replacement for my 1998 100 series 4.5lt petrol Landcruiser (owned for 6 years by me). After selling it in Feb I started looking for the "ideal" SUV...... my requirement was a little funny in that I wanted good efficiency but also above average power *dreamer I hear you say lol*. Well I started out looking @ the VW Tiguan, went to local dealer in regional Vic and drove one was not so impressed with build quality (for price), performance was ok, then drove a Toureg in both V6 TDi and 5cyl TDi, also viewed various Landrovers etc and came away with conclusion after many drives that the only car to buy would be a 100 series TDi like my dads! Best compromise of know Toyota toughness and efficiency (though sacrificing my goal of quasi sportiness). Well did the scour of carsales.com and found an "immaculate suit new car buyer" example ! Take out day to visit this car with ca$h in hand to find it was a heap of crap! ........................ thus the story begins! Being quite depressed on way home from Melbourne to Bairnsdale we decide to stop in a Toyota dealer just to look if they have any suitable examples in stock. Get out of car and walk past a Kluger in lot and glance over at fuel rating tag (11lt per 100km!) I'm like WTF?! NO WAY a petty V6 can do that! get talking to a *salesman*! and he says same thing that it is true and better yet they do better than that in reality. Well right about now I have a gut full of this crap after a long day and simply ask for a brochoure on the RAV4, then get out of there to go back home and calm down a bit. On the way home and that evening I decide to try a RAV4 at my local Bairnsdale dealer where I had drive a brand new Prado D4D the week before (did not buy as I hated the rear tail gate and look of them + reliability problems). We turn up and take a RAV4 for a drive!!! OMG it was a total animal, torque steer at 100km on full throttle in straight line! stupid fast (for its type) SUV and a bit to crappy in the gearbox and trim inside + I felt would not be stable for my limited towing goals. I also hated the part time 4wd which was a nightmare in the way it made the chassis react to the excess power for that chassis! ............ Feeling totally confused and ****** off by now dad suggested to me we try the Kluger? since we were here and it looked more suitable. OMFG! This is where EVERYTHING changed!!! I kid you not 100m out of the driveway of the dealership I said to dad "This is the car I want!" Everything about it after stepping out of the RAV was QUALITY, gearbox was smooth as silk, chassis much much more sure footed, so many things made an instant impression. You need to remember my dad owns his own mint 100 series HDH100R and also I had recently driven so many SUV from 80k Toureg to Land Rover and this thing reminded me of the quality of the top spec VW. The performance was only slightly less than the RAV but was faster than the 80k VW! the quality was the same in my opinion the level of complexity was FAR less, the average sticker fuel usage was the same (within .2lt) and in my testing of both cars I recored 11.5lt for the VW and an AMAZING 10.8lt for the Kluger! I simply could not believe it. I did a 85km test on it and simply pulled up back there and said lets go buy this thing went into showroom and to negotiate on getting a base model in AWD and then this blue thing caught my eye, I went over to look at her saw the leather and color and said I gotta have this thing Did a little negotiation and all up on road with a few accessories I paid $56,500 for my KX-S AWD Klugie April 2008 build *drive away*. Done so far 520km and have average 9.4lt per 100km on first 220km and now 10.4lt on last 300km inc a bit of stop start, and sitting in drive through stuff + doing engine drive line break in procedure till I pass 1000km. I am in love with it! its been a fitting end to a BIG adventure and I have no doubt she will serve me well I hope to tow my sports car with it to a few local events and interstate when time allows, need to find a decent trailer... Feel happier reading another user on here with his towing a RX8 and getting great economy to boot, feel more relaxed now that this thing will do the job in every criteria I hoped to meet. http://www.riceracin...ceSPGallery.htm