[amolpol]

After the Jaisalmer dune bashing, it was time to drive in the Little Rann of Kutch. LRK provides some really brilliant vistas for shooting cars with its flat horizon and cracked surfaces. Here's one of the shots I processed today, taken just as the sun set in front of the car.

I'm hoping I can do a quick travelogue for the recent trip, but not sure if that's going to happen with all work sitting in my mailbox.

[amolpol]

Got the third free service done at 12000kms, my highest running with a new car in its first 3 months.

I had asked them to do the oil change again even though it was done just 6k kms back. So now I'm going to be following the 10k change schedule as per the regular guideline. The difference in amount from the last time was adjusted in this service bill and the total service cost was about INR3900 including the synthetic oil change. The overall service experience was much better this time because the SA was more willing to help and listen than the one we had last time.

I had noticed some noise from the front discs while stopping and got them to clean the brakes. It could be the sand from the dune bashing in Jaisalmer from what I suspect. The SA asked me if I wanted to do facing for the discs which from what I understood meant grinding/smoothing the disc surface for removing scratches etc. Given that its just 3 months old, I didn't think this was necessary and asked them not to do anything apart from cleaning. Will have to check if the noise persists.

There have been zero issues till now and I'm hoping it'll stay that way for a long time. With the Thar spending more than 3 months at the ASC in one year of ownership, I seriously have no appetite left to live through any issues with the Fortuner.

Here are a few pics from the dunes of Jaisalmer, a place I'd love to go again someday!

[BIBIN004]

The snaps are simply mind blowing and does justice to the vehicle's personality.Hope you had good fun driving through the sand dunes.

[getsurya]

Got the third free service done at 12000kms, my highest running with a new car in its first 3 months.

Oh Man! Do you work out of your car? That is some mind blowing mileage in 3 months.

I am very happy that you are truly taking the pleasure and worth out of the 'investment' of Fortuner.

Amazing pictures and can have more

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by getsurya

Oh Man! Do you work out of your car? That is some mind blowing mileage in 3 months.

I am very happy that you are truly taking the pleasure and worth out of the 'investment' of Fortuner.

Amazing pictures and can have more

Thanks Surya. I've not been living in the car as yet, but if our other plan had materialized then maybe I would have. That would have easily added another 6-7k on the odo by now. But that trip is now kept for 2014 so looking forward to it.

The very reason for us to part with the Safari and get the Fortuner has been to enable such long distance trips without any worries about the car for the next 5-7 years. And the 4x4 was added just to ensure there is peace of mind whatever be the terrain. So far its been all good and I hope it stays that way!

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by amolpol

I did the headlamp upgrade to Osram Nightbreakers just before I left for the trip to Rajasthan. The difference is quite noticeable and the high beams are now at least 50% more brighter and have a longer range than the stock bulbs. Costed me about 1800 bucks for a pair but its worth it I felt.

The beast is already 9k on the odo and will be at 12k kms by the time its sent for the second service in the first week of January, not bad for 3 months of ownership. No major troubles to report so far, it's gained our acceptance as a good replacement over the trusty old safari. The 4x4 system needs to be tested and the dunes in Jaisalmer are quite inviting, so that may just happen today.

Great to see that you are enjoying the vehicle - it would have started growing on you by now.

From where did you get the Osrams? And was it a DIY, or done at the ASC?

I have started visiting the Kanakpura Nandi ASC - supposed to be better than the one at Hosur Road.

[BIBIN004]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Great to see that you are enjoying the vehicle - it would have started growing on you by now.

From where did you get the Osrams? And was it a DIY, or done at the ASC?

I have started visiting the Kanakpura Nandi ASC - supposed to be better than the one at Hosur Road.

The OSRAM Night Breaker's are available in most of the Auto Shops. Even I purchased a couple of them recently.

High Beam :- HB3 12V 60W
Fog Lamps :- HB4 12V 51W

Looking at getting the W5W for the park lamps 12V 1W as well.

