[getsurya]

I think you have a delightful line up before you come to a conclusion on the choice of your new ride when you come back to India. In addition to the Fortuner you should have a great time trying out the:
- Pajero Sport.
- Isuzu MU 7.
- New Endeavour.
- Sang-a-song M&M Rexton.
- Hyundai Santa Fe.
- Nissan X Trail.
- Renault Koleos.
All sub 30L wheels.

Hi Guderian,

Thanks for your post.

My thoughts are,

1. Pajero Sport - Aged work horse and cost of maintenance are the negatives
2. Isuzu MU 7 - Looks very boxy and not to my style
3. New Endeavour - Good one to look out for, however I have been a legacy Ford India & US customer. The blue oval SUV's can be heavy on wallet for the long run(as this is one of my precursor for Fortuner)
4. Sang-a-song M&M Rexton - Seems to be a good proposal, third row seating comfort is a must for my family size. Also, sales volume is not very encouraging at least now. Otherwise, I really like the sober looks etc of a Rexton. Needs to see if this song is a hit or not!
5. Hyundai Santa Fe - I do not like the feminine curves of this car
6. Nissan X Trail - Way too expensive for its size and comforts, does not carry that niche value to be paid.
7. Renault Koleos- Worth watching this space!

Thanks, once again for all your details and keep providing the experiences!

On a side note- I agree on the Leatherman Wave tool. It is something which is very trust worthy and of high utility.

[venkat_iyer]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Venkat, Nothing much to be done.
======
And on Sunday I scraped my chin, real bad.

Thanks HG! I will ask them to get it done. Wow, now that is one BIG ocean liner, the Chevrolet Suburban!

[Guderian]

Yet another delightful Sunday !
Got a chance to limber up Admiral.
Did almost 300KMs:


And the old chap returned:


Despite some terrible road conditions and lousy traffic on the highway part of the journey !

Read all about it here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...des-again.html

Aloha !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Yet another delightful Sunday !

Though I had posted some of the snaps on the other thread it seemed a travesty of justice to this thread (Admiral's home thread really) that none was posted here.
So here goes - just a few of them, for effect.

Just this one snap made the short trip really worth all the fuel spent, I guess:


And a snap of the same scene from another angle:


Once again I must say that Admiral more than adequately acted his role though the challenge was hardly there. And so did all the other Fortuners with not a single blip.
On the unruly WE Highway there were at least 3 near calls calling for emergency jamming of brakes. And the brakes felt decent.

On 3/4 times a sudden surge of power was required during emergency maneuvers while overtaking lumbering giants. I was grateful for an engine overflowing with torque and good BHP.

On some of rough surfaces (see pics of the route on our way out on the other thread) I was concerned about the tyres as there many sharp stones and could sense and hear some amount of crunching etc and thought it was prayer time for the sidewalls. Luckily the Dunlops held out.

More than delighted with the FE returned from the trip. The figure returned (see snap in earlier post) was inclusive of an almost 2 hour grind inside the deer park and on returning roads/non roads in 2nd and 3 gears till we hit the highway.

Snippets of conversations between the owners:
1. "I have run the vehicle for almost 17K KMs with not a single niggle. Keep wondering if there is something wrong."
2. "After this kind of vehicle quality and service I am not sure how we are going to decide on our next (and a different) vehicle."
3. " It's surprising other guys keep thinking that we are bull**tting all the time when talking about the Fortuner and its virtues."
4. "Why the devil do we need a tuning box ? Even the existing power is under utilised most of the time."
5. "Reliability ? And what's there to talk about the vehicle. Each one is so boringly predictable like the other."

And so on and so forth.
And life goes on.

[alfredenuemann]

Sorry to piggy back here on the ToGo channel..I have a Fortuner of Feb 2010..have completed three years and 50k Kms with no issues whatsoever. It's just a solid reliable vehicle .. I see a lot of comments on this forum on why the Fortuner is an expensive vehicle and so on, but I have only praise for this rock solid performer. Lousy roads, good roads, no roads..no problems..it just goes on and on. I have no squeaks, rattles or complaints..like someone said almost boring in it's performance and reliability.

