[ike]

I voted a NO. Apart from the harsh ride and a poor safety kit (for the segment and size of the vehicle) what puts me off is the authenticity. Since the car holds it's value so well, unscrupulous dealers will get cars with high miles and colck the odo. A 2 lac KM car will be marketed as a pristine 40K KMS run car. Of course, if you do your due diligence (which most Bhpians would) it shouldn't be a problem but I'm very wary of getting one.

[mr_freakky]

Voted for YES!!

Anyday, I would opt for a well maintained, below 80k tamed one for an asking price below 10L, eyes closed I would opt one for primarily two reasons:

1.Reliability: As most of us previously mentioned, the Toyota's outlast their owners, when maintained properly. My uncle bought a 1st Gen Innova 2.5G back in 2007, and following that, most of our relatives went ahead to buy the Innova's over all these years. We, now have around 10 Innova's in our family circle, and all in pristine condition. From 2007 2.5G to the present Crysta 2.8 ZX Auto, you name any generation/variant, we have got one. We are a family of Toyota and we would prefer a Toyota anyday. We have got 2 Fortuners too, and all these Toyota's drive good and haven't caused any major issues too.


2.Butch Road presence: Hailing from a Tier-3 Town down South, where the Fortuner is considered more as a status symbol, and it receives more public attention than the Bimmer and Merc of those days would receive, all thanks to its massive, tough built structure.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Big NO

A reliable but utilitarian vehicle with poor NVH and bumpy ride quality that is hugely overpriced despite examples having 6 figures on the odo. Simply not worth it unless one has specific use for it.

[amsidhu]

Voted Yes.

What does one get in today's market with around 9-10 lacs ? A top of the line Hatchback which seats 4/5 with relatively low ground clearance.

In SUV genre, we get Thar with basically everything which we got to replace from aftermarket products still isn't a very comfortable ride.

Or a Scorpio which in comparison is way to cramped inside.

There comes the Old fortuner.
Good ground clearance, seats 7/8, trouble free engine, decent maintenance costs from agency, frugal maintenance charges from local garages.Road presence

No doubt finding a clean example is nearly impossible. And atrocious greed of owners to sell at unrealistic prices.
But still some examples are available basically ones which had multiple cars in house and Fortuner now needs to go so as to free parking space for newer ones.

However, My personal preference is second generation 2015 onwards model with black interiors.

[WhiteKnight]

Voted Yes.

Man, I hate this vehicle, and any day choose Pajero/Pajero Sports. However the fact remains, that Fortuner is the only proper SUV with service support, with some safety kit which you can buy used around 12 lakhs today. Of course, it it template Toyota - nothing exciting, nothing horribly wrong either.

Funny, how I hurry to shift up around 2k rpm just to avoid the noise coming inside. It does cruise better in 5th gear. May be because the wind noise supress the engine noise by then.

[Slickshift99]

Voted yes, but only for the facelift model. The facelift was a better car:-
1)Better brakes added confidence to the ride.
2)Bland interiors had some touch-up elements that made it look and feel better
3) subtle and smart exteriors look better to anyone when compared to the bulky pre-facelift.
4) Additional features!
5)cult following for the fortuner in North-India.
6) Maintainence is very affordable.
7) Build to LAST
8) A Very capable off-road vehicle in its segment (read best)
9) There would be a huge demand for fortuners once they hit the 5-6 lac mark, people will buy it as a work-horse.

[Miyata]

Voted Yes. If the options further had - 'Big Yes'; 'Bigger Yes'; and 'Biggest Yes' - I would have voted for the 'Biggest Yes'!

Couple of things -

1) On a very reliable car (such as this), you can always work out the ride-quality by improving them over time (suspension softening; tyre changes; address any shock absorber issues; address any seat padding and support issues etc) without interfering with its core reliability.

On the flip side, on a un-reliable car (such as some of the competition), it would almost always feel undesirable to invest on anything at all. Not much one can do with it except use it as the delicate toy it is and replace when it's due.

2) If one were to choose the wisdom of Munger, the recommendation would be go with a used, reliable SUV if you ever need one. SUV/MUVs and cross-overs are among the fattest margin commanding vehicles for the manufacturer. Would be wiser to pick a used one if you have need for an SUV.

The Fortuners do seem to be higher priced in the used market space. It is a reflection on the demand for the vehicle. The demand exists because it has so much more to offer - great reliability; cheap maintenance; more space (relatively) if you need them.

