[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by aniketi

I have different advice. It seems you don't have budget problems. You are ready to spend 26 lacs. So why not buy 2 cars?? I f i am in your place.

That is indeed some out of the box advice. But not keen on increasing the number of cars in the garage. We are 3 drivers and want to stick to 3 cars plus the Lancer for once in a while Redlining sprint . The idea of two cars had indeed been playing in my mind from the start too although the cars I was considering were the XUV and a Polo GT TSI/TDI which would have added a European car and a hatch to my garage, both of which are absent right now. But then there are other hidden costs with owning a car like insurance and servicing etc that it doesn't make sense to buy a car and let it stand idle, specially the way they lose there value these days. I like my cars to have some good daily exercise.

Originally Posted by abs182

Hi Mohit,

Your dilemma isn't resolving any time soon it seems!

Remember when I met you here in Baroda at the Toyota Service center I mentioned my intentions of replacing my 8yr old Corolla with the Fortuner? Well I am still undecided as like you I too balked at the price when I inquired.

Hey thanks for your advice. Really echoed my thoughts on this. I am currently looking in the used car market for a Fortuner. If not then in all due probability will go and opt for a new Fortuner. The biggest thing is that I do not want to have buyers remorse later if I buy the XUV.

BTW any idea if Narmada Toyota here has a TD vehicle? If yes wanna go on a back to back TD of both the cars?
Also in case you come across a used Fortuner here in Gujarat then let me know.

Edit: I am indeed surprised by the Poll results. Had expected all along for the XUV to trump the Fortuner atleast 2:1.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by Rajith

Toyota trust in bangalore quoted me 18Lacs for single owner 2010 sept model fortuner driven @ 55000kms.

I do hope that they were not trying to sell my vehicle when I took it for servicing. My Fortuner has done 55K and is a Sep 2010 vehicle.

Good to know that it still holds good value.

[Rajith]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

I do hope that they were not trying to sell my vehicle when I took it for servicing. My Fortuner has done 55K and is a Sep 2010 vehicle.

Good to know that it still holds good value.

Hi,
What was the on road value in 2010 Sep?.This one is a elephant grey color on original tyres.

[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Edit: I am indeed surprised by the Poll results. Had expected all along for the XUV to trump the Fortuner atleast 2:1.

Hi Dr Mohit, I am currently an XUV 500 owner with over 11K on the ODO. Largely niggle free and very happy. Certainly the best VFM choice.

While I was in the Middle East I owned a 4X4 AT Prado (petrol 4 litre) which I bought ten years back at around Rs 15 lakhs. Today this costs around Rs 23 lakhs. The Fortuner was looked down upon because it was seen as the poor man's Prado and considerably dumbed down. We did lots of off roading including dune bashing and even crossing the Wahiba desert. My friends in Toyota, Muscat tell me not to look at the Fortuner in India. In fact one of my friends who's Director Marketing for the Toyota dealer, was seriously impressed with my XUV when he was recently in India.

As Nilanjan says if you are planning to do some serious off roading, it may be worthwhile to shell out the additional Rs 10lakhs. Since you're not going in for the 4x4, which will be even costlier, there's absolutely no point in buying it IMHO.

Given cruise control, GPRS, and a whole load of other features, I'll buy an XUV again after I retire this one.

That's my 2 cents. Best of luck on your purchase decision.

[kedarwalke]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

That is the XUV to trump the Fortuner atleast 2:1.

Well Mohit,I have a 2011 W8 xuv 500 and a 2012 facelifted 4x4 MT fortuner.
The XUV is 65k kms+ and fortuner is close to 29K kms old.
I love both the suv's.
I am very happy with the M & M after sales service,they are just top notch and even if there are niigles they are sorted out free of cost even after 2 years of ownership.
Fortuner on the other hand has never given me problems and its a reliable bet.
But, the ride quality in the XUV is definetly much better than fortuner.

In my opinion if you want to save 10L go for the Indian Cheetah its worth it.

[kaizanfan]

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse

While I was in the Middle East I owned a 4X4 AT Prado (petrol 4 litre) which I bought ten years back at around Rs 15 lakhs. Today this costs around Rs 23 lakhs. The Fortuner was looked down upon because it was seen as the poor man's Prado and considerably dumbed down. We did lots of off roading including dune bashing and even crossing the Wahiba desert. My friends in Toyota, Muscat tell me not to look at the Fortuner in India.

Heavy Horse, Did you do dune bashing and Wahiba desert on Fortuner or Prado? And it would be helpful if you could tell us why your friends in Toyota Muscat thought that we shouldn't look at the Fortuner in India. Thanks.

Mohit, you should check the customer satisfaction level of your local M&M A.S.S.

Based on feedback I got from my friends who own M&M vehicles, their service quality is not consistent across all branches/cities/towns - unlike Maruti or Toyota. My comparison is not meant to be based on 100% consistency - it's in general.

If local M&M customers are happy with A.S.S in your region then you may not count M&M A.S.S as a negative point. Then it all boils down to what your heart desires - the towering and best looking SUV Fortuner with a bit of bumpy ride and higher price OR the great VFM XUV 500.

[Warwithwheels]

Guess the poll results are making life even more difficult for ya!

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Guess the poll results are making life even more difficult for ya!

Well it does but in a way it just shows that Fortuner is a very capable vehicle. At 10L more than the XUV it still finds equal number of votes, infact at times today was leading the race. I think in the end it just boils down to vitamin M. Got 25L to spend? Go for the Fortuner. What say?

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Well it does but in a way it just shows that Fortuner is a very capable vehicle. At 10L more than the XUV it still finds equal number of votes, infact at times today was leading the race. I think in the end it just boils down to vitamin M. Got 25L to spend? Go for the Fortuner. What say?

Absolutely!! We have had two Toyotas in our garage over the last decade. You just can't go wrong with the T badge. The 8 year old still drives like a dream.

At the end of the day it's just a head vs. heart decision. Going by my experience. It's only the heart that wins when it comes to automobile purchases.

So go ahead and just plonk your money before the prices go up again. Looking forward to an ownership report very soon.

Good luck doc!!

[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by kaizanfan

Heavy Horse, Did you do dune bashing and Wahiba desert on Fortuner or Prado? And it would be helpful if you could tell us why your friends in Toyota Muscat thought that we shouldn't look at the Fortuner in India. Thanks.

Kaizan I never owned the Fortuner, but I did own the Prado as mentioned in my post. All our escapades were on the Prado. The dune bashing was done by an expert driver since it needs considerable training and advanced skills to manage driving on those dunes.

In the Middle East basically what sells is the Land Cruiser and the Prado. Fortuner was launched at a price point lower than the Prado and did not have many of the safety and operational features of the Prado. As a result it became the "Bolero" of the Toyota family and since you can do serious off roading in the ME and everybody prefers a 4x4, the Fortuner was always looked upon as the poor man's Prado.

In India due to local taxes and huge import duties on imported components prices are high. As a result overseas companies try to cut out some costs to maintain some semblance of reasonable pricing even though that is at a significant premium to local brands. I was shocked to see on Carwale that the Fortuner provides only two front airbags, no ABS, no EBD, no cruise control etc as compared to the XUV W8. All these facts are well known to people in the industry and that's how my Muscat friends (all Indians) advise me.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Got 25L to spend? Go for the Fortuner. What say?

No doubt and NO two things here. You have the Vit-M please go ahead with the T-Fort.





Just adding pictures of the J.D Power rating, 2013 for Sales Satisfaction Index (overall experience). Toyota and Mahindra are equal but Toyota gets a plus for delivery timing.

I still say go ahead with the Toyota Fortuner and don't confuse yourself further.

Anurag.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Just adding pictures of the J.D Power rating, 2013 for Sales Satisfaction Index (overall experience). Toyota and Mahindra are equal but Toyota gets a plus for delivery timing.

These surveys are useless. Dealer experience depends a lot on the dealer too in addition to the car maker. My local Toyota dealer in Delhi hasn't given me any reasons to frown till date except not providing me with a TD vehicle for the Fortuner which again if they don't have then what can they do. Atleast that way I am happy they didn't get me some customer's vehicle with the odo disconnected. So for me Toyota works. For someone else interacting with another dealer, the experience might be different.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

So for me Toyota works.

So when is the Toyota coming home?

Anurag.

[mroptimist]

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse

I was shocked to see on Carwale that the Fortuner provides only two front airbags, no ABS, no EBD, no cruise control etc as compared to the XUV W8. All these facts are well known to people in the industry and that's how my Muscat friends (all Indians) advise me.

Please get your facts right. Don't depend on carwale or jeepwale (pun intended) the Fortuner always came with ABS and EBD as standard. Now in it's 2012 version it also comes with cruise control (the 4x2 automatic).

Thanks.

[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by mroptimist

Please get your facts right. Don't depend on carwale or jeepwale (pun intended) the Fortuner always came with ABS and EBD as standard. Now in it's 2012 version it also comes with cruise control (the 4x2 automatic).

Thanks.

True. Reliance on Carwale or jeepwale can be a slippery slope. I stand corrected. Fortuner does provide ABS and EBD. However, the comparison was not with the AT which provides CC, which the W8 provides in the MT.

Wonder why they only provide 2 airbags? Any idea?
Btw sorry if I touched a raw nerve.