I feel the Hosur road one is quite good except that you have got to know some people there since all the Toyota Service centers in Bangalore have a bad reputation. MouthShut.com can be referred.

[bantejas]

Came across this thread or rather T-Bhp after a long!!
I am not surprised that your wife wanted to go for a SUV again (of course not smaller than the safari)! Its the same case here and we still are hunting/waiting for some SUV like the safari in our price range: 15-17L. The T-Fort is not that I can afford at this point of time and Storme VX 4x4 is not something worth 17L (IMO). My truck is serving me well and with its own niggles, I still haven't lost on it as yet. My long drives are brilliant with the truck and sometimes I can sleep at the back when the boss takes over the wheels, the t-fort might give me a few broken bones, I assume.. Like you, I dont drive it in the city, but the boss does and she's pretty comfortable with it and not doesn't want a hatch/sedan at all.

I had a fun time in at Jaisalmer a couple of years back with the sand dune bashing. I have been wanting to go there for a while as well, but can't see that happening. In fact, one time, some chap there took us in the night as well!! His friend came in another MM550 (I dont remember exactly, since it was pretty dark then) which was a sort of a recovery vehicle!
I bet that the handling of the T-Fort would be way better than the Safari's boat ride thanks to the stiffer suspension, but I guess there can be a way to stiffen the suspension on the safari as well, which might improve the overall stability!

Anyways! Happy munching miles and stress free drives!!!

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Great to see that you are enjoying the vehicle - it would have started growing on you by now.

From where did you get the Osrams? And was it a DIY, or done at the ASC?

I have started visiting the Kanakpura Nandi ASC - supposed to be better than the one at Hosur Road.

It has grown on me, although I still can't help but turn my head atleast once when I see the 2.2 dicor on the road and remember the fun times we've had with it. There are obvious advantages with the Fortuner, like the zero lag 3.0L engine, super efficient A/C, better braking control with ABS+EBD, softer pedals, 3rd row seating etc, but the suspension and the seating comfort is still something that the Safari scores over the Tfort.

The Osrams headlamp bulbs were from Autoshop in Koramangala, it takes less than 5 mins to install them so you could DIY - not sure of the fog lamps as I didn't change those.

My 3rd free service experience was much better than the previous one, although they adjusted the difference amount that they promised last time, they've overcharged 1200 bucks again for something. The SA called my wife a couple of days after the service and informed about the overcharge and said that it'll be adjusted in the next service. I haven't seen the bill yet so not sure what they did this time, but given that they proactively owned it up this time, I won't break my head on it too much.

Originally Posted by bantejas

Its the same case here and we still are hunting/waiting for some SUV like the safari in our price range: 15-17L. The T-Fort is not that I can afford at this point of time and Storme VX 4x4 is not something worth 17L (IMO).

I bet that the handling of the T-Fort would be way better than the Safari's boat ride thanks to the stiffer suspension, but I guess there can be a way to stiffen the suspension on the safari as well, which might improve the overall stability!

Anyways! Happy munching miles and stress free drives!!!

Thanks bantejas.

There is a bit of a void in the under 20L category for a good 4x4 SUV and I don't think its going to be filled anytime soon. The Storme VX 4x4 isn't too bad, but its definitely not worth the price when you're upgrading from the 2.2 Dicor. The Storme doesn't connect with me like the Dicor, I feel it's stripped off the Safari's character! A preowned TFort could be a good solution in case you're okay to go down that path, else there's no other option than to pay 30 big ones.

The stiffer suspension on the Tfort does give it much better handling than the Safari, but you're bounced around quite a bit on bad patches vs the boat like cushioned ride in the Safari. So while I can corner at much higher speeds than the Safari, I can't do the 80+ kph on mud roads like I used to. Please don't change the suspension parameters on the Safari since there's a good chance you may land up in neither of the two worlds.

To end with, here's another picture of the beast at the Rann.

[getsurya]

From where did you get the Osrams? And was it a DIY, or done at the ASC?

