Toyota has been selling passenger cars successfully in India for a decade now. It has launched several cars some of which have been market leaders in terms of sales. Toyota launched their SUV – Sports Utility Vehicle Toyota Fortuner first in 2009 and successfully catapulted their SUV to the top of the sales chart. Fortuner usually comes with a long waiting period as it’s one of the best selling cars from Toyota’s stable in India. Toyota is a world renowned car manufacturer known for their high levels of reliability and their hot SUV Toyota Fortuner is the highest selling SUV every month in its segment.
Looks and design:
Toyota Fortuner is a stunning machine and Toyota had done a fantastic job with its design and styling the first iteration of the Fortuner for the Indian market. It had projector style headlamps, head scoop on the bonnet. It brought 6 spoke alloy wheels and flared wheel arches which added to the muscular looks of the car and it also brings a spare wheel on its rear tail gate. It also brings roof rails and chromed rear view mirrors. It has a huge Toyota logo on its grill and body colored bumpers with fog lamps integrated into the front bumpers. It also brings side steps which are practical and add to the looks of the SUV. Toyota Fortuner has excellent build quality and is very rugged capable of taking abuse. The fit, finish and paint quality of the older Fortuner was excellent.
The new Toyota Fortuner looks stunning with its front-end bearing similarity to the Land Cruiser with projector style headlamps which add to its sporty looks. The front grille now brings oodles of chrome and bears the huge Toyota logo. It has a wide air dam and houses the rounded fog lamps. Body colored bumpers are present in the front and rear. The new Fortuner carries forward the massive road presence and looks menacing in your rear view mirror. It has clear lens rear tail lamps and the rear is well in proportion with the front styling. The new Toyota Fortuner has 12 spoke alloy wheels which adds to the aggressive looks of the car. It comes with wide 265 size tyres which combined with the size of the car looks quite beefy. The new Toyota Fortuner brings excellent build quality and improves over its predecessor.
Looks overall – Old Toyota Fortuner – 8/10
Looks overall – New Toyota Fortuner – 8.5/10
Interiors – design, space and features:
The Old Fortuner had good interior quality and features. It had a very spacious cabin area and the large windows gave a roomy and airy feeling inside. The driving position and ergonomics were spot on and the controls are intuitive and easy to reach. The interior look and feel are that of an Innova which is not what was expected in a SUV. It has audio and mid controls integrated into the steering wheel and comes with a good audio system which is further improved in the newer version. There are 4 rear air-con ducts which help keep the rear of the SUV cool at all times. Toyota Fortuner has several storage areas and brings 363 liters of boot space while it doesn’t seem like a lot it does add up when you fold the rear seats.
The new Toyota Fortuner has solid interior build quality and comes in a mix of beige and grey. It has well equipped center console panel on the dashboard with the double-DIN head unit with a DVD player, USB + AUX inputs and Bluetooth connectivity. Toyota Fortuner comes with steering mounted audio controls, MID and Bluetooth and gets faux wood finish on the upper rim and faux wood on the gear level. The new Fortuner features a height adjustable 6 way electrically adjustable driver’s seat which also provides excellent lateral support. The seats are comfortable and provide excellent support to the back owing to its well contoured shape. The driver visibility up front is excellent thanks to the large front windshield and even rear visibility coupled with the rear camera is excellent. The instrument console on the Toyota Fortuner is easy to read given that they are analog meters and have blue-backlighting. It has sufficient amount of storage space at the back and folding the rear seats substantially increases the luggage space on the Fortuner. It also comes with various Airbags for the ultimate passenger safety.
