Details of the new additions to Toyota Australia’s showroom in 2014.
Toyota Kluger (February/March)
At least in Australia, this is the third-generation Toyota Kluger, the new large SUV that will compete with the Ford Territory and Mazda CX-9 when it arrives in February/March 2014. The new Kluger is only 15mm wider than the outgoing model, but repackaging efforts have liberated an extra 109mm of interior space between its doors. Locally, however, that won’t translate to the availability of three-across third-row seating, which for overseas models makes the Kluger an eight-seater for the first time. Ours will still only seat seven. A length increase of 65mm, though, has helped expand the cargo area with the third row in place by 35 per cent. The large Toyota’s 3.5-litre petrol V6 engine is retained, and a six-speed automatic is now standard – up one gear from before. A diesel engine won’t be available at all, however, because this Kluger is primarily designed for petrol-loving North Americans where it will now be built and imported to Australia from (in Indiana, USA) instead of Japan as with the previous two generations. Both front- and all-wheel-drive models will be available – the latter of which now comes with an on-demand system that apportions 100 per cent of torque to the front wheels in normal conditions but can vary the split 50:50 – with prices remaining the same, between $40,000-$60,000.
