Aug 18, 2008 03:37 PM
63531 Views
(Updated Aug 18, 2008 05:23 PM)
I finally move into familiar territory with the toyota fortuner as this car unlike some others I reviewed earlier is my sister's car which she uses to go to college. Yeah thats right she goes to college in a fortuner in bahrain while I use an aveo or my 2 wheelers here in India !! talk about unfair but thats whats happens when there are no taxes for cars here. You get it for half the price you get it in India. But I am glad MS added the fortuner to its list as i requested them a few weeks ago. Anyway leaving my grouches aside let me get into the review.
Toyota fortuner is a vehicle under toyota's ambitious project known as the IMV , ie the international multi-purpose vehicle and shares the platform with the innova and hilux pick up. The IMVs are meant to be rugged and affordable with no compromise on reliability and comfort.
Exterior
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The first thing anyone will notice on the fortuner is its sheer size and aggressive stance. I seriously doubt if one would believe it coming from the same platform as of the innova. The vehicle is tall and intimidating to say the least. The flowing lines and curves at the sides add to the beauty. Check out the picture below and form your own opinion.
Interior
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The interior looks classy and pleasant. The 3 circle insrrument cluster with a metal ring around the one in the centre ( speedometer ) is efficient and pleasing to the eye. The interior pretty much reminds me of the innova's interior except that you are perched higher. The addition of third row AC vents is a thoughtful inclusion but they could have added it to the second row too.
The dashboard looks sexy and the built quality is superb making you feel that the fortuner is much costlier than it actusally is. A 2 din CD/ MP3 player, and Ac dials forms rest of the front. The rear seats are foldable and the seating comfort is excellent. The 3rd row passengers is perched the tallest and it may be a liitle getting used to. In simple words the interior can be described as minimalastic yet an elegant and practical cabin.
Performance and driving impressions
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The fortuner comes with a number of engines. The 2.7 VVTi with 4 cylinders is the standard base model which produces 158 HP/5200 rpm mated to a 5 speed manual or auto . A higher 4.0 VVTi V6 engine is available which produces 235 HP/ 5200 rpm again mated to the same transmission.. Yeah you fot it right, the fortuner isnt exactly a road blazer but shows reasonable pick up once you gain some momentum. Only the petrol engines are available here but I know for a fact of the diesel engines have been released else where especially thailand and south africa where the fortuner is selling like hot cakes.
In the drivers seat you feel daunted driving this beast. But once you get acquainted you feel right at home. The tall seating position with bucket seats and thigh support provides a good veiw as well as comfortable seating positions. The steering feels right and is a nimble handler. One point I do feel disappointed is the engine noise of the SUV. Evn with the windows closed you could hear the engine roar and not the kind of music to the ears hummings of V8 and V12 and this is in the petrol version !! But this might be a problem only if you are used to the dead silence in other cars which wint be a problem in India. My sister owns the 2.7 VVTi top model and I found its performance adequate but not exactly thrilling . The V6 is the better option if you hav some serious off roading in mind. The full time all wheel drive wheel drive is available in both the versions and is practical here but it drains the fuel. The mileage I gt was around 7 -8km/litre with sensible driving ( 100- 120 km/hr as thats the speed limit here ). I am sure toyota isgoing to offer AWD as an additional option in fuel consious India.
All in all a worthy car but what is the clincher is its price. The fortuner is very reasonable, costing around 8 lakhs ( conversion of dinars to rupees) for the 2.7 VVTi petrol base model going upto 11 lakhs for the 4.0 V6 petrol . No idea about the pricing of diesel fortuners but expect a change in engine capacity and 1 to 2 lakh more than petrol. Imagine I got the aveo in India for 7lakhs but the fortuner is available for 8 !! There is no doubt that toyota will release this highly successful SUV in India and the prices for its IMV based models are same throughout the world, so get ready for everyone, The fortuner is coming to rule our hearts and the roads.
