Manual Gearbox Heroes ft. Fortuner Diesel 4x4 MT

I am launching a new series called 'MANUAL HEROES' which will showcase the best cars in today's market (India) with M/T options and in this journey will try to rekindle the joy and passion of driving manual cars.

BHPian karan561 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Manual Gearbox Enthusiasts are under served and in danger of being wiped out, yes it's the unfortunate TRUTH. But as an endeavour to keep the passion for Manual Transmissions alive I am launching a new series called " MANUAL HEROES " which will showcase the best cars in today's market (India) with M/T options and in this journey will try to rekindle the joy and passion of driving Manual Cars.

For this 1st Video i am featuring my 2nd Gen 4x4 Fortuner especially because this car has one of the most under appreciated Manual Gearboxes.

Gearbox Code: RC61 F (6 Speed Manual Transmission). 

The shifts are long but precise with well defined gates.

I personally love the 2nd to 3rd gear change. 

Reverse to Neutral is also fun. 

All in all love it.

Driving Experience:

This Gbox is paired with a 2.8L Diesel Engine with 420 NM of torque. When I bought the car in Nov. 2016 this was the torquiest Diesel Manual on sale in India across segments. The Manual Fortuner was overlooked by media as well as many prospective buyers but honestly this is the most engaging truck driving experience in this segment and this gearbox really puts up a great show. The previous gen Fortuner's 5 M/T gearbox had longer throws and relatively undefined gates, was fun in its own way but no where as close to this (2nd gen). 

Click here to watch a video about this topic.

However the best part of this gearbox is the iMT.

Again a segment first and at launch no other car in India had it other than Porsche manuals. 

The way the iMT revv matches its truly fantastic, the downshifts are very engaging and enjoyable (demonstrated in the video in the beginning of the post). 

Finally to summarise thoughts we need to really keep buying Manual cars otherwise the Auto Manufacturers are not going to develop new Manual Gearboxes. Time for some good news, TOYOTA intends to keep the Manual Gearbox alive & there is proof. The TACOMA which just got a new generation few months back has been equipped with the updated version of this same gearbox (3 Manual Variants), so when a company continues or updates a gearbox then there are very high chances that the new generation (which will be based on the Tacoma this Time, TNGA - F) of the Fortuner which is due next year should also have a Manual option.

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