Toyota Fortuner 3.0-litre 4x4 AT

SUVs seem to be the mantra chanted by car buyers everywhere and their presence is being felt up and down the segments. What is it that attracts us to these breed of vehicles? It is the simple fact that they exude street credibility that no hatchback or sedan can ever offer. Their menacing presence means everyone gets the hell out of their way.

We now have a large range of pseudo kitted up hatchbacks lower down the order while higher up the food chain an entire segment of sedans has seen erosion due to our love for these massive machines and it is here that our story of the massive Toyota Fortuner begins.
Launched in 2009, the Hilux pickup truck-based Fortuner was an instant hit among all those that needed to announce their arrival without ever having to utter a single word or a make any kind of obligatory noises (red beacons). Almost seven years later, it continues to stand high above its opponents despite an old-school design and levels of refinement.
Wanting to up the ante one final time before an all-new Fortuner comes out in conjunction with an all-new Hilux next year; Toyota has given it some upgrades and minor design changes to let it sign off on a successful note.

‘Like a boss’ is a very appropriate term that I would use to describe the external design of the Fortuner. It lives, breathes and exudes street credibility like nothing else on sale today and that is something that sells well with people looking to buy an SUV in this budget range. This is also one of the basic reasons why it has been a major seller as compared to its rivals.

Its overall appearance has stayed the same since it was launched in 2009 with some major updates in 2011 and then once in 2013.
Changes to the facia include a slightly tweaked bumper and chrome inserts for the fog lamps. Working in combination with the new bronze mica shade and smoked headlamps, these new elements add to the street credibility and premium factor of the SUV.

The side profile remains the same as before but now Toyota has fitted this top-spec version with blackish-grey 12-spoke, 17-inch after-market alloy wheels. They are the standard design as before but now in a new shade. It is probable that many customers had been fitting wheels of similar nature/painting the stock wheels in this colour and it seemed only appropriate for Toyota to move in this direction and offer them as standard equipment. The heavily flared wheel arches and the large black wheels give off the image of a hunkered down Rikishi ready to pounce on his opponent.

The smoked out theme continues at the rear with the tail lamps which now have after-market(ish) black inserts as compared to the chrome ones on the previous model. Toyota has also added 4X4 and AT badging as part of the overall changes for the Fortuner.
The direct competitors for the Fortuner are the Ford Endevaour AT and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport AT. All three are old-school SUVs underpinned by a ladder on frame chassis. They exude the all-important menacing appearance that sells so well for people looking to buy an SUV in this segment. It should be obvious by now that bigger is better and that the Fortuner is the biggest looking of the lot. The Endeavour is very boxy in that American way while the Pajero Sport is an iconic design with Mitsubishi’s latest modern fascia.

The 2015 Fortuner now gets an all-black leather interior as compared to the black and beige package that had been lifted from the Innova in the previous models. However, while the colour scheme may have changed, the overall layout has not been touched and everything appears to have been carried over from the previous models.

Some of the newer features include automatic projector headlamps, cruise control, three-way electric adjustment for the driver’s seat and finally touchscreen infotainment system with voice control.
The infotainment system is the same unit from the Innova and thanks to its silver appearance looks to be an afterthought rather than a pre-envisaged part of the interior trim. It has all the options that one would want from an infotainment system but looks dated and is slow to respond.
What we did find very effective is the climate control system which kept us cool both on our way to Goa for IBW 2015, in the party state after baking in the February noon sun for two days and finally on our way back to Mumbai during a marathon 10-hour drive. In fact, during our return journey, PowerDrift host Sagar Sheldekar had to request us to switch off the rear AC as there was sufficient cold air coming from the front. We suspect though that with occupants in the third row, temperature will not be an issue.

In terms of seat comfort, if you’re sitting in front, then you will have no issue about leg room or space of any kind. The leather seats are soft enough that you will kind of sink in and with a little bit of shuffling around you will be able to find a comfortable way to sit.

The second row too can be quite comfortable with enough under thigh support that is provided you’re not sitting behind someone who is tall. In such a situation, you will be forced to sit higher and more upright, making it a bit of a painful process if the travel time and distance is lengthy.
The third row is quite low on space and would not be very comfortable for long journeys. It is best reserved for kids or really short people, this, despite the vehicle having an even roofline from A-pillar to D-pillar. Fortunately, we used most of row three and the boot to carry luggage and it seemed to be more than up to the task to swallow our goods.

