[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Though a bit late, but congrats on getting the Fortuner. The pics are very good. Wish you many miles of happiness with the beast.

Thanks! Plan to enjoy this for at least 10 years...hopefully it would live up to the Toyota reputation for reliability :-)

[Anand123]

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[nilanjanray]

There have been enough interior pictures posted by members and reviewers. Still posting a few.

First, a picture of her in her natural surroundings. Somewhere in the Nilgiri foothills...


As others have mentioned, the interiors are practical rather than luxurious. Initially I was disappointed, but later you get used to it. The Fortuner grows on you - you learn to forgive her shortcomings, and enjoy her for what she is and what she can do.

The leather seats. My SX4 black Karlsson leather seats look and feel better, but I can get the Fortuner seats dirty without worrying about them. A practical advice - perforated leather looks real nice, but is impractical when you have kids in the car, as I learnt the hard way :-)


Haven't used the HL or LL yet. Will do so after I complete 2500 km. Without lock or low range, the Bison can handle all Indian roads and most non-hardcore trails. The 221 mm GC helps a lot.


The steering controls. I prefer my SX4's controls - or I have got used to them more (20000 km).


Middle seats. My daughter loves the view from her car seat. It is an ongoing battle making her sit in it everytime we go for a drive. But she loves to play around inside when the vehicle is parked, given the space. Surprisingly, it is easier to adjust the car seat from the inside (getting in from the other side) rather than from the outside.


Simple, practical, ergonomic.


The rubber mats that I opted for - wise decision. I get them dirty every time it rains, or I step into the mud. Would have been a pain cleaning original Fortuner mats - they are good only for dry mallroading.

[rahul016]

Nice interiors pics @ nilanjanray.
I feel the car has got enough goodies which one uses in his daily life.If you look practically it has almost every feature which is actually required.

What do you think?

[swiftnfurious]

Good write up and Awesome pics Nilanjan! I was thinking this car is not worth given that it shares interior parts with Innova! But everytime I see / read about this car, it slowly grows on you!

Now suddenly Prado [my dream] looks like over rated and over priced!

By the way could you tell me how can fender mirror help? Can you see anything from the drivers seat thru this mirror? I was thinking its more of a drool stuff than a practical one.

PS: And BLACK Fortuner looks stunning ! You should be having a hard time to clean up and keep her shining ! But its worth all the way.

Could you also share the service costs break up you are incurring? Would help a lot of us.

[nilanjanray]

@rahulk016: It does have everything one needs for daily/ongoing use. I would have preferred if it had come with VSC/ESP/TC etc., but I haven't faced any issues till date. Have also got used to the brakes.

@swiftnfurious: yes, the Fortuner sure grows on you.

I sometimes use the fender mirror while parking, but till now I haven't faced a situation where it has played a really significant role. However, when I was taking delivery of the car, someone was sitting/crouching on the left side outside the vehicle - I couldn't see him, and could have banged into him while reversing. Luckily he stood up when I switched on the the engine (I was most surprised to see him pop up). He would have been visible through the fender mirror though.

I have completed only the 1st service @ 1000 km. Cost was minimal - similar to Innova's, that is what I have heard. Forgot the exact break-up since I also paid extra for new oil/oil filter/fender mirror. I believe someone gave a break-up of thew first few service costs in some other thread - check it out.

[dhuli]

@Nilanjan, In all your snaps of your Fortuner, the black looks extra glossy...as if it has had a extra special polish treatment! Or, is it the photograph/image? Is this me only or is this how the factory finish looks? Pretty good though!

[yogeshnaik]

Congratulations Nilanjan on your new Fortuner. Please post some more nice pictures of your beast stating more on the purchase and the whole delivery process story. Your choice is very good and the Fortuner is a well refined vehicle from Toyota stable which are built tough. You will enjoy the After Sales Service from Toyota.

Happy motoring.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by dhuli

@Nilanjan, In all your snaps of your Fortuner, the black looks extra glossy...as if it has had a extra special polish treatment! Or, is it the photograph/image? Is this me only or is this how the factory finish looks? Pretty good though!

Could be the photo - pictures were taken after the car had been washed, and there is also some reflection - so perhaps that is why it appears glossy. Note that the the metallic appearance is not that prominent in the black Fortuner.