Why would you not send 15L (initial cost + ride quality spruce up cost) to get this vehicle and keep it for the large chunk of your life without needing to replace it? If the government is not in your way, it would be foolish to miss out on such opportunities if you have a pressing need for a larg-ish SUV.

[Geo_Ipe]

Voted YES!

The only fly in the 'Yes' ointment would be the relatively higher used car prices for the Fortuner. I'd try to make that work in my favour. Two scenarios:

- I buy a 9-10 year old Fortuner at 10-12L. I could expect to sell her off at maybe 1L lesser 2-3 years down the lane. No new car
or other used cars can hold onto its value like that.

- If I'm buying a new car in that segment today, I'm looking at 35+ L. Which is again insanely high for a car in that segment according to me.

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Voted YES!

The only fly in the 'Yes' ointment would be the relatively higher used car prices for the Fortuner. I'd try to make that work in my favour. Two scenarios:

- I buy a 9-10 year old Fortuner at 10-12L. I could expect to sell her off at maybe 1L lesser 2-3 years down the lane. No new car
or other used cars can hold onto its value like that.

There is a high chance that the idea will work out. But there is a risk too. A state government following what Delhi did by banning 10 year old vehicles can take the vehicle's value to zero overnight.

[Heart_Revs]

There is no denying that Fortuners with low milage are really difficult to find.

However it really shines in the following areas:
1. Interiors are hard plastics but take abuse very well.
2. Exteriors are rugged as well. I had a few minor scrapes and the cladding took abuse well without transferring it to the body.
3. Torque monster!!
4. Age and mileage are just numbers for this thing. I have firm faith that mine is going to be with me for a long long time. Might even outlast me.
5. Hugely spacious and comfortable seating. Kingly road presence.
6. Has all the very basic necessity like parking sensor, ACC etc

Those who are looking to arrive in life or "upgrade" should give it a miss . It's not a sophisticated vehicle built with finesse. There are better ones for that purpose.

Those who want to keep things simple would appreciate it. This thing is a proper truck and is built and behaves like one. Drive it over anything with nary a care. I appreciate function over form and for me it's a perfect vehicle. I feel lucky to have found one at a low odo of 43000 km.

[karavadi143]

Voted yes. The moment the name “Fortuner” comes up, most of us can relate to the ones used by politicians and muscular external look of earlier generation model. If we are looking for an SUV that demands sheer presence and keep pesky auto drivers away, this seems to be the best way.

That being said, as with any used vehicle with 8-9 years and 60k odd on odometer, we will need to spend a couple of lacs on restoring. The best price to pick one would be around 8 lacs range and add a couple lacs for mods, better rubber and extra lights.

[Heart_Revs]

Originally Posted by karavadi143

Voted yes. The moment the name “Fortuner” comes up, most of us can relate to the ones used by politicians and muscular external look of earlier generation model. If we are looking for an SUV that demands sheer presence and keep pesky auto drivers away, this seems to be the best way.

That being said, as with any used vehicle with 8-9 years and 60k odd on odometer, we will need to spend a couple of lacs on restoring. The best price to pick one would be around 8 lacs range and add a couple lacs for mods, better rubber and extra lights.

I do not agree. It basically depends on your luck. I have brought a used one and its 10 yr old now. In my 5 years of ownership, I have spent ZERO on anything other than routine filter and oil change. I have been driving this thing right out of previous owners garage till date with NIL unaccounted expenditure.

[shibujp]

Voted YES. There was a time when I was actually contemplating buying a used one till I figured that big SUVs with a ladder frame was not my ideal daily driver. The bumpy ride was not a issue as I would have spent some extra cash on getting a Tien suspension or bought one that already had it.

I still love this version on the Fort over the current iteration which I think is too bulky. I always liked the small body, big tyres look that it share with the Toyota 4-Runner.

Drive on,
Shibu

[SaiSW]

Voted no.

The interiors did not age well and I can't be bothered to pay more than a million rupees and still have my back broken on the kind of roads in my district.

I have driven 1st gen fortuner before, the engine is powerful, but nvh is crude, again a con. Maybe 5-6 years ago for this price and for the brand, but not in 2020.

[vigsom]

In an age when cars and people have become unreliable , this one scores very very high.

My only grouses:

1. Pathetic brakes - one needs to reprogram stopping distance when driving this car

2. Poor middle and last row comfort, especially middle row under-thigh support accentuated by a high floor pan

3. Ride quality

4. Leather wears off very fast if not maintained- the steering, gear knob and driver's seat are quick casualties.