[Tejas@perioimpl]

Congrats Karan!

Yup the manual is more fun than the AT.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Congrats Karan!

Yup the manual is more fun than the AT.

Thank You Tejas

Honestly i haven't driven the Manual yet, hence seriously excited for driving it 1st time tomorrow

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by karan561

Thank You Tejas

Honestly i haven't driven the Manual yet, hence seriously excited for driving it 1st time tomorrow

Only annoying bit is how the reverse gear engages till you get used to it. Otherwise manual is a lot of fun.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by karan561

Honestly i haven't driven the Manual yet, hence seriously excited for driving it 1st time tomorrow

I am super surprised that you booked a car without a test-drive. This shows the confidence you have on Toyota. Good luck with the Ne Fortuner's delivery today. Please do post a lot of pictures. Super White looks good and i wish you a million miles of happy and safe motoring.

Looking forward to your "Detailed" ownership review.

[Samurai]

Last week I attended the Toyota Fortuner Boot Camp at Bangalore. Here are my impressions and some photos. Since the event was primarily about offroading capabilities of the new Fortuner, this tiny report will focus only on that aspect.

The session started with a briefing on the specifications. There I got my first surprise, the 4WD system was very different from the earlier version.



Earlier, the Fortuner had a full time 4x4 system, which means the vehicle required a central differential with limited slip. Otherwise, it can't be driven on tarmac. The central differential could be locked for offroad requirements. The new Fortuner 4x4 system is more like the traditional Jeep. Now it has 2WD for tarmac usage, and 4WD is strictly for slippery conditions. This configuration doesn't need a central differential. The front and rear differential are always open, like before.

The track was prepared by Offroad Junkies, the name had a familiar ring to it. There were 3 offroad instructors, taking the visitors through the circuit. Amol from Offroad Junkies almost didn't remember me, after all it has been 6 years since we last met. The other two were Prithviraj and Siddartha, old friends and wellknown offroaders from Bangalore.


The track contained a bunch of obstacles, each designed to demonstrate different features of the new Fortuner. I picked the MT version for my test drive, although I was assured by the instructors that I will barely notice the difference between AT & MT in 4WD low.

1) Straight Line Drag



Here the drivers are allowed to take off at full torque to test the acceleration and stopping power in a dry dirt track. The straight track length is only 100 meters, so there is no danger of reaching high speeds. The Fortuner really impresses here, in both takeoff and braking. Between Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) with Brake Assist (BA), Active Traction Control (A-TRC) and ABS with EBD, you will never know who kept you from sliding forward and sideways.

2) Hill Assist Control (HAC) and Downhill Assist Control (DAC)

Here we had a sine wave shaped artificial hill, starting with a deep and narrow trough in the ground.





As we get out of the trough, we face a metal hill that plays the crest of the sine wave.







While entering the trough, and while exiting the crest, we get to experience the downhill assist control (DAC) feature. Engage DAC, and let go all the pedals. The car glides down gently down the slope. This is hardly a surprising feature for any offroader. Similar behavior can be seen in Jeeps in low range. But DAC will work in both 4WD high and low range, in any gear as long as the speed is below 30kmph.

https://youtu.be/JVrFPwRtOIA

While exiting the trough, and while entering the crest, we get to experience the Hill Assist Control. This is not really an offroad only feature, it is quite useful while starting from an incline. While stopped in the incline, you can let go the brake and the car doesn’t move back for 3 seconds. This gives the driver ample time to change gears and apply throttle without having to worry about rolling back down the hill.

3) Potholed Roads & Speed Bumps

I don’t think anyone needs explanation of this common phenomena. The ride is quite bumpy here, at least at the speed we were going.





4) Water fording

The Fortuner is rated for fording 700mm deep water. The 265/60R18 tyre itself is 775mm tall, even the tyre won’t fully submerge at the depth.

https://youtu.be/ZwFqPump-iI

The Fortuner door has double step sealing mechanism at the bottom, which keeps the water out entirely.













5) The Axle twister

Here the Fortuner has to drive through a series of uneven mounds that tests the articulation and traction control system. As one wheel goes up in the air, it spins at first, which activates the traction control. Then the freewheeling tyre stops, and the torque is sent only to the opposite tyre which is on the ground.





Large mirrors were strategically placed so that the driver can see himself in action.



6) Side incline

This was the most exciting obstacle for me, because this is the most scary action for any offroader. Tilting sideways is very uncomfortable because there is no way to control it if we overdo it. Here at the track they had the metal incline that was within the tilt specification for Fortuner. Still, it was really scary to tilt such a big SUV to that degree.

https://youtu.be/AMZJ_6BGBIA

https://youtu.be/_qDaovNfpng

This is how it looked in the mirror from inside.



