[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by blackbeast

Congratulations for the lovely Fort. My Last 30 min were interesting, thanks to those five pages and elaborated driving experience.

One question though, Do you really feel Fort is worth twice the money you put on scorpio/safari. I do know that few things like premium image, Awd cannot be measured here. But from a practical stand point, do you feel your money is well spent ?

I'm advising someone in my family to book a vento and wait for 2011 safari which would workout the same price.

Hi Blackbeast,

Sorry for the uninvited response but as a Scorpio and Fortuner owner i feel i may also be in a position to answer your question on if the Fortuner is worth its price and premium over the Scorpio and Safari.

The answer to that in my humble opinion is a resounding yes, from every standpoint weather it be emotional or practical.

The Fortuner is light years ahead in terms of Quality, Reliability, Cost of Regular Maintenence and yes even Design.

I own a Range Rover and Pajero also but the Fortuner really feels like money well spent in terms of "value for money".

Again, its just my Opinion but it is based on experience.

[Guderian]

Hi Folks,
Just completed the Bangalore -Chikamangalur-Udipi - Kundapur run about 500 KMs through some superb scenic territory, real twisties and mountainous territory including the Kudremukh National Park (where the only wild animal I spotted was a drunk check post guard !).
Will post the details of the ride experience with snaps which was quite a revelation for me as far as the Admiral T Fort is concerned !

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

The answer to that in my humble opinion is a resounding yes, from every standpoint weather it be emotional or practical.

The Fortuner is light years ahead in terms of Quality, Reliability, Cost of Regular Maintenence and yes even Design.

Let me give you my take on it Manuuj.

"If one wants a vehicle to use for atleast 3-4 lac kms on all roads, no roads and trails across countries, nei, continents, the Fortuner it is. On the other hand if one doesn't it for long or the way it is supposed to be used, he will not feel a hugely perceptible difference over the top end Scorpio/Safari 4wd versions barring interior F&F and reliability."

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

^^^
Any comments on
A) Ride quality
B) Dipped beam
C) Scuttle shake (I know, I know)
D) Brakes to be discussed in a separate post all by itself.

Regards
Sutripta

PS. BTW, which is the largest vessel in the J. Navy now?

Hi Su - The largest ship today of the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Forces is possibly the JDS Hyuga - a helicopter carrier/destroyer.
To anwer your Q's:
A) Ride quality
To me - after today's run of twisties and compared to the Scorpio - Superb !
B) Dipped beam
Low beam is truly average. Very pedestrian but I guess does the job as mentioned earlier.
C) Scuttle shake (I know, I know)
Haven't felt that happening.
D) Brakes to be discussed in a separate post all by itself.
My current experience states that it is rather adequate on the Admiral. Possibly because of my driving style. And the couple of times where I have had to jam it seemed OK and the vehicle behaved well.

Originally Posted by vinaydas

Congrats on the new ride. Excellent writeup by the way .

I have extensively driven the fortuner and found the engine rather adequate as opposed to being a scorcher.

Never driven an engine which could be called a scorcher. However the TF engine to me now is very, very capable. Pulling strength on highways, spurts, bursts, chases all done with great pizzazz. I thought the Scorpio CRDe engine was a delight - so is this, though the behaviours are quite different. This is a steady performer.

Originally Posted by SumitBahl

Fantastic writeup. Enjoyed every bit of it.
Congrats on your new acquisition!!


You can get a custom leather stitched on the steering wheel. I chose a thick stanley leather which was stitched around the steering wheel on my swift. It feels much better and chunky now.

Thanks for the compliments Sumit.
Thanks for the tip on the chunky steering wheel.
But fortunately I have now really gotten used to the Admiral's wheel. Wonder how people feel like driving vehicles with chunky steering wheels ! Must be a truly primordial human need to hold a thick club in one's hands.....tch, tch,tch......truly not refined tastes in today's world ! Ooops ! What have I started ?!!

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I test drove the T-Fort last week-end, and:

1. Ride quality: Fantastic. Really soaked the bumps. No judder. The car had about 27k on the odo.
2. Scuttle shake - I guess this is the rear getting out of hand on hard braking. Does not happen. ABS does its job.
3. Brakes: No fuss braking. I did 100 and came to an absolute stand-still without a screech. The brakes were very reassuring.

Toyota has done its job of fixing the niggles rather quickly. If an upgrade from the Scorp or the Safari - its the T-Fort all the way. I just wish they gave some more goodies in the interior - would have really completed the package.

Hi Venky, Sure, almost a reflection of my experiences.

