Kluger hybrid: ‘whatever we can get it won’t be enough’

Toyota is expecting big things from its upcoming Kluger Hybrid.

Due on sale in the next couple of months, the all-new seven-seat large SUV will come with a hybrid option for the first time, promising to slash fuel bills in a market segment where the cost of refueling can stack up.

It’s that promise of lower running costs Toyota believes will make the Kluger Hybrid a sales winner.

“The new Kluger can’t come soon enough for us,” says Toyota Australia vice president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley.

“Whatever I get it won’t be enough,” he says of the hybrid model that is expected to make up a big chunk of the new model’s sales.

“Our sales forecast, in terms of our mix, is very high on Kluger Hybrid. I do suspect it’s really going to resonate with the market, particularly in that SUV, in that size car.”

The new Kluger was first unveiled in 2019 and has taken its time making it to Australia.

While the car will continue with the latest iteration of the 3.5-litre V6 that has defined the Kluger for years, it’s the hybrid system expected to get more interest from buyers.

The hybrid uses the same basic four-cylinder hybrid system as the Camry and RAV4. That means a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with a hybrid system.

Toyota has upped the power slightly for the larger Kluger body, the hybrid expected to make 179kW of power, 142kW of which will come from the petrol engine.

While the Kluger Hybrid is available in America as a front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, Toyota Australia has currently only certified the AWD version for sale locally. As with the RAV4 Hybrid AWD, the petrol engine doesn’t drive the rear wheels, with only an electric motor providing propulsion to the back wheels through Toyota’s AWD-i (all-wheel drive-intelligent).

The rear e-motor makes 121Nm and can split its torque between left and right wheels to maximise traction.

Figures on Toyota’s website suggest the combined fuel economy of the Kluger Hybrid is around 34 percent less than the V6 model.

However, the V6 will have a upper hand on power, with 218kW. Plus the V6 Kluger will be available as a front-drive model as well as AWD.

Still, Toyota is expecting the Kluger to continue the hybrid sales surge.

Hybrid has exceeded even Toyota’s forecasts across other models in its lineup, even seeing the end of the V6 Camry to focus on the hybrids.

For the Corolla small car 59.9 percent of sales are now for the petrol-electric model, while for the Camry that jumps to 68.9 percent.

The still-fresh Yaris Cross has a 55.4 percent hybrid mix while the mid-sized RAV4 runs at 66.8 percent of sales.

Hanley also again talked up hybrid tech, saying it will not be the transition technology many see it as.

Instead, Hanley believes hybrids will be here for decades to come. Asked if he thought hybrids would still be sold in 20 years, he was quick to reply “absolutely I do”.

“There’s no doubt hybrid will expand across the Toyota range considerably further than what we see today.”

While it’ll be the first to make a serious tilt at the large hybrid SUV title – the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid didn’t sell well – the Kluger Hybrid won’t have the large SUV space to itself for long.

By the end of 2021 Kia has promised hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of its Sorento, while Hyundai will have a Santa Fe hybrid available later this year.