[Cresterk]

I feel like this is a last ditch effort to sell off the last remaining batches of cars and squeeze as much as possible before they introduce the 2023 or 2024 completely new generation of Fortuner and its derivatives which will basically make this generation drop in value and demand considerably. Strike while the iron is hot and all that.

[Vid6639]

Few more years till the next gen Fortuner comes and crosses 1CR. This GR-S has now pushed the price past 60L.

[Romeo_Mike]

Sports tuned suspension huh?

Hope it's the longer travel kind. Because if it sports means stiffer, then Toyota better be launching some GR branded accesories too -



Disclaimer: Image for representation purpose only. Gratitude to respective owners for bearing with me

[Revvman]

Height of opportunism on Toyota's part. Instead of further strengthening their fanbase and exploiting the void left by Endeavour by getting more customers to their fold, Toyota has decided to milk the cow dry as far as they can go. With justifiable pricing for an already low on features product, they could've easily owned this segment for years to come.

Not to say that they have any competition right now, but the moment a worthy contender arrives and hopefully the Nissans, Mitsubishis and Isuzus of the world are listening, the fleeced Indian consumer would hopefully teach Toyota a lesson in long term strategy. The current situation just goes on to highlight how much the market needs worthy competition!

[Hashed]

If I got this right, you pay 61 lakhs for cosmetic changes and a different tune of suspension (wonder if they’ll have a TD vehicle to test this on our awesome Bangalore roads), but miss out on the very useful ventilated seats !

[real_koolkrish]

On one hand, we are worrying about the astronomical increase in price of cars and dilution of Brand quality, but on the other hand, it seems like the manufacturers aren't gaining much profit from their sales and the major chunk of the money goes as taxes.

Here in this video

https://youtu.be/d8Wxgn_d_-Q

it is estimated that despite selling Fortuner close to 40L ex showroom, Toyota gets only around 40K per Fortuner and the Dealer gets around 1L. If the real world scenario is like this, then no wonder manufacturers have stopped making new , quality products for our market. At the end of the day, they are also a business and want to maintain, if not grow, their profitability.

[GreasyCarb55]

They've finally done it, they've breeched the 60 Lakh mark with the new Gazoo Racing "GR-S" variant. It is now officially cheaper to buy a BMW 330i Sport than it is to buy a Fortuner. This also means that 2 of the 3 entry level german luxury sedans (330i and A4) are now cheaper than a Fortuner.

I've given up on Toyota, first it was 50 lakh, now 60 lakh. On top of that Toyota India had the audacity to launch a GR Car with only cosmetic upgrades, for crying out loud at least give your customers who so religiously buy your overpriced products the 221hp tune you gave the Hilux GR Sport in South Africa.

It's funny to see how a brand name like GR "Gazoo Racing" that means so much abroad, think of the amazing cars that carry the GR moniker like the GR Supra, GR Yaris, GR Corolla, GR 86 and we get a cosmetic job that is the GR Fortuner. The worst part about this whole thing is that the GR Fortuner WILL sell, the Legender is now old news the GR is "the shiny new thing" in town. I can already see Toyota dealers opening shop tomorrow with a big mighty grin on their faces, getting the final preparations ready to welcome the religious Toyota buyers shelling out BMW prices for a cosmetic job on an already over priced car.

[Born 2 Be Wild]

And toyota does what toyota does best, believe in themselves and their product, and have the strong confidence that come what may they will still be selling upwards of 2k units a month of the fortuner no matter how they price it, quite sad really that there is not any competiton in this segment from any corner.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by GreasyCarb55

I can already see Toyota dealers opening shop tomorrow with a big mighty grin on their faces, getting the final preparations ready to welcome the religious Toyota buyers shelling out BMW prices for a cosmetic job on an already over priced car.

Agree that a Toyota Fortuner (Forget a GR) is expensive. It is expensive no matter where you buy a Fortuner. Is it built cheap? No. Will it fall apart or need any attention after a decade of use? No. Is the vehicle compromised in any way? No. Why should Toyota lower the price of this vehicle!

I don't get the idea or logic of comparing a vehicle like this to a 3 Series! I don't see anyone cross shopping either. Someone who wants a sedan or 3 Series will buy a 3 and the same holds true for a Fortuner. You can't compare the two. For someone who will use a Fortuner for what it is, won't be considering a 3 Series. The target customer is different, even if they use it 99% on-road. Besides, once you slap all those BSI packages and what not, which you most definitely want, if you intend on keeping your BMW for a while, the purchase cost is going to creep higher.

I'd definitely pat BMW on their backs for a job well done. Cause they can import a 3 in parts, assemble it here and sell it for that price. Its amazing. For those who love sedans, this is the best bang for your buck.