Interiors overall – Old Toyota Fortuner – 7.5/10
Interiors overall – New Toyota Fortuner – 8/10
Engine – performance, power, torque, fuel economy, smoothness:
Toyota Fortuner comes in a single engine variant which is diesel. It features a powerful 3.0 liter turbo-diesel engine which packs loads of torque and negligible turbo-lag. The engine produces a maximum power of 169 BHP at 1400 RPM and a maximum torque of 343 NM at 3400 RPM. The engine has excellent drivability and will easily last a few lakh kilometers. It has plenty of low end torque and will easily do low speeds in higher gears. It has a light clutch which is easy to operate and a smooth gearshift. ARAI rated the Toyota Fortuner deliver a maximum fuel efficiency of 13 kmpl.
The new Toyota Fortuner carries forth the engine from its predecessor. It produces 169 BHP of maximum power and produces a maximum torque of 343 NM from 1400 RPM to 3400 RPM from its 3.0 liter turbo diesel engine. It is a very tractable motor which easily allows you to drive in 2nd gear from standstill. Such is the amount of low end torque available on tap. It has multiple gear box options and is available in full time AWD, Automatic Transmission and a 4×2 option as well. It also brings a limited slip differential for all your off-roading needs. Toyota Fortuner has been certified by ARAI to deliver a maximum fuel efficiency of 13 kmpl.
Engine overall – Old Toyota Fortuner – 8.5/10
Engine overall – New Toyota Fortuner – 8.5/10
Suspension – Ride, comfort and handling:
Toyota Fortuner offers a very good ride quality and is comfortable across varied road conditions. The suspension has been well tweaked to face the different road conditions as seen in our country. It does feel a little bumpy and there is minor body roll which is well under control. Toyota needs to give it bigger disk brakes and improve the braking which is only average at best. It brings ABS + EBD which helps slow it down from speed. It has air bags for passenger safety. The grip levels from its wide tyres are generally very good and offer excellent traction in on-road and off-road driving conditions.
The new Toyota Fortuner has good ride quality that is compliant but a little on the firmer side. The suspension is setup to be firm and makes you feel every bump on the road. There is slight noticeable amount of pitching because of this setup. Toyota Fortuner has well controlled body roll and the handling improves with increased load. The grip levels from the 265 Dunlops are excellent even at over 150 kph the Fortuner feels stable. It does well off road as well with its Limited Slip Differential (LSD) and all wheel drive options. Toyota Fortuner retains the weak brakes and lack of rear disk brake as seen in the older model. It has a well weighted hydraulic power steering which feels great as the speeds go up. It has EBD + ABS to improve stopping power.
Suspension overall – Old Toyota Fortuner – 8/10
Suspension overall – New Toyota Fortuner – 8/10
Value for money – sticker price, standard features:
Toyota continues its win and retains its position as the top player in the 20 lakh rupee SUV segment Toyota Fortuner sales have grown steadily and the numbers outweigh the competitors’ by a big margin. Toyota Fortuner has excellent build quality and the pricing is good for all features, kit and performance at offer. Toyota Fortuner ex-showroom price in Delhi starts from 21.15 lakhs for the base variant Toyota Fortuner 4×2 MT (Manual Transmission). The middle variant Toyota Fortuner 4×2 AT (Automatic Transmission) has been priced at 22 lakhs ex-showroom Delhi. The top variant of the Toyota Fortuner 4×4 MT has been priced at 22.32 lakhs. The pricing is total value for money given the endless list of features on the Fortuner and especially the transmission options given the gearbox make it a worthy purchase to make given the list of contenders in the price bracket.
Value for money overall – Old Toyota Fortuner – 8.5/10
Value for money overall – New Toyota Fortuner – 8.5/10
Verdict:
Toyota has done it again with several new improvements in the latest iteration of the Toyota Fortuner they have been successful in continuing the excellent sales performance of the Toyota Fortuner. It has always been a very popular SUV. It brings excellent features at good pricing. Performance from its engine is renowned amongst its segment. Toyota also brings excellent after sales and wide service network and this SUV itself is built like a tank and well equipped for abuse. The cost of ownership is not too harsh on your pocket and that makes it a good buy as well. All things considered the new Toyota Fortuner is a good improvement over the outgoing model.
