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-   -   Toyota Fortuner: How are the comfort levels? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/263250-toyota-fortuner-how-comfort-levels-3.html)

There wouldn't be any confusion if Tata Hexa was available, but unfortunately it isn't. However, one thing is pretty much certain, and almost everyone above confirmed it: you should avoid the "Toyota Fortuner" if criteria is comfort. My bet is on the XUV 700, Hycross and Kodiaq. I wish you all the best.

Let me first clarify that I have never driven a Fortuner or never even sat in one.

And from what I can sense, your heart is set on the Fortuner but you don't want to make a bad purchase.

IMO the only reliable way for you to know if it's the right vehicle for you is that you rent one. Rent a Fortuner for a minimum of 3-4 days. Live with it, take it out in the city, go out for a long drive, go to a mall etc.
You need to experience it at a sub-conscious level in order to know if the vehicle is for you.

I am saying this based on my fair share of experiences in renting self-drives when I am out of town. And from what I observed, even a long test drive is not sufficient.
And for my own purchase of my next car, after I've made the final choice, I will rent it out, live it for a few days and make the final decision.

I had a Fortuner 4x2 AT for about 5 years and I can confirm that it is not a comfortable car for long periods of time. I also test drove the current version when it was launched and it was the same.
It is noisy and has a lot of vibrations that make it very fatiguing to drive. You will be much better off buying an Innova.

My recommendation for you would be Tata Safari 6-seater version. Thanks to ventilated seats on both first two rows and very good space on the third row. Plus the ride quality is also very good.

My Nexon doesn't let me tire even after driving it all day on very long drives. Safari would be that much better than Nexon in this department. Give it a check.

Fortuner MT? A big no-no. Long journeys will become tiring over time and you will start looking for the convenience of an automatic. I would say the Safari, if you aren’t looking for finesse and the C5 Aircross/Kodiaq/Tucson if you are. The XUV700 might be short on boot space and the 3rd row is too small. Meridian can be considered too but it’s gonna come to 50L+ on road

It is no secret that the Fortuner is not a very comfortable vehicle. With so many reporting DPF issues, I would question its bulletproof reliability too at this time.

From my perspective, if you need a 4x4/ AWD car, then the choices are really limited. A couple of people I know vouch for the MG Gloster for its soft sprung suspension and VFM (and space). Gloster is the only other 4x4 left at this size and price point. If one can overlook the ownership of the MG brand, then it might be worth looking at. I wish Ford still sold the Endeavour in India, but alas that is not the case.

I am also not a big fan of the XUV700. The luggage space behind the third row is limited and so one will be forced to use a rooftop carrier. In my opinion, a rooftop carrier is not very friendly. The Jeep Meridien is also in this same category. In essence the XUV and the Meridien become five seaters like the Tucson AWD with some amount of luggage. I think the Tucson will be an excellent choice if you must have AWD - it is only a soft-roader but with a fantastic engine.

As pointed out earlier by others, another excellent option without AWD is the Kia Carnival. It is a bit long in the tooth now and I don't even know why Kia is selling the older model here in India instead of the new one. May be Kia can bring the new AWD Carnival to India. The current Carnival does have a slightly less ground clearance than I would like, but has tons of space and can seat eight people and their luggage with relative ease and comfort. Granted, it is massive and not very fashionable.

I don't consider the Innova Crysta a very comfortable vehicle either. Compared to the Fortuner it perhaps is, but I feel it is too crude except for the space it provides. I haven't been in a Hycross, so don't know about that.

As others have suggested, do longish test drives in all of these cars over roads of varying quality with your grandma (and/or with others who usually end up in the second or third rows) and check. In many cases, what I consider "comfortable" may not be comfortable for others and vice versa.

Good Luck.

Of all the vehicles I have owned (Santro, Fiesta, Civic, CRV) , my mother likes the ride quality on my fortuner on long rides the best. I think the ride quality in the city is much like any body on frame vehicle, but it really really comes into its own on highways and really bad roads.

Ingress and egress are a pain though.

Fortuner is comfortable enough- for the relatively fit. If you are occasionally ferrying elderly people, it is too high and occasionally a little fidgety compared to any good sedan.

If AWD is a criteria, I recommend you explore monocoque alternatives XUV700 or Tuscon (top spec AWD).

I suggest you look at the 6-seater Safari, as you have mentioned that your Gramdmother sits in the front due to seat ventilation and only Safari provides you ventilation in the middle row. Only downside being that it does not have AWD(it still provides adequate mild off-roading for a FWD vehicle). But, from the money you will save not buying the fortuner, you can easily rent out a 4×4 on trips like Ladakh, etc.

One can ask for suggestions but to finalize best thing to do is to pick one what fits your budget, use case and something that's closer to your heart, more importantly test drive. The Comfort as you mentioned is relative. I have mix of monocoques and body on frame cars, each member at home has preference when it comes to comfort. Personally big aspect of comfort also has to do with use case. If the car you intend to buy is going to spend most times on highway/unknown roads/offroad, Fortuner is best in business. At same time if its city or fast intercity express is what you are looking at , Fortuner is probably not the car.

Cars with soft suspension are generally good during test drive, the shortcomings are evident the moment you hit highway. Very few cars manage to hit the right spot(ex: Duster, prefacelift Edndeavour among SUV's). Most of the cars are calibrated with primary focus on certain use case and if you use it differently is certainly going to disappoint you.

@Aditya94 You probably had shortlisted 3-4 cars and now have recommendations of 10-15 cars, go for test drive with family to finalize.

There is no monocoque SUV in that price range that has less than EXCELLENT high speed manners. All of them - Kodiaq, Meridian, C5, Tucson, they are far better at three digit speed than Fortuner and Endeavour. Be it stability or ride comfort or bounce (the lack of it) or refinement or steering feel. They are all way superior.

Fortuner is a light truck, at the end of the day.

By soft i did not mean monocoques but something that that offers cushy ride at low speeds(Gloster/Hector, prev gen Camry, some prev gen Hyundai etc.) . Agree, there is no comparison to a monocoque SUV w.r.to ride and handling on highway and also the reason why I mentioned Fortuner is a wrong choice just for city/intercity drives. But that said none of the monocoques mentioned are known to have have soft suspension barring C5, which probably has best of both worlds. Just for Highway(which are good these days) even a crossover may not be needed when a good sedan would offer much better ride and handling than a good crossover.

Fortuner is indeed a truck and I doubt anyone anyway is trying to prove it as sophisticated monocoque SUV. Whether one likes the fortuner or hate it, is an individual preference. There are usecases/roads where it can be comfortable, not so for other usecases.

My very close friend has fortuner and I almost every week spend time in it. It's very uncomfortable. I find my 2014 made ertiga quite better in comparison which in itself is not great overall.
Fortuner is nothing but a mini truck and comfort comes last in such products, first comes the rock solid reliability.

Comfort & Fortuner don't go hand in hand. Being a former Fortuner myself, I remember I used to always complain how bumpy the ride was. So much so it was unbelievable that a vehicle that costs this much money could be so uncomfortable over the road undulations.

If one can talk of comfort in a good way for any Toyota, it can only be for the former Innova and the Crysta. Amazing vehicles for riding comfortably.

I am not sure if this discussion deserved a dedicated thread at all. "Comfort levels" are highly relative - what might be comfortable for me could be bone-jarring for someone else. Best bet is to take extensive test-drives and decide, which I guess the OP would be doing. Request mods to close this thread as it is gradually turning into yet another Fortuner-bashing thread :)