The next-generation Kluger SUV will offer both hybrid and petrol engine options when it arrives in Australia in the first half of next year.

The seven-seat Kluger will have a similar dual-powertrain strategy to that adopted by the Yaris Cross SUV due later this year and the latest-generation C-HR and RAV4.

It will be the first time a hybrid powertrain has been offered on Kluger in Australia with the hybrid range now accounting for more than one in every five Toyota sales.

Customers will have the choice of a 2.5-litre new-generation, 179kW hybrid system or a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine.

The quad-cam V6 is expected to deliver 218kW to the road through a direct shift eight-speed automatic transmission.

The new Kluger will also offer front and all-wheel-drive (AWD) traction alternatives for the V6, with the hybrid drivetrain equipped exclusively with an intelligent AWD system that incorporates front and rear electric motors.

The fourth-generation Kluger sits on the Toyota New Global Architecture GA-K platform that Toyota says has enabled engineers to develop a lightweight and highly rigid bodyshell with a low centre of gravity – features that provide the new SUV with nimble handling and comfortable driving around town and on the highway.

Equipment will include the advanced Toyota Safety Sense active safety technologies designed to help prevent or mitigate collisions across a wide range of traffic situations.

Source: Motor Trader E-magazine (June 2020)

2 June 2020