7) Twisties

Next was just a series of twisters to test the vehicle stability, handling and cornering. Fortuner does well for its size.

8) Mud crawling

This is always challenging for heavy SUVs because they tend to bog down in heavy mud. However, the Fortuner is loaded with so much torque, it just crawls through the mud without any throttle input. And the traction control eliminates all the wheel spins. The instructor asked me to leave all the pedals alone, and just deal with the steering. The Fortuner went through the entire mud section without any throttle input.

https://youtu.be/uf27rtOgyWk

All in all, Fortuner simply exceeded my expectation for an heavy SUV in offroad performance. And here is the final surprise. All the Fortuners here were running highway tyres.



The after drive photo with instructor Prithviraj.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by Samurai

All in all, Fortuner simply exceeded my expectation for an heavy SUV in offroad performance.

Good to know that the New Fortuner had impressed you with its off-road capabilities.

Did you get to drive the AT?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by MAS

Did you get to drive the AT?

No, I had to pick one of them. I picked the MT because I can gauge the offroad capability much better in MT.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Samurai, love your writing style. Another great short and concise report that makes one re-live the moment!

For those who want to know the angles of the obstacles:


The big mound: 35° at the highest inclination - ascent and descent. Car tested upto 40° (height of the mound 15')

The side incline: 30°. Car can do 40°. We tested upto 37°.

[Venku2015]

Originally Posted by karan561

Guys,

Had booked the New Fortuner a day after its launch & the car has finally arrived
Here's a sneak peek of my car being unloaded at the dealer stockyard;

Attachment 1577791

Will be taking delivery tomorrow.

Yes it is a 4x4 M/T

Congratulations Karan! Wish you lakhs of happy miles in your new Fortuner! Look forward for a detailed video review.

I am almost on the verge to book 4x4 AT but holding for two reasons:
1. Confused if the GST is going to make this SUV cheaper
2. Not sure which color to choose out of Pearl white and Phantom brown

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Last week I attended the Toyota Fortuner Boot Camp at Bangalore. Here are my impressions and some photos.

I am a fan of your writing/presentation style and explanations. From the Rain Forest Competition reports to this. Everything very very lucidly told and explained + the pictures added where required. Great stuff!

[qr20de]

To be quite honest, it's all fine and dandy that Toyota is pulling this 'off-road experience' marketing campaign but I'm not entirely convinced that that's why almost everyone buys the car.

The chances of a Fortuner customer using his vehicle for such off-roading could be maybe once in 40 or 50,000km of use. I know some people who don't even know how to use their 4WD transfer case box.

Toyota has done well to bring in a 2WD version for customer's who want the big vehicle feeling in our narrow city streets.

[trek]

Originally Posted by qr20de

To be quite honest, it's all fine and dandy that Toyota is pulling this 'off-road experience' marketing campaign but I'm not entirely convinced that that's why almost everyone buys the car.

The chances of a Fortuner customer using his vehicle for such off-roading could be maybe once in 40 or 50,000km of use. I know some people who don't even know how to use their 4WD transfer case box.

Toyota has done well to bring in a 2WD version for customer's who want the big vehicle feeling in our narrow city streets.

It's about building the perception for the product. 99% of the owners are never going to take the car off road but they would like to believe that they are capable of it!

The same reason why the Thar manages to get buyers even though priced at almost 10 big ones.

[m3_07]

Originally Posted by qr20de

The chances of a Fortuner customer using his vehicle for such off-roading could be maybe once in 40 or 50,000km of use. I know some people who don't even know how to use their 4WD transfer case box.

Most of the lanes in bangalore are no less than the offroad track that you see in the videos. That last rains that we had had very identical wading depths in Bannerghatta Road - some of the folks can vouch for this & also there are many many under passes in bangalore which will give you this priceless experience.

Capabilities such as these in a car will help you avoid the heart in mouth situations

[karan561]

Guys what a special day it has been.

Just got back home after the delivery and drove the new Fortuner for about 180kms from Gujarat to Mumbai.

Manual variant is the real deal, though it is 30NM less on torque v/s the A/T but boy it is massive fun and definitely the BRAWNIER variant of choice.

The dealership was Rathod Toyota (Vapi) and they did a great job.

I got to do self insurance & registration too. Also got the official accessory floor mats complimentary

And now time for some pictures;







M/T lever;



Both my Fortuners dominated the NH8 today, what a sight !



PS - A delivery experience VIDEO is in the making, stay tuned

[RavenAvi]

Congratulations, Karan! Eagerly waiting for your crisp video review.

The all-new Fortuner is on it's way to become a huge hit.

In the 15 days since it has been launched, the Fortuner has amassed over 5,400 bookings and has generated over 16,000 enquiries!

pressreleaseallnewtoyotafortuner.docx