Originally Posted by suman

Thanks for reinforcing what I felt during my Test Drive

Nobody believed me when I said this, although I probably didn't express myself as well

Hi Suman, This must be one of the quirks of the T Fort. But luckily the brakes have vastly improved,I presume, from the first releases. Though it sort of 'sinks' on you - it does a super job as of now for me. And far less scarier than the Scorpio overall - the basic brakes, the whole shake, ratlle and roll experience etc.
Wonder whether the 'sinking' feeling has got to do something with the type of break liners/pads or just simply shifting hydraulics. Would be interesting to know.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Thats a nice update Guderian, or shall I call you Admiral now??!!!

You pretty much echo my feelings after a few extended drives with the T Fort to Ooty, Mysore and a few other places. It somehow doesn't feel as comfortable from a driver's angle when compared to the Scorpio due to its thin steering wheel, low seating position, and that diesel roar intruding into the cabin at most times, at least in the city.

What are your observations on the headlights, again compared to the Scorpio and otherwise?

But then, there is no other SUV at this price range which can come close to it when it comes to reliability, low TCO and most of all, longevity.

Sighh...I wish I could buy the completely "Made in Japan" Prado.

Hi Dev,
Thanks.
I am of course Guderian and the companion Admiral Togo !
I find the headlights over all better than the Scorpio. The other observations - I sure am getting used to the various points and don't really find them bothersome. I guess that happens when you realise that there is not much you can do about some of the things. But the engine noise seems to be reducing as the engine settles down. Psychological ? May be not truly so.

Originally Posted by ACM

Guderian congrats, superb write up, loved your narration style and attention to detail.

The photographs seen here are the most detailed and unique views and angles of the insides of a vehicle.

Wish you a lot of happy (s)miles. And do keep the updates coming.

Hi ACM - Thanks a million !

Originally Posted by n.devdath

You know, it is things like this and a few other things mentioned by Guderian that make me feel that our own Scorpios and Safaris are actually very very close to the T-Fort in most areas. Wot say?

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Hi,
Thanks. But would also like to hear from people who use it on a daily basis.

Scuttle Shake:- Result of insufficient torsional rigidity.

Regards
Sutripta

Originally Posted by Manuuj

Hi Guderian!

First things first..have rated your thread a full 5 Stars. It is a wonderfully written and superbly witty peice with very well taken pictures.

Ricky would have guessed that you are a Yoga Teacher instead of an Advertising Executive or Lawyer if he had seen the angles from which you have clicked the Admirals innards.

My absolute favorite is the one in which 'the Admiral' is growling at the Captiva from across the road.

Congratulations on the acquisition of the Fortuner. I am very confident that you will have many years of Happy Milecrunching and be prepared to be surprised by the low mainatainence costs. (Though parts like wing mirrors are horridly expensive as i found out recently much to my disdain)

Silver was the right color choice as i feel it is harder and less prone to scratches and swirl marks than the Mica White of my Fortuner.

I will suggest you upgrade your music system to the Pioneer P4250 or any equivalent full screentype system and have a rear view camera installed. It really is a boon and makes reversing a breeze. Its also very useful in seeing small animals behind the car or as in my case once a tiny child frolicking in my intended trajectory.

Do also get used to the looks from PYT's! They somehow still keep coming and now i am harboring the delusion that it may have something to do with me rather than my beast.

I have had mine since December 2009 and it makes me smile whenever im driving it. Even the FE figures are a revelation with the Fortuner once returning upward of 14.3 kmpl on a particularly lazy 380 km drive.

My Thread is "White Toyota Fortuner TRD..25,000 Wonderful Kilometers"
though i must warn you i had no hand in making my Fortuner look like a Punjabi Lala meets Bihari Politician meets LA Pimp.

I wish you many miles of happy motoring ahead, do keep the posts coming!

I look forward to seeing more pictures and updates of the Admiral.

Hi Manuuj, Many thanks for the warm words. Warms the cockles of me heart ! To be frank your white TFort was among the first of them that started my lust and longing for a change. And did read your write up about the T Fort and the RRover etc and getting into some nasty corners etc. But I wasn't even remotely tempted by the RRover - I had eyes only for the TFort. Possibly due the factor of attainability. And so my friend, your write up and snaps among others did serve as a catalyst !
About the various upgrades - after what I have spent on the Admiral - what I am planning to do is to offer pay rides to the office chaps who Q me about the particulars of the growler, just to recoup ! And Sunday pay rides for the colony kids and folks. Something akin to the barn stormers of the 1920s who offered Dollar rides to popularise flying in those early days.
Upgrades ? The only upgrade I am currently looking at is a salary upgrade !

Originally Posted by blackbeast

Congratulations for the lovely Fort. My Last 30 min were interesting, thanks to those five pages and elaborated driving experience.

One question though, Do you really feel Fort is worth twice the money you put on scorpio/safari. I do know that few things like premium image, Awd cannot be measured here. But from a practical stand point, do you feel your money is well spent ?