Hi Nilanjan,

Using Amol's thread to answer your query- I sourced the HB3 & HB4 from ebay India at 1800 per pair. The replacement took 10 minutes for both the sets(fog and high beam bulbs) at the friendly accessory shop.

There is a perceptible difference in the high beam(good one) and the fog spread. Absolutely worth the price.

[roadjourno]

Originally Posted by amolpol

Asked them to change them to Hella Red Grills which do duty on my Thar as well. I didn’t want the wind tone horns even though they sound really nice, reason being, they’re prone to water damage. I’ve already broken on set on the Thar and didn’t want to go that way ever.

Hi Amolpol,

You have installed Hella Red Grills, are they simple swap or they need to be installed with a relay ? I am contemplating buying one set from snapdeal therefore checking beforehand with you.

PS: Will putting Hello RG void warranty ?
Regards,
RJ

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by roadjourno

Hi Amolpol,

You have installed Hella Red Grills, are they simple swap or they need to be installed with a relay ? I am contemplating buying one set from snapdeal therefore checking beforehand with you.

PS: Will putting Hello RG void warranty ?
Regards,
RJ

The red grills are a direct swap, no additional wiring needed. I don't think it will cause warranty issues.

[amolpol]

The beast just came back from the 25k service yesterday. As usual, there wasn't anything to be fixed, except for one squeaky little sound that I noticed during the recent trip to Mumbai. Other than that, it was just the general wash-the-car-and-make-the-bill kind of service.

The SA took note of the squeaky noise complaint, but was unable to reproduce the sound when they did a test drive. Ideally, if this were Tata or Mahindra, they would have just shrugged it off saying "everything is normal". But in this case, the SA offered to check the ailgnment of both door pads and the glove box out of his free will. Although, they were shooting in the dark, I liked the fact that they were at least trying to make me happy. Anyway, end of the day the car is returned with some usual checks and a wash, with a bill of about 1500 bucks - not at all bad for a 30L car.

Now, the first anniversary is coming up in October and I'm already being harassed by calls to renew my insurance. I've got Tata-AIG Pearl plan (bumper to bumper) as of now and the renewal premium is being quoted approx 46k for an IDV of 21L after 20% NCB benefit. They had initially quoted about 41k for an IDV of 18L to which I had asked them to give me the highest IDV possible. Now, my question is, does this sound reasonable since I'm not getting any further discounts from Tata-AIG whereas Bajaj Allianz is offering me a similar plan for about 40K for an IDV of 20L.

I know that Tata-AIG has cashless facility with Nandi Toyota in Bangalore, but have to find out about Bajaj Allianz. Does anyone have experience with Bajaj Allianz for the T-fort, good or bad?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Wow! Beautiful pics from the Rann. Perfect for a butch vehicle like the Fortuner.

Toyota service is a highlight and I have multiple good experiences taking a friend's Fortuner for service at Viva Toyota, bangalore. They way they handle premium Fortuner customers and Innova taxi drivers alike with ease has to be a case study - and have noticed the same in few of the other bangalore dealerships as well.

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Wow! Beautiful pics from the Rann. Perfect for a butch vehicle like the Fortuner.

Thanks, it's always fun to drive in the Rann.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Toyota service is a highlight and I have multiple good experiences taking a friend's Fortuner for service at Viva Toyota, bangalore. They way they handle premium Fortuner customers and Innova taxi drivers alike with ease has to be a case study - and have noticed the same in few of the other bangalore dealerships as well.

Agree with the point that Toyota treats the Innova drivers and the Fortuner owners alike, but there's no premium feeling anywhere. The service centers are always crowded like a bus stop, good for them, but bad for the owners who have to hunt for a place even to wait. The 5K service intervals add to this commotion I believe. The halfway services are for nothing but inspection and wash but you have to adhere to the schedule for warranty purposes.

The only good thing is that they don't charge you a bomb which is where their indifferent attitude between the Innova and Fortuner helps. I don't think there's any other 30L car that comes back serviced for 1500 bucks for a mid-service and about 6k for a full service with synthetic oil change.