[getsurya]

Snippets of conversations between the owners:
1. "I have run the vehicle for almost 17K KMs with not a single niggle. Keep wondering if there is something wrong."
2. "After this kind of vehicle quality and service I am not sure how we are going to decide on our next (and a different) vehicle."
3. " It's surprising other guys keep thinking that we are bull**tting all the time when talking about the Fortuner and its virtues."
4. "Why the devil do we need a tuning box ? Even the existing power is under utilised most of the time."
5. "Reliability ? And what's there to talk about the vehicle. Each one is so boringly predictable like the other."

Hi Guderian,

Thanks for the pictures and the travelogue, as well.

The above is a huge testimonial to the Fortuner's satisfaction index. Given the choices we have in India, I feel the expense is well justified if the owners have such things to say about the ride.

Cheers!

[Manuuj]

Toyota has set benchmarks for quality and reliability that even the "well engineered" German car makers like BMW, Mercedes and Audi would be hard pressed to replicate. This is a plain fact. No arguments or room for debate.
The Fortuner is pure value for money and peace of mind. This is a plain fact too.

My Obelix has run close to 90,000 kms and mechanically as sound as when i got in the first time ever back in December 2009.

The other vehicle that joined our family stable (a cousin of mine bought one) which i am very impressed with is The Pajero Sport. Im not crazy about the looks but everything else is top notch. It feels superbly well put together.

It scores over the Toyota Fortuner easily in three departments. Paint quality, Ride and Braking.
The quality of paint is very very good and far better than my Fortuners and the Ride is simply superb. I drove both cars on the same 2 km stretch of bumpy road back to back and the difference was very apparent. Much less bumps and getting thrown about in the Pajero. The front suspension is a Double wishbone with coil spring and stabilizer bar and the rear 3-link coil spring suspension with stabilizer bar in the Pajero which is superior to the Double wishbone front axle and four link with lateral rod in the rear of the Fortuner.
The Pajero also has Disc Brakes all around which is naturally better than the Drum set up in the Fortuners rear wheels.

The Fortuner scores over it in Visual appeal (Exteriors and Interiors) (a personal choice), Fuel Efficiency, and a far superior Dealership and ASS network.

The 4x4 Super select Transfer case in the Pajero may be bettter than the AWD system offered in the Fortuner but that is debatable.

Both vehicles offer good quality and proven reliability, but i feel just for the better braking and better suspension setup the Pajero has a very slight edge.

The Fortuners supension can be upgraded with an investment of about 60k in an Ironman Suspension which will bring it at par with the ride on the Pajero Sport.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by getsurya

The above is a huge testimonial to the Fortuner's satisfaction index. Given the choices we have in India, I feel the expense is well justified if the owners have such things to say about the ride.

Thank you getsurya. Apart from the pride & self consolation of having bought the vehicle and not wanting to be proved wrong for a decision taken, which generally prevents owners, except the hardiest, from venting ire in case the vehicle has issues - I felt that the owners were genuine in their opinions. Of course as listed on this thread and on those of other owners no ASC or vehicle is perfect and the Fortuner too has its issues (read paintwork & metal work, beading, some ASC woes etc). But in relative terms it is far, far lower than the rest. That's all there is to it.
Soon getsurya should getfortuner ?!!

Originally Posted by Manuuj

Toyota has set benchmarks for quality and reliability...

Hi Manuuj, That was one sharp comparison between the Fortuner & Pajero Sport. Very nice indeed. Paint work, brakes & suspension for the Pajero. How did you find the engine but for the FE ?
400 NM torue and 178 BHP would have been a delight. And what kind of FE does it return ?
Anyway visions of a dream SUV seems to be forming right here: Engine, mechanicals and electricals of a Fortuner; Suspension, brakes, metal & paintwork of Pajero at the price of Alto ! ASC of Toyota of course.

