[Ahmed]

In the facelift 4x4 MT, VSC is always on in H mode by default. By simply pressing the VSC button it's shut off for a 30 seconds or so and will switch on automatically.

By pressing it for more than 3 seconds it remains off unless you press it again the same way.


The moment you move out of H mode, VSC is deactivated by default.

[kaizanfan]

My friend is planning to buy the Fortuner AT mainly for commuting to work 35kms a day. He asked me to check on this forum if there are others in this forum who drive their fortuners to work - if yes, how's the experience compared to driving a sedan to work. If you could share the experience as part of your ownership experience that would be great. Thanks.

[RoadFiend]

Originally Posted by kaizanfan

My friend is planning to buy the Fortuner AT mainly for commuting to work 35kms a day. He asked me to check on this forum if there are others in this forum who drive their fortuners to work - if yes, how's the experience compared to driving a sedan to work. If you could share the experience as part of your ownership experience that would be great. Thanks.

That matches my profile to the T! I've driven the Fortuner AT (only) to work for more than a year now. I can provide feedback. My ownership report is still languishing in the Assembly Line section. Let me see if I can bolster it sufficiently to merit a promotion to the Ownership Reviews section. Till then, here's a teaser - I used to have a sedan for years, prior to the Fortuner, and the Fortuner is easier to drive to work in the heavy Bangalore traffic.

[kaizanfan]

RoadFiend,
I briefly read your posts on your Toyota Fortuner AT. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. After going thru the posts on the Fortuner in the last few days (actually for my friend), gradually I am becoming a fan of Fortuner. If I decide to buy it would be the 5-speed AT variant.

Back to your experience concerning the bumpy ride within city, have you considered changing the suspension? According to Nandi Toyota the suspension can be changed at the Toyota service center. Supposedly it's an aftermarket suspension. The manufacturer of the suspension would provide warranty on the suspension setup. I wouldn't expect much change in ride quality by changing tires or reducing the tire pressure. In fact reducing the tire pressure would decrease FE.

[drmohitg]

A minor refreshed version has been launched in Indonesia. Can we start expecting the same in India soon? I am planning to buy the Fortuner before Diwali. Although the day time running light sound and look exciting, I am more worried about a possible and yet another price hike by Toyota making this already overpriced truck more expensive.

Here is a part of the article:

The regular model as well as the TRD Sportivo kit gets minor changes for the model year 2014. The front bumper gets two strips of LED daytime running lights on the standard model. Whereas, on the range topping TRD Sportivo trim, the updated Fortuner gets significant changes. The TRD kit includes black finished grille instead of the shiny chrome grille. The bumpers are treated with skirts for a sporty look and the alloys also get a different pattern than the regular model.
Read more at http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/toyota...Ec5pCxJw9v0.99

Source: Motorbeam.com

[Visran]

With every subsequent facelift's Toyota has increased the prices by a substantial margin, it's fair to consider that as and when this model get's launched in India we should expect the Fortuner's price to get bumped up.

[kaizanfan]

While browsing on several Automotive topics I stumbled upon few interesting threads on Fortuner. I happen to save the link to one such thread and thought I should share that on this thread:

http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/...ad.php?t=30954

To me the above thread and few others that I have read indicate at least two things:
- Fortuner probably had some suspension issues during her early years that Toyota took time to fix. Fishtailing was supposedly a common issue.
- This beast was (is) being driven beyond imagination in different parts of the world. There are folks driving Fortuners at 50-80km/hr on dirt roads for long distances.

It would be interesting to find out how many of the Fortuner owners in this forum have driven their Fortuner at high speeds on dirt roads for long distances.

