Delivered : Aug 2010
This was the time when the Fortuner popularity & hype was at its threshold with bookings having stopped and delivery time for existingly booked vehicles was 3- 6 months depending on color. Though which there was an option to get it sooner by paying a bomb of 1.75 - 2.5 L Premium in the name of some over excessive chrome accessories & unwanted body kits / side claddings.
Initially i had booked a Silver color but then changed my mind and was firm on getting the WHITE.
I somehow managed to get the car (without paying a penny extra) within 20 days through some internal contact but had to source it from Surat, Gujarat.
Here are the 1st pictures of the car as the journey started at Nanavati Toyota, Surat as the
BEAST AWAKENED ;
It has been 2+ years & 25,000 kms now since i have acquired this beast & here's my out look on this terrific Toyota.
Out of the 25,000 kms clocked i have driven the car nearly > 80 % time , rest 15 % by my dad & a mere 5 % by my driver.
I am going to section out my findings / comments on the following basis ;
Engine / Gearbox / Performance ;
They say
"Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you "
This
3L D-4D Motor has both of it in abundance.
The beauty of this engine is that you really need not be a great driver to drive this car fast / quick Simply because the gear ratios are so sorted.
Being an owner of a CRUZE where every one knows how difficult it is to keep the car in its meat of the power band to extract the best from the motor, it really gets tiring in moderate to heavy traffic on highways.
Where as in T-fort the low end is simply superb, makes it very city, internal / State highway friendly (Comes handy in 2 lane roads overtaking)
You redline it , you keep it in the low revs it does it for you effortlessly & If you master the perfect shifts till 3rd gear then the race to 100 km/h is dealt with in 12.xx secs, which is FAST for the size.
The TORQUE truly makes you feel good , makes you believe that you can uproot even a tree with it.
Also recently when i visited Performance Auto Show two weeks back as i had to inquire about any offering(air filter) for the Fortuner. The sales guy at the BMC air filter stall was more inclined towards marketing/talking about a " Tuning Box/Remap " for the Fortuner & was telling me to get it installed to "cure" the Turbo Lag !!! I was like WHATTTT !?! He was arguing continuously with me & saying that Toyota has also reported this problem i told him none of the Auto mags have complained about turbo lag in the Fortuner instead its is very torquey & has a strong low end, i also told him im a member of T-Bhp forum and none of them (in official review also) have reported "Turbo lag" , as soon as i said/mentioned T-Bhp
he said; " You forum guys/members dont have any knowledge so you write or post any thing without even driving your cars well. & you people are just wasting time on such forums"
^ As soon as he said this i was so furious i just felt like punching him on his face & bursting it wide open, but somehow i controlled as it was a public place & gave it back to him in words which needn't be mentioned here.
Any way getting back;
Gear shift Quality- Good for SUV Standards , & thank GOD it has a TALL (Truck like) Gear lever, feels good to wrestle with adding to the SUV experience.
Ride Quality & Handling
I keep the tyre pressure at 30 psi (all 4) but the Ride Quality has always been on the firmer side.
But it feels fantastically stable , more comfortable when under load say 5 + passengers & you can easily make out that the car jumping around over bad roads etc reduce substantially
Handling is fantastic for its size , thanks to the stiff suspension setup & credit also goes to the amazing
Dunlops( Stock setup )
National highways (NH8 - majorly, also NH4) have been my T-Fort's home & the other positive is that this car provides commanding respect on State Highways which is much needed considering the traffic sense.
Braking
My car when delivered was already installed with the upgraded PRADO brakes.
But still the brakes needs an upgrade, i don't know how to improve the braking.
Better Pads ? (Aftermarket ?)
Add Rear Discs ?
Also there is a slight
shudder felt on the brake pedal on braking > 100 km/h
Why ? I have raised this Question many times at the Service Center for which their only answer is that they need to clean the brakes & that solves the problem. Well it does, but just temporarily.
Please help me on this.
Cabin / Build Quality & Space
Frankly i have spent the maximum time on the drivers seat so i should start with that first.
The front seats are massive they offer good support & comfort on long journeys, also i don't know whether it works for every one but keeping the seat position lowest makes you handle the car well ( at least in my case for all the cars ) & in the T-Fort there is an advantage that you are already seated high so you can afford to settle at the lowest position ( though i am not very tall i.e. 5 ft 10")
Another plus point has been the airy feel to the cabin, credit also goes to the "No tints / sun control films" which gives tremendous no-non sense control & view all around.