On the practicality front, there are cup holders for the first and second row while the door pockets can take 1.0-litre bottles with a bit of squeezing. We foun that the cubby hole between the front seats (which doubles up as the front arm rest) is deep and managed to swallow up our DSLR and still have room for other items.

The Toyota Fortuner is powered by a 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that produces 169bhp@3600rpm and a massive 343Nm of torque@1400rpm. It has full time 4WD and is mated to a five-speed AT.

This is a first time combination for the Japanese automaker as it had previously only offered the AT with the 3.0-litre 4X2 version. Given an increasing demand for ATs, it seemed logical and more realistically inevitable that Toyota would begin offering this combo in India.
This is an old school turbocharged diesel engine mated to what is in essence a torque converter or more conventionally what we would in automotive slang call: a slush box. When you press the throttle you can feel it working hard to build up the power and move all this mass forward and once, the momentum has been built up, the Fortuner will keep going thanks to a healthy mid-range in the characteristic of the delivery.

There is more than sufficient power for quick overtakes both out on the highway as well in bumper to bumper traffic. But unfortunately it takes little extra time to react and that automatically means you have to plan better. Most of our testing run was done on our onward and return journey from Indian Bike Week 2015 in Goa and we were able to comfortably cruise at around 140kmph without much fuss. There are no paddle shifters or tip-tronic mode but you do have the option to hold onto to fourth, third or second gear.
Given the size of the mill as well as the age of its design, it is particularly noisy and you can hear a lot of its gravelly tone inside the cabin despite some decent overall insulation.

The AT and large diesel engine means this is not a particularly fuel efficient mill mostly due to the all-time four-wheel drive system. The best we could manage was around 9kmpl on the flat stretches between Pune and Kolhapur with this number further dropping once we began to wind our way through the Nipani ghat.
What goes in efficiency is more than made up in terms of tank capacity which in the case of the Fortuner is around 80-litres and even with an efficiency of 9kmpl you still get a theoretical range of around 630km (excluding a suspected 10-litre reserve) which is a lot when you consider that this car weighs two tonnes. A lighter foot on the throttle means that it is possible for this number to shoot up to 11kmpl.

The Fortuner gets a double wishbone setup in front and a four-link with lateral rod setup in the rear. It is a large SUV with mammoth proportions which means that handling is not a word you would really associate with such a car. You can feel it roll and pitch in the corners which for obvious reasons is due to the high CG and truck- like nature of the Fortuner. The steering is hydraulically assisted, has a nice feel to it and is decently accurate for a vehicle of this size.

Our test vehicle had been fitted with 265/65 R17 Dunlop Grand Trek AT20 tyres. They are all-terrain tyres designed to allow for use on a mixture of surfaces, befitting the multi-purpose nature of the Fortuner.

On the ride front, the Fortuner is softly set up, a move aimed at giving a comfortable ride. The low speed ride is bouncy but at higher speeds it is quite comfortable. The suspension setup manages to iron out all the bumps and will not let you feel unsettled even if you have to get two wheels off the road.

While the ride is very comfortable, what we found lacking were the brakes. The front gets ventilated discs while rear still has drums. Ideally, at this price range and power level, we believe Toyota should be offering discs on all four-wheels. The brakes are progressive and work decently at lower speeds but lack the required stopping power at high speeds. ABS with EBD and Vehicle stability control is both available in the Fortuner.

We unfortunately did not get a chance to test out the Fortuner off-road due to our schedule constraints. The 4WD is on all the time like in the hardcore off roaders and it does come with a set of locking differentials but they are not the on-the-fly variety.

As we had said in the introduction, the Fortuner sits far higher than all its rivals in terms of numbers. On an average Toyota sells around 1200-1500 units of the SUV in the Indian market every month and there is nothing even close to it in this part of the D-segment both in terms of sedans as well as SUVs.

This is down to the presence that the vehicle offers which is a lot thanks to its bulky lines and squat stance. It appears to be a popular vehicle in rural areas where those who can afford it need to mark their presence.
The updates that Toyota has fitted to the SUV appear to have come from customer suggestions as many of the changes are available as after-market fitments in one form or another.
Coupled with the reliability that Toyota’s vehicles offer as well as their excellent after-sales service, it seems that the Japanese automaker has added just the right ingredients to the Fortuner to help it continue its successful run.