Summary
The Toyota Fortuner is a blend of conforming and luxury. The airy cabin, and well-designed seating offers comfort and great visibility all around. The driver seat is excellent for large frames, offering very ergonomic support for the back, shoulders and legs with enough room to adjust the seating to personal preferences.
The controls are well placed and easy to operate. Quick start with the push button and the vehicle is on the move almost instantly. This is a refreshing experience for an SUV, especially since the general notion is that the starting up inertia tends to be very high. Usually, the vehicle needs some effort to get into a decent engine speed. Maneuvering through some of the traffic is a bit tedious, but once it reaches the highway the real feel of a high-speed drive is experienced and exercising the 6th-gear gives a smooth hum to the ride.
A bit of a roll now and then, when the movement is sudden, however, the vehicle shows up as having a good on-road grip. The cruise control is effective and all of the alert systems keep the driver informed on the responses needed as it cruises along. A good thump from the audio system throwing out crisp sound in the cabin drowning out all the noise from outside. The scenery just whizzes by as the Toyota Fortuner comfortably hits the higher-order speeds on the dash.
Driving the new Toyota Fortuner is an exhilarating experience and anyone would be completely blown away with the complete package it offers. Right from the very first model that has been launched, the Toyota Fortuner has been a roaring success. The rugged silhouette, magnificent looks, ideal seating capacity with comfort for seven persons all built on a sturdy frame.
The Fortuner is capable of brute strength and solid performance on any kind of terrain making this one of the most reliable SUVs out there. Known for its body strength, great suspension and reliable engines, the Toyota Fortuner has been undergoing some refinements and variation. Nevertheless, this is one of those SUVs that is here to stays. It will evolve, but it will always be a choice for discerning buyers.
Starting with the appealing design and styling, it is evident that the tall and sharply-styled body line gives it a character of boldness. Not all of it is the good looks, the Toyota Fortuner is available in a wide variety of options. It comes in a petrol-manual, petrol-auto, diesel-manual and diesel-auto versions on offer.
The choices are between the 150hp, 2.4-litre diesel engine or the 204hp, 2.8-litre diesel engine and will no doubt have the appeal for either category of buyers. Each of these engine options come with variation in the features, manual or auto transmissions and a host of functionality typical of Toyota.
For those that demand interior elegance and comfort, this SUV offers roominess in the second row with sufficient legroom and comfort in the third row. The flip side to the seating comfort is that the cabin does have some parts that are mediocre and give it a sub-standard appearance. Here is where some more attention to making it a bit classier, would have been well received.
Designed for adventurous people
The Toyota Fortuner can endure a lot of tough terrains. Whether it is run carelessly across a set of deep ruts, or if it needs to cross a rocky riverbed while on that camping trip, the Toyota Fortuner will just ease through. The sturdy chassis coupled with the 225mm ground clearance makes it ideal for hilly terrain. The 2750mm wheelbase provides stability on steep inclines and rough ground. With the generous 225mm ground clearance for dry terrain and the 700mm of water-wading capability, it rides surprisingly well for such a tall and heavy vehicle.
The hum of the diesel engine spins up quite nicely around 3,000rpm, and there is not that much turbo lag torque. At the same time, this makes it comfortable to drive at speeds needed for city driving. With the increase in torque linearly going up, it gives the vehicle great maneuverability and it can shift quite well.
The 17-inch discs at the front give this heavy vehicle the much-needed stopping power, while greatly improving the feel of the pedal modulation. A better-balanced suspension gives one the sense of being in the Toyota Fortuner that feels tougher and even more indestructible.
Driving through some of the larger holes and deeper ruts it tends to show up as being a bit stiff giving the driver a slightly destabilizing effect of the heavy wheels and heavy suspension arms. Nevertheless, the ride quality is still much better than the earlier versions which may have had it lacking.
The Toyota Fortuner provides three power modes, namely, Eco, Normal and Power. For traffic in the city the Power mode is the best. This mode improves the amount of grind is heard at the lower and medium engine speeds.
A total of 6 variants are available. The base model is the G type and it comes in the manual and automatic versions each with a different price tag. The mid-range models are the V and Q and are available in the automatic variety only. The top-end or premium versions are the LTD variants with the 4x2 and 4x4 options, both being available in the automatic type.
For the sport drive enthusiasts, the Q and LTD models have a Sport driving mode for that feeling of extra power behind the wheel.
With these six versions of the Toyota Fortuner, there is one for every budget, with the same excellent performance across the models. Tech rich features like Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) coupled with the Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) functionality give the Toyota Fortuner its superior feel of drive quality.
In addition, there is functionality included for traction control to give additional grip and hill-climb assist control for an improved sense of stability. The ground clearance is good enough, coupled with back sonar sensors the obstacle detection system is well designed. For the base model G variant, the reverse camera is part of the standard feature set, however, the V, Q and LTD variants get an upgrade and are fitted with a panoramic view monitor.
Overall, the performance is very good and the drive experience is excellent.
