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-   -   Review: 1st-gen Toyota Fortuner (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/64828-review-1st-gen-toyota-fortuner-5.html)

You have admitted yourself that it is priced competitively against its competitors and it only means that in general we are paying more than what all the SUVs actually deserve. Mediocre or value for money is a different topic. Everybody is ripping us off and we are chosing someone who is doing it relatively less. There is no end to feeling cheated when you compare prices against US or European markets.

There isnt much a buyer can do except for buying the best in the options he has does he.

Many reasons to that incl. some justified reasons (govt. taxes to protect domestic industry). For the price of a Camry in India, one can buy a Lexus in US, and Corolla in India can give you Avalon.

On the unjustified reasons, Camry is still selling at 22-25lakhs over the last 3 years. At least for the last 8-12 mths, production costs have declined by at least 25-30% (think steel, plastics, aluminium, copper, and other metals). Yen has remained stable. Google on prices of these inputs.

Very brief; good one GTO.

Now, this one is a proper 4x4 this part of 35lacs. One cant compare CRV,Captiva, Outlander to the Fortuner as you said but it has the plus points of the foresaid vehciles plus of a 4x4.

What I could infer from you review.

1) Awesome for the price
2) Its a Toyota; built to last and work unlike others
3) Great presence and take me anywhere be in city and off road.
4) Diesel !

Now, I expected these


1) more torque; a 2.2L gives you more, this is a 3L though one can debate that this one delivers more linearly and there is less lag
2) brakes. This should be a vital part of one's buying decision. Slowing down a 2 tonner at high speeds can be scary. Can you compare the braking part with respect to the heavy alternatives we get to buy here.
3) better ride quality and in cabin sound insulation. Well, come may ask for more but I guess one should live with it. I for one wont mind it as I wont be having anyone sit on second bench most of the time. And if there is someone,it should be a highway drive and hence should be comfortable unless one does stunts.

Would I upgrade to this from my current SUV in future? Well, seems this is the only one which should have been mine long ago. You are late Toyota.

Great review GTO and thanks for the PM too.

I have lived with my Fortuner (2.7 VVTi) for the past 18 months and clocked approx 80,000 kms (at an average of 5000+ kms per month & 3 months of my vacation), all i can say it's an absolute "WORK HORSE".
The reason for me select a Fortuner - i was in need of a reliable vehicle (american vehicles out) for my daily drive to different construction sites, some are even open desert. Finally the contenders were Fortuner, Nissan X-Terra, Mitsubishi Pajero and Nativa. Out of this X-Terra and Fortuner were the final contenders add i opted for Fotuner 4.0 VVTi but the delivery period was around 45 days, too long for me, finally settled with 2.7VVTi which was delivered in 2 weeks time.
Apart for the initial power delivery, this vehicle performed/delivered what i expected.

+ ve's of the vehicle IMHO
* Ground clearance
* Road presence
* Seating position
* Rugged chassis
* No Rattles as of now

-ve's of the vehicle IMHO
* Average/poor brakes
* High CG, corners/roundabout bit difficult to handle at high speed
* Bland interiors
* Max speed restricted to 160
* Average suspension

Only additional accessories in the vehicle is V-Cool including front wind shield.
Serviced at every 5000 kms (dealer service), still running with factory tyres, brake pads due for change in next service. One thing very good about the dealer is the vehicle will be returned in 90 minutes once pre booked for service.

Finally IMHO, it's more of a WORK HORSE than LUXURY SUV.

Spot on. Those are the exact words I used when I first Fortuner from the straight rear. GTO, Rehaan and me agreed that putting the spare wheel on the tailgate would have given it the complete SUV look. Another point we obseved was how similar it looks to the Toyota 4 Runner. I also felt the tail lights looked alot like those of the Baleno Altura.


Tejas, I havent been in the Safari for a long distance trip before, maybe GTO can shed some light on that. However I was a passenger in a Hyundai Terracan once from Lonavala to Mumbai and I found the ride quality of the Terracan superior to the Fortuner.

Japanese reliability at its best eh Vikram? I see that braking is aloso issue in your case. Work Horse is definately the right word for the Fortuner. How about giving us your feedback on the performance of the 2.7 VVTi? Had you test driven the 4.0 VVti as well?