I'm advising someone in my family to book a vento and wait for 2011 safari which would workout the same price.

Hi Blackbeast, Thanks for reading through.
To mind very clearly because of various factors I do feel that it is money well spent. I could list a few hundred points here - but all I can say is thank God I spent the money on T Fort and nothing else. (Aside - Can I say anything else ?!! From where I find myself now !).
No, but seriously speaking, somethings truly can't be measured - like delights of discovering a good FE (an FE of 13.53 KMPL on a behemoth with AWD like this, is too good to be true !), some of the features that really help you on the road - that AWD being oneetc etc. What more can I say ?

Originally Posted by creative420

I wanted to write more, but my boss just shouted at me for spending too much time on TBHP.

Awesome car. Awesome review. Awesome writing. 5 stars (wish there were 7).

Hi Creative 420, Thanks for the super thumbs up !
Oh - BTW - my boss encourages me to spend more time on TBHP. That way he reckons I'll be less damaging to the organisation elsewhere ! God knows I have had to work hard to attain this status !

[Drift King]

Brilliant write-up..have already read it thrice.some parts are outrageously hilarious...but informative nonetheless.
Thanks!

Congrats Guderian..for the T Fort

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Drift King

Brilliant write-up..have already read it thrice.some parts are outrageously hilarious...but informative nonetheless.
Thanks!

Congrats Guderian..for the T Fort

Thanks Drift King - keeps the flag up to write on !

[drrajasaravanan]

Hello admiral,
One of the brilliant write up i have read in team bhp. I was a bit shocked to see so many fortuners standing in a pile of dust and much more shocked when you had mentioned a few people had paid in full and have not taken delivery of the vehicle. Is that all money has come too. I hope people who truly would love to enjoy this beauty would buy it instead of idiots with money to flaunt. Just wondering would you have the inspiration to write such a beautiful blog if you had gone the yeti way. I think Act II scene I was the best or is there more to come. Cheers yaar and hope you would add many more beautiful miles on your horse.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Guderian

A) Ride quality
To me - after today's run of twisties and compared to the Scorpio - Superb !
B) Dipped beam
Low beam is truly average. Very pedestrian but I guess does the job as mentioned earlier.
C) Scuttle shake (I know, I know)
Haven't felt that happening.
D) Brakes to be discussed in a separate post all by itself.
My current experience states that it is rather adequate on the Admiral. Possibly because of my driving style. And the couple of times where I have had to jam it seemed OK and the vehicle behaved well.

Hi,
My rating of ride would be same as Scorpio, maybe slightly worse, in terms of jerkiness. Much better in terms of float. (The Scorpio is one of the few land vehicles in which one can get seasick!). Safari ride is much better. Not comparing it to sedans.

Scuttle shake is the thing which really surprised me. Just to make sure my mind was not playing tricks, drove an Innova along the same road. No such observations. After all, Innova and Fortuner are built on the same platform.

Have a couple of other observations, but those are more probably related to my eyes more than anything else.

Will be following your thread with great interest.

Regards
Sutripta

[Satya79]

Hi Guderian,

Congratulations on the warship and Super, Super Review.
I am logging in to T-Bhp after a really long time and what a way to get back in. Read all 6 pages in one go. You do have a way with words!
I am nursing a sore throat and trying my best not to break out in laughter at the risk of annoying my it and MY LoH, who is threatening to pour Glycodin down my throat unless I stop "that Hp-Bhp thingummy".

You have covered the Fortuner inside out and in a most practical, user oriented manner.

Keep 'em coming.

[Guderian]

The Admiral's Charms !

March 8 - 10, 2011.

Bangalore - Belur/Halebid/Belwadi - Chikmangalur - Udupi - Kundapur.

Set off from Bangalore on Tuesday.
And during the last 3 days got to know the real Admiral. His ways and what he is built for. And let me tell you what he displayed to me, quite but surprised me. For a chap who has driven 4X2s all his life and has occasionally bummed a company or a friends 4x4 and played around with it, the permanent AWD came as a pleasant surprise. And no, I didn't bother getting the HL or the LL range into operation - no requirement at all ! (Can these two ranges be returned to Toyota for a refund ? And just use the AWD which is more than enough for me ?!! Nope guess not, may really want it sometime.)
The highway of course is rather standard fare, yes, but the real stage for stellar performance as far as the T-Fort is concerned is anything but the highway ! Saw some real mountain paths, near no road spots, sharp twisties with what I thought (mouth dry, heart thumping) were inclines straight into heavens ! And the Admiral didn't even break into a sweat. I did though, on many occasions.
Bangalore to C'mlur saw us stopping at Belur, Halebid and a little known Veer Narayan (Vishnu) temple at Belavadi (Hoysala - 12th Century), which we have been visiting now every year (Imagine the amount of sins being recorded every year against my name - quite an impressive tally ? Santa Claus, no wonder, doesn't pay me a a visit any more, though I have offered to pay him - just to, at least, show the neighbours !). No surprises here just a few corners. Having been used to the Scorpio, very gently took the Admiral round the corners. But with each bend came a feeling that there was no bend at all for the TF. It was almost like a straight road. No dramatics at all. Quite a change from the good ol' leaf spring Scorp. And that encouraged me to push the Admiral round the corners within tolerable limits without drastically cutting down speed . Of course I again stress within acceptable limits and after checking out the incoming traffic and sticking to one's lane - and not reckless bucklin' bronco style. This was, to me, a major departure. Helped me save time and not give me heebie jeebies at every bend, like before. Never experienced the wiggly tail ever either. Or was it that I wasn't adventurous enough ? Maybe. Enough time for all that I guess.
Now let the snaps do the talking !