OT: I feel that a black car looks best in the evening, in the night and in the early morning.

[MileCruncher]

@Nilanjanray: Even though late, let me congratulate you on your new acquisition. The way you started your ownership thread, I initially thought may be you got the Fortuner as your severance package, this definitely is much better. You have definitely have a gift with the written word and may be you can moonlight as a freelance writer apart from your day job.

Even though my personal opinion about the Fortuner is not too positive, but to each his/her own. And let me tell your Black Fortuner does look grand, much better than the umpteen white and silver ones we see here.

May you have many years and miles of fun with the "Bison"

[nilanjanray]

Thanks Milecruncher. But getting the Fortuner as a severance package! I wish :-) Just curious - what is it that you don't like about the Fortuner?

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Just curious - what is it that you don't like about the Fortuner?

Now that you asked

1. Its an Innova on stilts
2. Overpriced vis-a-vis equipment like rear drum brakes in 20L vehicle (what were they thinking)
3. Interiors
4. I don't like too much curves on cars. I like my vehicles to clean simple straight lines ( I own Uno and Bolero)
5. And last but not the least I don't like Toyota/Honda/Maruti as vehicles don't throw any tantrums thereby creating a detachment from the owner.

To me the perfect SUV is a Land Rover Defender 90/110. Even Range Rover is a softroader as per me.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Now that you asked

1. Its an Innova on stilts
2. Overpriced vis-a-vis equipment like rear drum brakes in 20L vehicle (what were they thinking)
3. Interiors
4. I don't like too much curves on cars. I like my vehicles to clean simple straight lines ( I own Uno and Bolero)
5. And last but not the least I don't like Toyota/Honda/Maruti as vehicles don't throw any tantrums thereby creating a detachment from the owner.

To me the perfect SUV is a Land Rover Defender 90/110. Even Range Rover is a softroader as per me.

Interesting perspective.

I remember reading Samurai's post that the Grand Vitara LSD - similar to Fortuner's Torsen - costs 5-6L just by itself. If so, then the premium over the Innova makes sense, doesn't it? However, the drum brakes definitely don't make sense on a 23L+ vehicle OTR. And braking could have been far better. But it is still very much adequate.

I agree about the interiors - pretty spartan.

Regarding # 4, 5: I can understand why you like LRs. However, Fortuner (rather a Toyota SUV) is far more comfortable (especially on long/interstate drives) and somewhat more reliable than a Defender 90/100.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Interesting perspective.

I remember reading Samurai's post that the Grand Vitara LSD - similar to Fortuner's Torsen - costs 5-6L just by itself. If so, then the premium over the Innova makes sense, doesn't it?

To me even Innova pricing is high compared how they are priced in Europe or ME. And the same goes for Honda or Skoda in India.

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

I agree about the interiors - pretty spartan.

Regarding # 4, 5: I can understand why you like LRs. However, Fortuner (rather a Toyota SUV) is far more comfortable (especially on long/interstate drives) and somewhat more reliable than a Defender 90/100.

No doubt a Toyota is many times more reliable than a LR but the present gen LR's are not too bad either.

I once had a opulent Jaguar for more then a year before I totalled it. Even though I enjoyed it, spartan Jeeps and LR's have always been my thing. And I feel absolutely comfortable driving 800-1000 Kms/day in my Storm without any fatigue.

Afterall to each his/her own!

[nilanjanray]

Fortuner seems to be a pretty polarizing vehicle.

The Fortuner's pluses and minuses are well known. The onus is on the buyer to do thorough research and testing before plonking down 23+L.

IMO, the Fortuner evaluation stages:
1. From outside: WOW!
2. After viewing the inside: Hmmm...pretty disappointing. Too Innovaish.
3. After using or test driving the Fortuner for quite some time and in different conditions: "Hey, I could get to start loving this vehicle". (applicable for people who prefer its pluses to its minuses)

Many folks stay stuck on # 2. Which is unfortunate. Or, after #3, figure out that it is not the right vehicle for them in the first place - which is perfectly fine.

There is no <25L new SUV that has CRV handling, Outlander ICE/comfort, Sante Fe power/torque, 7 seats, 4WD/low range lock, toughness/reliability + good A.S.S coverage. If there were one, I would have opted for it - as would have many others. People need to decide what they want/need, and what compromises they can live with.