As for what one needs to pay for a Fortuner, there is not a lot you can do. Cause there isn't a single vehicle out there that can beat it for dependability. You can only hope that TKML will lower the price if they have some competition. When the day comes for you to part ways with this suv, there will be a stampede at your house. You will likely recover over half of what you paid for this SUV. That is unlikely to happen for any other vehicle you buy.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Agree that a Toyota Fortuner (Forget a GR) is expensive. It is expensive no matter where you buy a Fortuner. Is it built cheap? No. Will it fall apart or need any attention after a decade of use? No. Is the vehicle compromised in any way? No. Why should Toyota lower the price of this vehicle!

I don't get the idea or logic of comparing a vehicle like this to a 3 Series! I don't see anyone cross shopping either. Someone who wants a sedan or 3 Series will buy a 3 and the same holds true for a Fortuner. You can't compare the two. For someone who will use a Fortuner for what it is, won't be considering a 3 Series.

I have to disagree to this in a few ways. It may not be built cheap but it's not exactly a premium place to be in nor is the ride impressive for the money. For all that bulk and massive tyres it's a car that not many will buy for ride quality. Toyota has gone ahead and given it the suspension a "sport" tune. We all know what that means but fingers crossed.

Then it comes to the pricing. I can actually see people seriously thinking about A4/3/C instead of this one. You lose the bulk but you gain snobby brand names not to mention comfort levels that will crush Fortuner.

Neta and babu type customers who are buying Fortuner in abundance are hardly bothered about 4x4. All they want is flashy expensive car and premium sedans do it with much ease and aplomb on the road.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Few more years till the next gen Fortuner comes and crosses 1CR. This GR-S has now pushed the price past 60L.

Remember the Prado which cost 1.2 crores?

BHPians: Why should I buy a Prado for 1 crore when the 35-lakh Fortuner has the same engine? Comparable dimensions? Similar interior space?

Toyota: How can I take the Fortuner to the Prado price level? After all, it has the same engine, comparable dimensions & similar interior space .

Man, the Fortuner's pricing has gone ballistic! It is 59-lakhs on the road Mumbai. Hard to believe that the Fortuner was launched just 13 years back at 18.xx lakhs.

The Sensex in 2009 was ~18000 (launch price of Fortuner). The Sensex has had a high of ~60000 (OTR price of Fortuner GR Sport) in 2022. End of the day though, if it sells at this price, then Toyota will have the last laugh. No businessman leaves money on the table. If my product is selling at 60 lakhs, why on earth would I price it at 40? Cost price has nothing to do with the pricing; pricing is actually decided by the "maximum amount" that a manufacturer thinks the customer will pay.

[Redline6800]

Toyota's climb up the ladder in the Indian market, should make for an interesting case study. They are milking their market status, just like Honda used to and even Hyundai cannot charge such a premium for their high-end cars.

I always thought that Honda was perceived as the more upmarket brand, as compared to Toyota, atleast until around 2008-10. In the last decade, Toyota has played their cards right.

Honda cheapened the City to their detriment, while Toyota kept taking their MUV upmarket , starting with the Qualis, Innova and Innova Crysta.

The cost of these vehicles has literally doubled with every generation.
Qualis - 99-2000 - approx 10L on road BLR for Grand Saloon Touring (GS-T) version
Innova - 2005 - approx 16L for the top end version at that time.
Innova Crysta launched in 2016 and top end diesel auto retails at nearly 31L OTR in Blr today.

In comparison, Honda's inexplicable urge to go downmarket in search of volumes, has damaged the brand irreparably.

Will buyers pay OTR prices of 25L for the hybrid City, 32-33L for the new Civic, 28-32L for the HR-V, 38-40L for the CR-V and 45L for the Accord? Methinks not!
All these cars will need to be 5% cheaper.

But here we have Toyota pricing the Fortuner GR-V at just over 60L OTR in Blr !

The Indian car buyer may be value conscious but is certainly not stupid. Nearly all the cars that do well in the market have a rational explanation.

There was a time when the Indian car buyer paid a premium for Honda's for engineering excellence, performance, reliability, low cost of maintenance, resale etc.
The premium Jap segment now has only Toyota in it.

The older I get, the less my performance aspirations and more the shift to own a vehicle in the garage that has adequate performance, but more importantly is cheap (relatively) to own and maintain over atleast a 10 year period. I can understand why people pay a premium for their Toyota's and maybe some of the Fortuner owners here can provide an insight.

Kudos to Toyota!

[jetsetgo08]

And despite the successive incoherrent price hikes, I still see new Fortuners every now and then. Looks like people are rushing to pick Fortuner before the next price rise, similar to real estate.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

And the Fortuner most likely crosses 60L+ on-road in Bangalore.

Legender 4*4 AT was already well above 55. Legender 4*2 was the first to cross 50L, the previous major milestone.

At 60 lakh rupees one can buy a sparingly used 3 year old landrover discovery or a bmw X5 or a Q7. The 60 lakh can also buy a 5 year old range rover sport in a great condition.

[NagaBond]

I had seen only the likes of BMW and Benz with PY registration in Karnataka. Now, Fortuner will also 'sport' them.
As many have said, the changes could be cosmetic. But I will wait for an offical review by Team-BHP to see the reality. I hope they have atleast improved on the suspension and steering.