2019 Toyota Kluger goes dark with Black Edition

Toyota Australia has today unveiled a special Black Edition Kluger, dressing up its own large SUV with a black-out package so you don’t have to.

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Differing itself to the rest of the Kluger range, the Black Edition is based on the mid-grade GXL and sports a new black grille, a set of gloss black 19-inch wheels in place of the standard 18-inch rims, a body-coloured front bumper and smoked headlights.

Standard equipment for the Kluger includes leather-accented trim, a multimedia system with satellite navigation (but no smartphone connectivity), AEB and lane departure warning.

Available in eight paint colours and two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, the Black Edition will hit Toyota dealerships at $55,970 (2WD) and $59,970 (AWD) before on-road costs, which is a $1020 price premium over the GXL.

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“Toyota Kluger customers now have another opportunity to distinguish themselves beyond the contemporary design synonymous with every Kluger,” said Sean Hanley, the vice president of sales at Toyota Australia.

The Kluger plays in the large SUV space against rivals like the Mazda CX-9, Jeep's Grand Cherokee and the Kluger's own blood relative, the LandCruiser Prado.

As with all Toyota Klugers, the Black Edition will be powered by the same 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 petrol engine which produces 218kW/350Nm, and it will retain its eight-speed automatic transmission. As such, the GXL’s 9.3 litres/100km fuel economy remains the same.

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Other features of the Toyota Kluger include tri-zone climate control, power tailgate with separate pop-out glass hatch, keyless entry, , reverse camera and active cruise control.

Coming close to the end of its life-cycle, this latest special edition is expected to usher out the current generation Kluger, with more information on the next iteration of Australia's best-selling large SUV expected to be revealed later this year.