Is Toyota Kluger Grande AWD Hybrid the Best?

Imagine a world where all tastes were the same. We’d need only one design, period, not just of cars, but phones, food, finance and friends. Toyota Camry started the big car hybrid thing, and Toyota since rolled out the part-battery carpet upon which other models now roll.

Kluger ditched the silky-but-elderly V6, replaced by a turbo 4, but the star of the range is the top drawer Kluger Grande AWD Hybrid. It adds extra shillings to the base price, with the drive-away at over $86,000, a princely sum by any measure. For that many bucks, the inclusions are many, and the drawbacks few.

Hilux is Toyota’s biggest seller, but a pick-up is not on everyone’s list, unless it is Saturday night of course, but I digress.

One reader said, “how can a Kluger Grande possibly interest a gay buyer?” A fair question, but I can attest to a pleasant journey that was far too short. You can read about our fishing trip HERE.

Although updates have been few, they’ve given the near-90k SUV a modern veneer over the modest metal. It doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t.

There are a number of drivetrain choices regardless of model, something there should be more of. A buyer can select front or all-wheel-drive, either 2.4L turbo or 2.5L hybrid, with an 8-speed or CVT automatic. AWD buyers are limited to hybrid-with-CVT in all grades, but the good news is hybrid isn’t limited to the top model.

Toyota is trying to bring electrified ability to every model. By using that term “electrified”, it hopes to shine a ray of ECO light onto a brand determined to persist with firing fossil fuelled flotsam into the atmosphere.

Check out the Brochure HERE: Kluger_Online_Brochure_20230321

Video Review: Is  2023 Is Toyota Kluger Grande AWD Hybrid the Best? Full Review – GayCarBoys review – Alan Zurvas 

Video Review: OneCarStereo Wireless CarPlay “Smart AI Box” Review Part 1: Unboxing and first test – GayCarBoys review – Alan Zurvas 

Video Review: Why My 2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is the Best Gay Car Mini Review  

#jeepaustralia, #jeep, #jeepwrangler, #wranglerrubicon, #alanzurvas, #gaycar, #gaycarboys  #shorts

ABOVE: 2023 Toyota Kluger Grande Range, Kluger Grander Digital Dash

Kluger Grande – The looks are unassuming and modest.

Headlights could use an update to LED Matrix, but they still work well. Kluger Grande is what I’d call chunkily modern. It looks neither old nor new and that is a good thing. Though several years old, an absence of following-fashion-foibles means it is still fresh.

We noticed big doors giving great access to be something enjoyed by all. The taller drivers normally bang their noggins which puts them in a frightful mood. The boot was big enough for tons of tat, with none of us having to leave essentials behind.

Download your copy of 2023 Toyota Kluger Range specifications HERE: Kluger_Spec Sheet_20230308

Kluger Grande – The Cabin was capacious.

Klugers past and present have been used as mum’s taxi. They needed 7 seats, especially at those schools of a religious persuasion. We may not need the 7 seats, and we certainly didn’t miss the rear seat entertainment system, but the incompressible brochure completely failed to adequately express the grandeur of Kluger Grande’s dual 12.3” screens and an HUD for the driver. The driver’s MFD (AKA Multi-Function Display) replaces those old-school dials that made Kluger look outdated. Only Grande has such luxury unfortunately.

We liked the big tablet sitting atop the centre stack, replete with wireless CarPlay, but the Qi charger was a little moody. None of the in-car charger seem to like phones with cases.

Other than the wireless CarPlay and digital driver instruments, Kluger feels unchanged from the last time we steered the range-topper into the bucolic bliss of the Australian bush. Heated and cooled seats up front is nice, but those elsewhere have to fend for themselves.

Kluger Grande – The drive Was a comfortable affair.

Toyota made Kluger Grande feel light at all speeds. It isn’t fast, built more for comfort than speed. Kluger still manages a bit of pep on her step despite almost 2100kg of heft being pulled 142kw/242Nm hybrid. Much of the feistiness comes from the Kluger Grande’s CVT being able to start off in such a low ratio, and stay there. It allows the engine revs to quickly build to a cacophonic crescendo, before settling as the car’s speed catches up with the engine’s urgent cry. That is something no carmaker is able to fully compensate for, and the main reason for the CVT haters showing such disdain for anything without a proper gearbox.

Take-offs are leisurely with a driver-only, and with 4-up, more like a gentle canter to highway speed. It’s come time for Toyota to pony up, or get left behind. The Japanese giant is the 2nd biggest carmaker hot on the heels of Volkswagen, with Stellantis in 3rd place. VW and Stellantis have invested heavily in electric models, something that should worry Toyota.

As it is, Kluger still rides and handles like a reliable cruiser should.

Corners can be conquered confidently, but don’t try the boy-racer thing or code brown moments will come. Gay buyers come in all sizes and shapes, some with family, so the notion of a “type” of gay driver is a nonsense.

For our purposes, Kluger Grande did what we asked of it. A gaggle of gays enjoying a mild weekend, saw the SUV swallow vast amounts of luggage, yet conveyed 4 passengers in limo-like comfort. The only unsettling situation came courtesy of a wayward coach on a country road, but that’s a dashcam story for another time.

What we thought:

Kluger Grande is not the kind of car that you’re going to aspire to. Instead, it will be one which fits a curated list of demands. The user fancies comfort and space, but has at least one eye on the environment.

Although improved over the launch model, the latest version needs fully automatic LED lights at the front, and another LED display to smarten up the rump. The worst possible compliment paid to our car was, “oh, it is rather nice isn’t it. I mean, it isn’t awful.” I fought the urge to slap my passenger, but he is bigger than me, and I dislike confrontation. It was even more galling coming from someone who drives a clapped-out Polo, and thinks a Maccas burger is good on a date night.

Kluger is 5th in its segment behind Prado, Everest, MU-X, and Outback. Not only that, but Kluger is down 16.8% YTD, whereas those ahead of it are all up in sales by up to 50%. Is it supply? Toyota’s website certainly seems to infer that, with supply shortage warnings on almost every model.

If Kluger sales are sliding for any reason other than supply, I’d be very worried.

To answer the question: is Toyota Kluger the best?

It is more than the sum of its parts. It is big and bold, has a decent warranty, can be serviced almost anywhere, and its conservative looks won’t date too badly. It will still be doing its thing in a decade’s time. Is it the best? No, probably not. Is it worth the money? Probably.

Our car: 2023 Toyota Kluger AWD Hybrid $80,230

Engine: 2.5L hybrid 142kw/242NmEcon: 5.6L/100km

2023 Toyota Kluger Range

Grande Hybrid AWD 2.5L, Premium Unleaded/Electric, CVT $80,230

Grande AWD   2.4L, Unleaded Petrol, 8 SPEED AUTO $75,650

Grande 2.4L, Unleaded Petrol, 8 SPEED auto $73,257

GXL Hybrid AWD 2.5L, Premium Unleaded/Electric, CVT $67,810

GXL 2.4L, Unleaded Petrol, 8 SPEED AUTO $61,310

GX Hybrid AWD 2.5L, Premium Unleaded/Electric, CVT $58,290

GX AWD 2.4L, Unleaded Petrol, 8 SPEED AUTO $55,790

GX 2WD 2.4L, Unleaded Petrol, 8 SPEED AUTO $51,790

#2023toyotaklugergrandwawdhybrid, #gaysuv, #gaycarreview, #gaytoyota #alanzurvas, #gaycarboys

Other GayCarBoys Toyota Stories:

Written by Alan Zurvas

Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.

Discover more from Gay Car Boys

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

← Previous

Next →

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Gay Car Boys

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading