[getsurya]

This depends on dealers too, some are good and others are not. I booked my car on Jan 1st week and took delivery in 3rd week. I had good relationship with dealer and there was no objections for buying insurance outside and I was constantly updated on status of Fortuner, right from factory. A friend recently picked up a 4x4AT pearl white and waiting period was less than 2 months.

I agree with you, dealer relationship plays a lot!! I was also given options of my own choice for insurance, but I opted for Toyota and negotiated on the same, as it is real peace of mind. Also, for both my Fortuners' buying experience, I even knew when my car rolled off the production line at 7:10 pm and was waiting to get loaded into the truck to Hyderabad.

[carrot_eater]

Finally got the delivery of my Fortuner 4x4 AT pearl white with chamois interiors.



The previous car that I drove was an Innova 2.8G AT, (which I have exchanged for the Fortuner) and before that a Mahindra Thar.

I got a call from Sales person that the car has arrived in their stockyard on Thursday - I had gone to see it.




I plan will write up an initial ownership experience soon, where I will try and cover the entire experience.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

What was your waiting period after booking? My dealer is saying 3 months for the 4x4 AT.

I did booking with Nandi Toyota on July 18th and their promise was to deliver the vehicle for Varamahalakshmi on Aug 20th. Around 10 days before delivery, they informed that vehicle will be delayed by another month. I searched in other dealerships using some connects and was lucky to find a black 4X4 AT readily available with Ravindu Toyota. I booked it immediately and cancelled the booking with Nandi, and took delivery 2 days before the planned date

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

For insurance, he mentioned 152k for the 4x4 AT. It is double the external quote. Did anybody ever manage to get the insurance from outside or get them to match an outside quote for Fortuner ?

I did insurance directly through a friend with Royal Sundaram , it is a back to invoice policy with premium around 1 lakh. Quote from dealer was 152K. I can share the contact if you plan to take insurance directly

Sharing some snaps after Project Dechroming

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

I did booking with Nandi Toyota on July 18th and their promise was to deliver the vehicle for Varamahalakshmi on Aug 20th. Around 10 days before delivery, they informed that vehicle will be delayed by another month. I searched in other dealerships using some connects and was lucky to find a black 4X4 AT readily available with Ravindu Toyota. I booked it immediately and cancelled the booking with Nandi, and took delivery 2 days before the planned date

Thank you for the information. Your car looks wonderful.

They agreed straightaway for taking insurance from outside but said they will not reduce the amount of Toyota Protect. I decided to book and take the decision of insurance closer to delivery. They said the earliest delivery will be October end unless there are cancellations.

[carrot_eater]

I got my insurance done from outside as well. The dealer had quoted 1.56 Lacs. I could get a similar insurance, zero depreciation, key and everything else for around 1 Lac. With the kind of road taxes in KA, it makes sense to save every bit where ever possible. I took the extended warranty as well - about 42K

A big decision for me, other than superior white or Pearl white was the interior colour, black or chamois. I had actually asked the sales person to call me so that I could see both interiors in person and decide what I like more. I ended up choosing chamois, when I compared them side by side. The center console on chamois looked a bit odd, felt it would be better in black but then it looks ok in chamois as well. (at least to me)

Some pics of the chamois interiors of the centre console, if people are in similar situation to help them decide.




While people are de-chroming, I am adding more chrome - the longhorns.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by carrot_eater

A big decision for me, other than superior white or Pearl white was the interior colour, black or chamois. I had actually asked the sales person to call me so that I could see both interiors in person and decide what I like more. I ended up choosing chamois, when I compared them side by side. The center console on chamois looked a bit odd, felt it would be better in black but then it looks ok in chamois as well. (at least to me)

Congratulations on Fortuner. Chamois looks good on seats and door pads, especially people who like lighter interiors. Toyota should have kept dashboard all black or should have provided chamois for dash cover and instrument panel cover. Chamois should be easier to maintain though.

[carrot_eater]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Congratulations on Fortuner. Chamois looks good on seats and door pads, especially people who like lighter interiors. Toyota should have kept dashboard all black or should have provided chamois for dash cover and instrument panel cover. Chamois should be easier to maintain though.

Thanks I've read your ownership review in great detail several times. Thanks for that. Yes all tan would be better if they could get the glove box and few more things in tan as well.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by carrot_eater

While people are de-chroming, I am adding more chrome - the longhorns.

Congrats, Stunning looks.

Chrome or no-chrome is just a personal preference, I chose black interiors, and that's just another personal choice

[carrot_eater]

This is an initial ownership post of 2021 Toyota Fortuner 4X4 AT.



Background
I used to drive a Mahindra Thar - I drove it proudly for 8 years and I have posted on that extensively on Team Bhp (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-v...ow-sold-9.html (Mahindra Thar - Bringing it home - Finally! EDIT: Now sold!)

Once that was sold mostly because the family had grown out of it and we need more Safety and a bit more comfort, the need was for a Tourer and I bought the Toyota Innova Crysta 2.8G AT model and it was a significantly upgrade in comfort and Safety from Thar.

The intention then, was to buy a Fortuner but it was 20 lacs too expensive and it didn't fit the budget at the time.

The Crysta was an excellent tourer. We did several trips as a family (Goa, Kerala several times), notably one was from Bangalore to Bhutan again I have written a post on that

(https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post4584534 (Bangalore to Bhutan in an Innova Crysta)

For the new year eve of 2021 we had gone to Goa and after coming back I had gone for the service and the news of the new 2021 Fortuner was already there. I asked the service person on what could I expect for the existing Crysta if I were to exchange for a Fortuner. I was pleasantly surprised by the quote, he in fact got the resale guy to value it.

By God's Grace, the finances were in place in March so I went ahead and booked a Fortuner. Booking experience was straight forward fill the form and do a NEFT for 1 Lac and wait !. I still kept my Innova then as I needed a car.

Alternatives Considered
Honestly I was sold on Fortuner (more of a fanboy than anything else) but then it was practical to check other cars, including the used ones in the market as I was buying without a loan and used cars can make a lot of sense. I decided that I wanted reliability and the intention is to keep the car for 8 to 10 years at least if not more. Therefore the used ones were dropped from the options list.

Endeavour
I had driven to the Ford showroom in my Innova and right away took the test drive in sport version so that I could compare with Innova (wrong comparison but well thats all I had
The interiors of Endeavour is very good. The Sunroof makes a huge difference for people sitting in the rear seat and general feeling of plushness is definitely there and no doubt it is a very good car.
The only thing, I felt was the engine was very under powered. I had driven it on the highway and it almost felt that I had to plan to overtake and there was a significant lag from when I decided to over take and press the pedal and when the car actually got to the right speed and lack of paddle shifters and power mode made it feel, to me, plain underpowered.

But don't get me wrong - Endeavour is a great car for many people who like it for so many other things it offers, plushness, ride comfort and Sun roof (which can be very important to many people - it can significantly enhance the ride for rear passengers).

I didn't consider the Alturas or Gloster - I didn't want either of them - simple reason - I have a tight parking space and neither would fit and there was no reliability factor (at least not in my mind - I am not saying they are not reliable based on data as there is none)

Back to Fortuner

Test Drive

The Sales person got the Legender model to test drive and I drove it on the new airport road in Bangalore for a good 50 kms and it was immediately fun to drive. The seating position, the paddle shifters, Sports mode and all made it absolutely a joy to drive. I was completely sold on the sports mode. I was used to it in Innova as well - it was PWR mode there, which made the Innova a very capable car to drive on the highways.

Most important thing for me was to check out if I could park the car in the place that I have.
I could park the Innova easily was not sure of the Fortuner, luckily that was not a problem and I could park the Fortuner in the parking space I have


Decisions Decisions

Now that parking was possible, then started the decisions on colour both exterior and interior. With Innova it was straight forward - in White, only superior white was offered in the G variant and no choice on interior in that version.

I think Fortuner always looked good in white to me, though the new metallic black also looks very good. Black was dropped for heat (as in more heating in sun) and difficult to maintain as reasons.

Question was Superior White or Pearl White. Superior white easy is perhaps to maintain, any painting job should be cheaper and looks cleaner and whiter. The Pearl white shines in sunshine and looks more premium. Ultimately after a lot of thought and reading, I settled for Pearl White.

The interiors, well the chamois is tan coloured, while the seats are all good in that colour the front dashboard / center console looked odd with the Chamois leather in pics that is.

Finally I had to see both the colours in person so I arranged a call from the sales person to call me when there is a delivery of chamois interiors. I went and saw it myself and to me, between the black and chamois interiors, the chamois felt brighter and roomier and it was chamois colour for me.

To be honest the - choosing between superior and pearl white and interior colours were the big decisions

Pricing
Now this is one area where Fortuner hurts !. It has gotten significantly expensive over the years

Ex Showroom: Rs.3794000
TCS @15% : Rs.37940
Insurance Luxury version: Rs.156271
Road Tax : Rs.759041
Service charge: Rs.10500
Toyota Value Pack: Rs.15029
Extended Warranty -4th and 5th year: Rs.42293

Total On Road Price: 4815074

It is a steep price specially in Karnataka. I got the insurance from outside, the dealer was absolutely ok with it. I saved about 50K there.

Delivery

This was a big topic, specially after waiting for a long time and continuous followups. I was offered superior white 4x2 several times in the last few months, If I was interested in them. Once I was offered pearl white 4x4 with black interiors, If was ready to make the full payment quickly but I refused.

I forgot to mention, I asked the resale person to take the Innova in March and I was offered a delivery before 15th April and lockdown and all that happened and I was okay as I didn't want a car with insurance value going down with it parked in front of the house during lockdown.

Finally I got a call from the Salesperson that my car has arrived in the stockyard on Thursday (26th Aug) and I could go see it. Some pics from that time



Accessories
I didn't find any of the accessories worth-while for the price from Toyota - Simply because most of them are not functional accessories. I am better off buying a Michelin SUV tyre inflator for 5.5K than buying an expensive TPMS and fiddling with the wiring and drilling holes on the dashboard.
I am not a fan of the fender mirror (if this was needed, Toyota would have given it as standard and with front Sonars now, I don't see how it can help and I was used to driving Innova without them so in effect I decided it was useless for me) and everything else the chrome garnishes are not to my taste.
The auto OVRM folders did not make sense as there is button that can be pressed to fold them back - I did not see any value in paying 5K for automating it.
I had ordered the floor mats (7D variant) ahead of time from the internet. I had used a company's products before for Innova and I ordered from them again.

Finances
Since the Innova was fully paid off and to be honest, I haven't sold a car so soon after buying one and with lock down it didn't have that much on the odo as well. So the good resale was very helpful. And the remaining with God's grace was from savings. I wouldn't have bought fortuner now, if I were to take a loan. I mean sell a crysta and buy a fortuner on loan doesn't make sense to me as crysta is very good car.

Comparison to Innova
1. When we did the test drive, the Fortuner feels less spacious from inside - it perhaps is less spacious
2. Ride quality - well everyone knows - Fortuner has a busy drive and to be honest in the 3 years of ownership of Innova I never sat in the middle seat and I don't think I will be spending any time on the middle row of the Fortuner so best I don't comment on that
3. Driving - Innova AT on power mode was a beast, the Fortuner on Sport mode is similar but somehow Fortuner is more fun to drive with the higher seating and road presence.
4. Music System - I had put a JBL music system in the Innova with Focal speakers and it had Android Auto so the music system is comparable and the Android auto in the fortuner also helps but for me - it was there already on my previous car so not much difference. I wish it was wireless but it is not.

Chamois Interiors




Vehicle Pooja
We got the pooja done at the famous temple on Kasturba road, people from Bangalore would know this. It was a huge queue there - so many were brought there for pooja with some patience it was done - followed with another pooja at another temple




Initial Impressions

Well I have done only the first 100 km. The car came with 10 km on the odo and I took it out to Reliance petroleum bunk on the airport to get it filled up. Total of 66 litres.



Planning for longer trips soon and will keep writing travelogues, whenever I go to interesting places.

Thank you for reading

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by carrot_eater

Comparison to Innova
2. Ride quality - well everyone knows - Fortuner has a busy drive and to be honest in the 3 years of ownership of Innova I never sat in the middle seat and I don't think I will be spending any time on the middle row of the Fortuner so best I don't comment on that

You will be surprised with middle row of Fortuner especially at higher speeds. While the bucket seats of Innova are best, Fortuner seats are quite comfy. In comparison to Endeavour, middle row seats offer better underthigh support and is wider. The typical lumpiness of Body on frame is muted at higher speeds, thanks to stiffer suspension. 90% of review of Fortuner are of front seats and there is hardly feedback on middle row comfort. Came back from Bangalore 2 weeks back in Endeavour and family felt Fortuner is better in middle row, while in bad patches I felt Endeavour was better in front seats. Mine being 2.2L, was not match to Fortuner at higher speeds once we hit 4 lane.

[abhi1881]

Hi,
Was cleaning the car and noticed a minor play in the sharkfin antenna. Is this normal or I should get this checked from Toyota service station?There is no rattle otherwise during driving, and also car sustained through multiple rains so far.

[carrot_eater]

Originally Posted by abhi1881

Hi,
Was cleaning the car and noticed a minor play in the sharkfin antenna. Is this normal or I should get this checked from Toyota service station?There is no rattle otherwise during driving, and also car sustained through multiple rains so far.
Attachment 2201488

I have checked this on my car and I also noticed a small play very similar to the video you've shared. I guess it is normal.

[abhi1881]

Originally Posted by carrot_eater

I have checked this on my car and I also noticed a small play very similar to the video you've shared. I guess it is normal.

Thanks dear, very helpful.
In fact there is no horizontal or vertical movement on pushing from bottom of antenna. It's only from the tip when tried, that there is a very marginal play, with overall base still almost holding to grounds to avoid any water leakage.Infact roof sheet trys to move along giving impression of more play than it actually is.

As you also suggested, am ignoring this now until there is any functional issue as don't want to get this screwed by pushing pulling multiple times by other people just to check.

Many congratulations to you for the new car. I call fortuner a super power suit, where you feel as a super hero once you are buckled up. Thats the beauty of the engine and overall interior feel and plushness wherever it matter most. Every day is a privilege with this car.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by carrot_eater

... I could park the Fortuner in the parking space I have
Attachment 2199723

..

Congratulations on your new Fortuner.
Any particular reason why you didn't choose the MT over the AT?
Your post took me back to your Thar ownership thread. It was an enjoyable read, you do have a good flair for writing

There was a pic of your dog comfortable and resting in your Thar.
Your dog must be wondering "hmm, where do i relax on this one?"

[channelv]

Posting on behalf of a friend who just bought Fortuner 2021 Auto 4WD and has done 400km till now. He is based in Hyderabad.

1) He is experiencing "tak" sound from the rear tyres when he engages reverse or switches back to drive mode(audible only when you are outside of the car)

Is this normal or something that should be checked with service advisor? the sound is audible only from the outside and can't be heard from inside the cabin.

2) he is looking to add Auxiliary head lamps within 50k budget for long distance highway use at close to triple digit speeds. he does acknowledge the stock lights are good but just wants an extra set of lights (pencil beams) to be safe and is cognizant not to cause difficulty to oncoming drivers.
Any pointers for same in Hyderabad will be helpful.

3) If anyone has used Hella Rallye 470 light bars. any feedback on them will also be helpful.

Thank You