Luxurious Aesthetics Interior
The most striking feature of the Toyota Fortuner is the airy cabin and a good 360-degree view. Each of the variants has a change with respect to the interior aesthetics and feel. Some of it can be customised to a personal taste as well.
All variants get a smart entry and push-to-start ignition system. The front panel is fitted with an 8-inch infotainment screen. Rampant growth of smartphone usage, has brought another great feature - the mirroring capabilities. Using this, one can exactly mimic their smartphone. This feature is compatible with both Android and iOS.
The ambiance within the cabin can be easily controlled and adjusted with the automatic climate control functionality option.
Wondering what the interior looks like? Then expect a combination of posh galaxy black with maroon-accented leather. In the Q variant, the look is plush with black leather accentuated by dark wood trim. Both, Q and LTD models have an 8-way power-adjustable front seat. For the ultimate luxury, the LTD model also gets seat ventilation.
All of the variants have the SRS airbags which are standard and included in all models. The higher-end LTD ones provide additional safety with a total of 7 airbags placed judiciously in the cabin for maximum impact protection of the passengers. The three-point ELR seat belts offer sturdy support while traveling as well as protection during the unlikely event of an impact. Safety features provided in the Fortuner have been proven to be best in its class backed up by Toyota assurance.
Now coming to the infotainment and entertainment quotient, the Toyota Fortuner is built with multiple USB charging ports accessible from all seats of the cabin. There are additional points at the rear, only for the Q and LTD variants. Music lovers would be totally thrilled at the LTD model that has a 9-speaker audio system. The superior output quality and crisp sound offered by the hi-end system is incredible.
The Toyota Fortuner interior is a classy and eloquent expression that certainly supplements nicely with the strong exterior. Besides the aesthetics, it is also equipped with great safety features.
Well-Designed SUV
The Toyota Fortuner has a full-on, body-on-frame structure like most of the available SUVs. The frame is built to serve a 225mm ground clearance for dry terrain. It can handle 700mm of water-wading ability. All variants have similar exterior features and are mainly distinguished by the engine capacity, wheel drive configuration and some of the interior features.
The dimensions are 4795mm in length and 1855mm in width. The height is a good 1835mm and looks like a tall body design, yet sturdy and grounded. The 7-seater SUV is equipped with 5-doors. Specialised features like the speed sensing door locks are included. The roof rack is also part of the standard offering and comes with all the models.
The suspension at the front and rear is primarily 4-link coil springs, except for the G – AT one which is seen to have a rigid axle suspension system. This type of suspension is supplemented by the frame and gives the rider a smooth ride and jerk-free experience.
Power-efficient front and rear parking sensors are available across all the variants. The G, V and Q variants get full LED headlights with LED daytime running lights (DRLs) and LED tail-lights. They have 17-inch alloy wheels for the G and V models while it would be 18-inch for the Q one.
The LTD model, is built with sleeker LED headlights nicely coupled with the sweeping LED turn signals on the front and rear. This look is further enhanced with two-tone 18-inch alloy wheels making the LTD one of the best-looking SUVs out there.
The top-end LTD and Q type Toyota Fortuner gets all the great gear. Equipped with the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) technology, it has pre-collision alert systems enabled. Also available are lane departure alerts and adaptive cruise control.
The 4x4 LTD variant also gets downhill assist control.
Pros
While there is a large range of options for anyone looking to invest in an SUV, one of the most reliable, feature-rich and value-based options is the Toyota Fortuner. Here are some reasons as to why a buyer should consider one:
- Ease of driving the Toyota Fortuner across different kinds of terrain, highways as well as in the city traffic is quite effortless.
- The exterior look is so much more appealing with new colours and alloy wheel two-tone options.
- Tech rich functionality that addresses the needs of safety, ease of drive and infotainment.
- The new chassis is stiffer and suspension needs to work less to deliver the same amount of grip enabling the slightly softer springs and more absorbent dampers, to improve the ride quality significantly.
- Options of 4x2 and 4x4 drivetrain configurations and a more powerful engine.
- Combination of features and trim that makes for great value for money.
- Toyota value assurance, as the brand stands for reliability and quality vehicles all over the world.
Cons
Like all machines, there are some considerations and opportunities to improve on in the Toyota Fortuner. Here is the very short list that we could come up with.
- When at Idle, the feel is a bit raspy and anyone who likes their engines with a low hum might not take too kindly to this.
- The engine performs smoothly till around 3,800rpm, and once the rev goes higher, demanding more power and performance gives a strain on the motor and this can get quite some noise from the engine. Moreover, as it approaches 4,500rpm it gets louder.
- Given the sluggishness, till a sufficient rev is built up, overtaking, even while in fast-flowing traffic, is a bit of an effort and not a great drive feel.
Overall, the off-road ability, 6-speed gearbox, and the Toyota assurance all make the Toyota Fortuner a great option to consider if you are looking for a reliable and awesome looking SUV.