At Belur:



Just outside the Belavadi Temple:



At the Belavadi Temple:



The Admiral Framed:


Two magnificient beasts:


As we moved on from the temple to C'mlur came across a lovely lake where we stopped to smell the roses - though there was not a flower in sight. A few bees were around, which sent my son scampering for the safe confines of the Admiral:




As we left the temple the road got very rough and undulating. Which translated for the Admiral as delightful !

(To be Continued.....)

[blackbeast]

Guys, what is Loh. I know you are referring to your spouse. I googled for "loh wife" and result is Loh poh peng

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by blackbeast

Guys, what is Loh. I know you are referring to your spouse. I googled for "loh wife" and result is Loh poh peng

Hi Blackbeast, I don't care what you call the Lady of the House......as long as it is not Loh Poh Peng or she doesn't hear you call her that. For that could mean it's the last google in your life !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by drrajasaravanan

Hello admiral,
One of the brilliant write up i have read in team bhp. I was a bit shocked to see so many fortuners standing in a pile of dust and much more shocked when you had mentioned a few people had paid in full and have not taken delivery of the vehicle. Is that all money has come too. I hope people who truly would love to enjoy this beauty would buy it instead of idiots with money to flaunt. Just wondering would you have the inspiration to write such a beautiful blog if you had gone the yeti way. I think Act II scene I was the best or is there more to come. Cheers yaar and hope you would add many more beautiful miles on your horse.

Hi Raja (Phew ! I read it twice and thankfully it was not A Raja !),
Even now I am rather puzzled about the T Forts lying around in the yard gathering dust. One day I intend to get to the bottom of it (of the mystery not the yard !) and find out about the projected demand and yet the gloomy yard story. And about the Yeti and inspiration ? Well would have been the same. Coming from having to spend 20+L and to get the nervousness out of you by writing here !
Thank you for the compliments

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Hi,
My rating of ride would be same as Scorpio, maybe slightly worse, in terms of jerkiness. Much better in terms of float. (The Scorpio is one of the few land vehicles in which one can get seasick!). Safari ride is much better. Not comparing it to sedans.

Scuttle shake is the thing which really surprised me. Just to make sure my mind was not playing tricks, drove an Innova along the same road. No such observations. After all, Innova and Fortuner are built on the same platform.

Have a couple of other observations, but those are more probably related to my eyes more than anything else.

Will be following your thread with great interest.

Regards
Sutripta

Hi Su, Though my experience has been to the contrary, as a comparision between the Scorp and TFort. But will keep adding on points - should give us a good set of data points to pick up and analyse.

Originally Posted by Satya79

Hi Guderian,

Congratulations on the warship and Super, Super Review.
I am logging in to T-Bhp after a really long time and what a way to get back in. Read all 6 pages in one go. You do have a way with words!
I am nursing a sore throat and trying my best not to break out in laughter at the risk of annoying my it and MY LoH, who is threatening to pour Glycodin down my throat unless I stop "that Hp-Bhp thingummy".

You have covered the Fortuner inside out and in a most practical, user oriented manner.

Keep 'em coming.

Thanks Satya ! Glycodin ? Is that a new way for the LOHs to silence the hubbies ?

[W.A.G.7]

Super review!! I enjoyed reading every bit of it. Very well worded! But tell me, how come all the cars in the stockyard are so much covered with dust? Don't they wash the cars at-least once a week?

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Super review!! I enjoyed reading every bit of it. Very well worded! But tell me, how come all the cars in the stockyard are so much covered with dust? Don't they wash the cars at-least once a week?

Let me answer that W.A.G. Vehicles in the dealer yard are seldom washed since most of them are anyway booked for delivery and do not stay in the yard for periods extending a couple of months at most. In fact, vehicles at the factory yard too are never washed.

W.A.G...hmm that sets me thinking. A member of irfca?