Space at the rear has also been generous as the middle row passengers have the maximum leg room on offer (thanks to the seat travel & recline function available)
3rd Row - I think arguably these are by far the most comfortable set of 3rd row seats in its class. They offer decent space & can be classified for seating 2 medium sized adults.
Reliability & After Sales Service
Words like
"Bulletproof , Tank like ,Trusty, Robust,have all become synonyms for the Fortuner"
I think 2 years, 5 services later the Total service cost hasn't been a more than a sum total of Rs 25,000 Rs/-
Which is very affordable by any car standard.
* Just changed the brake pads once (Don't remember the costs , will check & report shortly too)
Also have been disappointed on the short life of the brake pads, Current Fortuner owners can share their thoughts on the same.
Fuel Economy
On normal runs inside Mumbai city without pushing hard, the car easily achieves 10-10.5 km/l
On Highway's with a light pedal have achieved as high as 17.5 km/l too ( < 80 km/h)
But on practical Highway run one can expect 12.5-13 km/l
However hard i have driven over long distances never have gone < 8 km/l
* The above figures are from the on-board MID
Problems/Niggles till now;
NONE
Except have faced a problem due to Rats in my building few months back when there was renovation going on and all the mess used to be dumped around my parking lot.
So when one morning i started the car the engine check light flashed.
Called the service center guy & he sent a back up van immediately ( within 1 hour @ my place )
^ The rat had supposedly entered through the tyres into the engine bay & cut off one of the key wires which deactivated one cylinder,
The wire was taped & sorted within an hour & the car was back to normal.
Charge - Rs 900/-
Sadly the problem occurred once again (within a week), had to call the Toyota break down service again at my residence ( thankfully )
After the wire was mended , i sent the car to the service center to get it washed completely i.e. under body & engine bay was cleaned and "de-greased" (Toyota Terminology). So the above exercise was to ensure that the rats don't come again, for which the reason was the rat smell was left over inside the engine bay / car under-body , tyres etc. for which they were getting attracted to the car again , with the above being done, similar incident has never happened again. Also thank so placement of Moth (naphthalene) balls in the engine bay - which act on the same principal i.e. to extract all the surrounding smell. So i advice whoever facing similar rat / rodent problem get rid of any smell in an around the car & also avoid eating in or around the car (bonnet/boot)
Special Mention ;
1) Ground Clearance 220 mm, Now that's what we are talking about , propah SUV !!!
Note wheel-well clearance thanks to the phenomenal wheel / suspension travel.
2) Lights;
The stock Lights are very powerful, i don't need to use the headlamps within the city limits, the bumper lamps are all that you need & while overtaking or someone trying to cut your lane flash of the powerful headlamps are all you need to get through.
3) Wheel Alignment;
Its been 2+ years & > 25,000 km & Still the wheel alignment is intact, there's absolute no requirement to get them checked, that's something about the build quality.
4) Fantastic mile Munch-er - FAST highway cruiser & an undisputed champion / king to face the State Highway drama
What i dislike ;
1) Service Interval : 5000 km is too short.
2) Lack of USB/Aux In
3) Steering not adjustable for "Reach"
4) No Cruise Control ?! Our National Highways are getting broader & faster, becomes very annoying on long distance runs.
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Its been over 2 years and the relationship with my T-Fort is going stronger trip after trip, its asking for more, asking to be pushed harder, to stretch your limits. Every road trip has been a memory embedded in these pictures;
DANCED in the SANDS of Kutch;
Had some RWD fun
Special mention to my
1st GOA road-trip which was complete night driving , starting from Pune @ 2 am & reaching GOA by 9:15 am, this is the best pic to some it up;
^ More than the Red Bull , the T-Forts TORQUE Gave us wings
Helpful as GOODS CARRIER too ; Have done some s-off-t Roading too, somewhere in the foothills of Lonavla ;
Played around in the SLUSH;
And escaped un-hurt, but with some minor bruises;
Found some BROTHERLY BONDING ;
Passed the TROPIC OF CANCER
Early starts on long road trips;
Have made ... ;
This possible, So WHY travel by Train ?!
& making sure you're home before SUNSET
Taken Detours, sometimes the illegal ones
& made its own route ;
In short, have conquered territories till the Worlds End , well almost And Off Course;
Thanks for reading guys !!!