One year experience!

Well, I had written a review of the car when I bought it  and have read with amusement the "cry foul" stories posted on this site!

Well, like some of the readers have pointed out, we should blame the government for the price, not Toyota. The comparable performance cars are all costlier- dont crib about the price, it is not under the manufacturer's control altogether. Maybe if we all pay our taxes properly and pay more tolls, the government maynot have to squeeze us buyers for money. That is a very long story and I have no intention on going on. 

I have taken my fortuner out into the wilderness many times, onto absolutely dangerous looking hill terrain, beaches and sand, slush and shifting soil, fully loaded and she behaved absolutely fine. My daughter always says " Oh the fortuner can go there", and for a girl who is not too fond of cars, that is a big big compliment. 

Yes, I changed the brakes after yelling at the dealer a couple of times, and yes , now it feels adequate. The lights are now HID Xenon for 6500 Rs, and is a huge bonus. The dash has also been altered, and I have fitted the Motevo original equipment touch screen DVD/Radio/TV/Sat navigation/Bluetooth which set me back 45,000 and no one would buy back the old CD changer (sob) but still, it looks absolutely top class, and works like a dream. Why did not Toyota do all this for a price at the launch? BIG question. We could have afforded all that, surely. WHy cringe to make it a few thousand cheaper?

The dealer is good, but paint jobs ( crazy motorcyclists in Kerala cross from all around you and if you dont move, even if you are a big SUV, they crash into you!) are too expensive. I have a few cuts and bruises that a good painter manages very professionally at a fraction of the cost. There have been absolutely no maintenance costs- this is solidly built. Four of us friends bought the Fortuner within a few months, all feel the same. 

My advice to people who want a comfortable, luxurious, silent, ego boosting ride for 20 lakhs, go buy a HONDA ACCORD and stop cribbing about the price. Even an accord costs a ridiculously low price abroad, no one is complaining. An SUV is not meant to be comfortable in the true sense of the word. The all time 4 WD lets you rip around corners with amazing ease and highway overtaking is a dream. You got to use your gears well, but what else is driving? Do you know that the Prado shares the same engine and empties your pocket by three times the cost? Yes, there is lil more torque, and is auto, but nothing more. 

For people like me, busy professionals who have another passion- driving, the Fortuner gives it all at a cost that is actually matchless. Yes, we have families who share this passion and take all the bumps and motion sickness with a Gravol (antiemetic) and a smile, and this adds to the pleasure of long, adrenaline pumping trips with the whole family in tow. My parents who are both in their seventies took the third seat for the last trip that was partly over bad roads for over 400km. They were excited, and never complained. If you have the passion that I and many others have, and a family that loves long drives to the unknown, there are very few cars that will match this one. Well, I have decided that three years later, I will probably go for the X5. But I am not sure if I will take it through the same bad roads with the same wide smile I have when on the wheels of the fortuner.