Dippy, Yes, braking is an issue, not only in my vehicle, most of the them. It makes a weird noise when braked in uneven surface. Performance wise i can say is very slow vehilce (too less power for a heavy truck). Even 4.0VVTi comes with drum at rear.:Shockked:

After the initial excitement dies down & the other Diesels come in (Grand Vitara 1.9 DDiS, CRV Diesel, Face lifted Endeavour, VW Tiguan) That would be when we will actually be able to tell if the Fortuner is still on top of the list.

As of now it rules the roost surely. I really wish the VW Tiguan & GV diesel come in soon or else they will loose a lot of potential buyers to the Fortuner. Though those of us who believe "Big Is Better" will ofcourse still be Fortuner fans.

Looking forward to all the diesel SUV action ahead !!!




Cheers

I am surprised at Toyota not offering basic braking safety features even on the more bigger engined variants. I think Indian Fortuners can forget about getting rear discs anywhere in the near future. Braking is a major issue.

If the Grand Vitara DDIS is priced in the 20 to 21 lakhs range, the Fortuner may have some competition but again the Vitara feels smaller in size compared to the Fortuner. I don think the CRV diesel will pose a threat to the Toyota mainly because of the sticker price.

The petrol CRV is already frightfullt expensive now and the diesel will only be more pricey. The CRV is not really an SUV anyway. The Endeavour is old now and I didnt find the face lift too impressive either. It would be interesting to see how it would fare against its Japanese counterpart.

The VW Tiguan will definately not be cheap by the time it hits our roads and going by European standards, it will be expensive to live with and reliability issues cannot be ruled out, two areas where the Toyota comes out tops.

Nice write-up GTO ,I noticed one thing that the 2nd row seat wasn't having the right under thigh support.
As you had mentioned , when you look from outside , you expect something to be inside and when you get inside , its like you have stepped into the wrong car.
The colour scheme of interior is not suiting the car. A black-Steel/Aluminium would have been much better.
The interiors are too similar to Innova The roof control switches looks really cheap (innova)
I feel they should have spent an additional lac so as to make it different looking from innova in the inside.

Honda, Hyundai and Chevrolet seriously need to bring in their SUV's via CKD route at the pricing of 18-20 Lacs. Once they get that, Toyota will surely feel the heat. Maybe at that point of time, thy will be forced to add in "missing" features to stay afloat with the competition.

The main reason why Toyota is all smiles as of now because:

1. Honda CRV comes in petrol only and comes in as CBU, therefore costing way too much.
2. Outlander Petrol
3. Grand Vitara Petrol
4. Captiva comes in as CBU thus costing couple of lacs above.
5. Pajero is dated and overpriced and seriously need Engine and Interiors replacement.
6. No competition from Hyundai and VW as of now.

Fortuner has been launched at the right price and at the right time.

CRV is a car based cross over (unibody). It shares accord's platform and even engine in US. It is a whole different league. It should not be compared to body-on-frame SUVs.

OT: IMO, CRV is based on Civic platform and not accord.

Excellent review guys! Details captured are fabulous and Rehaan, i really dig the video review ;)

Apart for the stopping power i think this vehicle works well, as v1kram said and thats exactly what i would look for in this category. Humble suggestion to members to stop comparing with Crv (we have been living with one for couple of years), its just a crossover ie a raised sedan. And apart from sedan like drive, wont be able to/doesnt deliver anything that an SUV does!

Regarding the 3rd row, the space shown in the pic is when 2nd row pushed completely back?

EDIT: Honda dude is right, Crv is Civic platform.

@raveen: It doesn't make a difference to consumers here.
For them, even the Innova qualifies as an SUV. What ricky is trying to say is that the CR-V diesel will give a tough fight to Toyota, as it would also be a diesel with high ground clearance, tough looks, as that is what a consumer here looks at when plonking the money for a SUV.
The off-road ability is not counted at all as the car will mostly never leave tarmac, and will primarily be used as a Station Wagon for long trips.

Thanks for the amazing detailed review GTO.