[kaizanfan]

Took delivery of Fortuner AT (4x2 non-sportivo version). First impressions:
Positives:
- Easy to ride over bumps - I consistently clocked 15-20km/hr over most bumps on 2nd gear. It's ironic that I didn't find the fortuner bumpy over bumps. It's the unevenness of roads (broken roads) that make the ride bumpy.
- Superb handling and ride quality at higher speeds on normal roads and highways.
- Awesome free wheeling (reminds me of my old camry), especially at 40km/hr. At that speed real-time mileage shows 40-50+. Goes to show that the engine is pretty frugal once you take your foot off the gas.
- Drove 45km straight out of dealership to temple and back home in traffic with terrible stop-n-go traffic on two instances.
- Mileage shows 9.8km/ltr. Wondering if the mileage calculator is buggy - I was expecting much less FE given that it's a brand new car and it's Automatic OR may be I got the best out of it. I get a feeling that I might be able to squeeze in very good FE on good roads and highways. It's too soon to say that though - will report on that after couple months.
- I found Autos, Bikers and Pedestrians giving me respect + right of way most of the time - awesome feeling.
- Overtaking is a breeze
- Best way to drive is give enough gas to get to 3rd gear quickly at ~30-40 (need to check the number) then leave it to free wheeling (in city roads).
- ICE seems to be identical to Innova but the music sounded better. Perhaps the speaker fitment in bigger, heavier, better doors makes it sound it better OR may be it's all psychological at this point. Overall extremely pleased with the quality of sound.
- The headlights deserve a huge round of applause. Dealers should start giving test drives at night - I am sure it will help them make more sales. I am yet to figure out the 3 clicks headlight switch. The first one is parking lights, not sure what the difference is between the 2nd and 3rd clicks. But in the second click the headlight tend to emit very high power for a micro-second and then settle down to normal intensity. Need to read the manual. Please feel free to enlighten me on that.
- I like that constant beep in reverse gear. It makes you bit more alert. Wonder why other cars don't have that feature.
- Like the electronic 6-way seat adjust
- No need to maneuver around potholes - drive straight and simply ride over them. This actually helped me over take other cars. The tires and suspension give you that confidence.
- Engine compartment (under the hood) is very spacious. You can reach most parts easily including oil filter. You can fit in a baby easily behind the battery. Typical of Toyota to keep the engine bay spacious. I always appreciated that.

Negatives:
- Pretty bumpy ride while going over even moderately uneven roads
- Overall bumpy ride on uneven roads - higher the speed slightly lesser the bumpyness.
- I felt that the seats could have been a bit thicker with more cushioning material in them.
- The rear view camera is bland with no distance information. No sensors - too bad.
- Breaks are ok but quite mushy (or spongy?). Wonder why Toyota could not offer better braking experience in such a big and fairly expensive vehicle.

[smnrock]

3rd option is auto headlight, i assume the brightness controlled based on light sensor.

[kaizanfan]

Fyi:
Happen to gather bits of info from several sources (I think reliable). Thought I should share:
- Fortuner comes out of factory with under body anti-rust coating.
- Engine oil used and recommended by Toyota is Toyota mineral oil. No synthetics!
- Fortuner is imported as a complete kit from Thailand and assembled in Bangalore.
- Fortuner is part of Toyota's IMV (Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicles) project kicked off in Thailand.
- The features and attributes (such as transmission, horn, materials) are generic such that they follow the norms of many countries and would work in all conditions.
- Fortuner is the #1 SUV in South Africa. It is used in extreme conditions in UAE and South Africa (literally abused). India is probably the softest user of Fortuner.
- The stiff suspension and bumpy ride is here to stay. Toyota has no plans on changing that.
- Pearl white is a metallic paint (it's got a bit of that glitter as well)

[getsurya]

Hi Kaizanfan,

Many thanks for your information. Good to read them as a synopsis captured by you in the below couple of posts.