Originally Posted by alfredenuemann

Sorry to piggy back here on the Togo channel...I have a Fortuner of Feb 2010...

Hi AEN, Been a long time ! Trust your Fortuner is doing good after the petrol-diesel fiasco.
Congratulations on completing 3 years & touching 50K KMs.

And great to read your experience with your Fortuner.
I guess when you are driving it, all you state is - What me worry ?!!

[alfredenuemann]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi AEN, Been a long time ! Trust your Fortuner is doing good after the petrol-diesel fiasco.
Congratulations on completing 3 years & touching 50K KMs.

And great to read your experience with your Fortuner.
I guess when you are driving it, all you state is - What me worry ?!!

Hi Guderian, You have a good memory about the petrol fiasco. Yes, I have had no worries driving my Fortuner, just like AEN! I saw a recommendation about spending Rs60k to upgrade the suspension with Ironman. Wonder if anyone has done that and the feedback?

[Manuuj]

Guderian Saar the vehicle was brand new (almost) so felt really tight and well put together. The FE reported was about 9-10 kmpl in cities and about 11-12 on highways but the said cousin also has a very heavy right foot.

The Engine noise was much less in the cabin but that can be purely due to quantity of insulation used in the Pajero when compared to the Fortuner (classic).

The Engine felt very smooth and responsive. It too felt like it would run for a million kms, like the Fortuners.

[mroptimist]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Of course as listed on this thread and on those of other owners no ASC or vehicle is perfect and the Fortuner too has its issues (read paintwork & metal work, beading, some ASC woes etc)

Hi Guderian wonderful travelogue and this is my first post on Togo channel.
I am in the process of buying a fortuner (4x4 MT) and was following various ownership threads keenly.

With respect to paint work Manuuj had reported some issues with his fortuner viz a viz Pajero Sport. What is your experience on this issue?

I am asking you this because I am in the process of finalizing the color and was torn between selecting a metallic color like Silver, Grey, Silky Gold and Blue over White Pearl, Super White and Black, which are non metallic.

Is choosing a Metallic color wise over choosing non-Metallic? with respect to paint quality issues are concerned (like swirl marks etc)

By the way I currently have a white Etios VX Petrol and the paint quality is nothing to write home about.

Thanks.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mroptimist

Hi Guderian wonderful travelogue and this is my first post on Togo channel.

Hi mroptimist,
Thank you and welcome to the Togo channel.

It is not as though the paint work on the Fortuner is terrible. But it certainly could have been better. Yes, it chips on impact from highway pebbles and debris - more than, say, what I experienced on my Scorp, which as per me had a fabulous tough coat. A little more damage prone is the Fortuner, I'd say.

Though my favourite colour is black I chose mica silver as it's a lazy man's colour and requires relatively less maintenance.

I would prefer a metallic over non metallic colour purely for the looks, though as per me the swirls etc would be evidently more visible on metallic than non metallic colours especially under light/sunlight.

Congratulations on the decision - you have chosen wisely and... errr...optimistically. Welcome to the club !

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by getsurya

6. Nissan X Trail - Way too expensive for its size and comforts, does not carry that niche value to be paid.

The price of the Fortuner 4x4 is around 28L OTR, which makes it close to the X-trail in terms of cost, so I'm left wondering how it can be expensive.

Not sure of the ASC of Nissan though...

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by nitinbose

...so I'm left wondering how it can be expensive.

I think the good man mentioned - Way too expensive for its size and comforts - so I guess it is relative.

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by Guderian

I think the good man mentioned - Way too expensive for its size and comforts - so I guess it is relative.

The x-trail is definitely smaller in size, but in terms of comforts and features, I believe it leads the fortuner, though may be a less off-roader.