[spkingsley]

Originally Posted by kaizanfan

Fyi: Happen to gather bits of info from several sources (I think reliable). Thought I should share: - Fortuner comes out of factory with under body anti-rust coating. - Engine oil used and recommended by Toyota is Toyota mineral oil. No synthetics! - Fortuner is imported as a complete kit from Thailand and assembled in Bangalore. - Fortuner is part of Toyota's IMV (Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicles) project kicked off in Thailand. - The features and attributes (such as transmission, horn, materials) are generic such that they follow the norms of many countries and would work in all conditions. - Fortuner is the #1 SUV in South Africa. It is used in extreme conditions in UAE and South Africa (literally abused). India is probably the softest user of Fortuner. - The stiff suspension and bumpy ride is here to stay. Toyota has no plans on changing that. - Pearl white is a metallic paint (it's got a bit of that glitter as well)

Thought Innova is part of IMV project. Is Fortuner also ?

[kaizanfan]

Originally Posted by spkingsley

Thought Innova is part of IMV project. Is Fortuner also ?

Not sure of Innova. Fortuner definitely is.

[spkingsley]

Originally Posted by kaizanfan

Not sure of Innova. Fortuner definitely is.

Yes IMV project had 5 models including Fortuner on the same platform. They are Hilux single cab, Hilux extra cab, Hilux double cab, Innova and Fortuner.

[spkingsley]

Originally Posted by kaizanfan

Took delivery of Fortuner AT (4x2 non-sportivo version). First impressions: Positives: - Easy to ride over bumps - I consistently clocked 15-20km/hr over most bumps on 2nd gear. It's ironic that I didn't find the fortuner bumpy over bumps. It's the unevenness of roads (broken roads) that make the ride bumpy. - Superb handling and ride quality at higher speeds on normal roads and highways. - Awesome free wheeling (reminds me of my old camry), especially at 40km/hr. At that speed real-time mileage shows 40-50+. Goes to show that the engine is pretty frugal once you take your foot off the gas. - Drove 45km straight out of dealership to temple and back home in traffic with terrible stop-n-go traffic on two instances. - Mileage shows 9.8km/ltr. Wondering if the mileage calculator is buggy - I was expecting much less FE given that it's a brand new car and it's Automatic OR may be I got the best out of it. I get a feeling that I might be able to squeeze in very good FE on good roads and highways. It's too soon to say that though - will report on that after couple months. - I found Autos, Bikers and Pedestrians giving me respect + right of way most of the time - awesome feeling. - Overtaking is a breeze - Best way to drive is give enough gas to get to 3rd gear quickly at ~30-40 (need to check the number) then leave it to free wheeling (in city roads). - ICE seems to be identical to Innova but the music sounded better. Perhaps the speaker fitment in bigger, heavier, better doors makes it sound it better OR may be it's all psychological at this point. Overall extremely pleased with the quality of sound. - The headlights deserve a huge round of applause. Dealers should start giving test drives at night - I am sure it will help them make more sales. I am yet to figure out the 3 clicks headlight switch. The first one is parking lights, not sure what the difference is between the 2nd and 3rd clicks. But in the second click the headlight tend to emit very high power for a micro-second and then settle down to normal intensity. Need to read the manual. Please feel free to enlighten me on that. - I like that constant beep in reverse gear. It makes you bit more alert. Wonder why other cars don't have that feature. - Like the electronic 6-way seat adjust - No need to maneuver around potholes - drive straight and simply ride over them. This actually helped me over take other cars. The tires and suspension give you that confidence. - Engine compartment (under the hood) is very spacious. You can reach most parts easily including oil filter. You can fit in a baby easily behind the battery. Typical of Toyota to keep the engine bay spacious. I always appreciated that. Negatives: - Pretty bumpy ride while going over even moderately uneven roads - Overall bumpy ride on uneven roads - higher the speed slightly lesser the bumpyness. - I felt that the seats could have been a bit thicker with more cushioning material in them. - The rear view camera is bland with no distance information. No sensors - too bad. - Breaks are ok but quite mushy (or spongy?). Wonder why Toyota could not offer better braking experience in such a big and fairly expensive vehicle.

Does the brakes feel like having insufficient power to stop the Fortuner ? How does the gear shift and steering feel as compared to similar vehicles.