Toyota FORTUNER Ownership report.

.anshuman · 15th May 2010, 19:22

Why Fortuner? Why not Superb, Accord or 320d CE?
We wanted a new vehicle.
We wanted it to be under 20lakhs.
We wanted it to be a Diesel.
We wanted it to be extremely reliable.
We wanted it to be strong enough to be able to take abuse.
We wanted it to be spacious.
We wanted a vehicle than can take us anywhere.
We wanted a strong tough SUV.

Toyota FORTUNER Ownership report.-14052010198.jpg

Cost:
The Toyota Fortuner costs 19.35lakhs (ex-showroom Gurgaon), We got the Insurance done from outside for Rs.33k and Registration(Self) Rs.29,025 + Premium number charges.

I Like-

The 3.0 D4D Engine is a Gem.
Trademark Toyota Reliability and Longevity.
Mini Prado looks.
Flexible and comfortable seating with AC vents for everyone.
Lots of Space.
Commanding driving position.
Full time All wheel drive.
Off-roading ability.
Highway manners.
Additional grip from AWD all the time.

I did not like-

Poor Brake feel and Brake fade after repeated hard braking.
No Automatic Transmission option
The Innova like interiors
Lack of luxury feel
Basic equipment levels
Absence of TCS and ESP
High NVH for a 20lakh rupees car
Ordinary Ride quality for a 20lakh rupees car
Not so great sound system with no Bluetooth, USB, Ipod jack.

Toyota FORTUNER Ownership report.-14052010199.jpg

Engine and Performance
Crank the Engine and the SUV will shake and start with the same engine note as the Innova. The Vibrations filtering through the gear level and steering at idle reminds me of the Innova, the NVH levels feel high for a SUV that costs 20L+.

The Engine has a very powerful and responsive Low-end. The Huge SUV pulls cleanly from very low 1000rpm, it delivers the power in a very linear way, the engine is in maximum torque zone upwards of 1400rpm. As a result Driving the Fortuner in the traffic is a very easy task, you can retain the same gear in conditions where you will be forced to downshift in other turbo-diesels.

Overall acceleration is very good with well sorted gear ratios. The wide powerband means you can stay in fifth gear on highways all the time.

The only thing i did not like about the engine is refinement at the top-end of the powerband, the engine lacks the free revving feel felt in the Captiva.

I tried some fun off road sand driving at a construction site. I could not believe the kind of torque this engine makes, the SUV powered through the sand 3rd and 4th gears in low mode in steep incline in sand.

Toyota FORTUNER Ownership report.-14052010197.jpg

Ride, Handling, Steering and Braking
The Steering weighs up nicely with speed and is adequately light at parking speeds, overall i find the Steering good though its not as direct and precise as Europeans but for a Toyota its very nice.

The Ride on good roads is very good but things start getting shaken and stirred as soon as the bad roads arrive, the Fortuner clearly cannot match the Pajero for the Ride and Handling but still it has a much better ride than its closest competitor the Ford Endeavour. Overall the ride needs to be much better for a 20lakh rupees car.

The additional grip from the AWD makes sure you don't get a rear out slide like an Endeavour if you push the SUV in a tight corner at speed. The high COG and high set body on chassis layout means this vehicle should not be driven a car on a twisty roads. The Fortuner can handle long sweeping curves on highway quite comfortably.

Possibly the worst part about the car is poor Brake feel. Our Fortuner has the recently upgraded brakes but still the pedal feel is very spongy, Brake fade after repeated braking is also an issue of concern. Toyota should provide better brakes with rear discs ASAP.

I found the actual performance of the brakes to be good on my recent highway trip on NH-10., the ABS lets the tires lock up a bit before kicking in. The tires scream loudly at slightest hint of locking up.

Toyota FORTUNER Ownership report.-14052010200.jpg

Interiors and Equipment
The Dashboard and lots of components lifted from the Innova are a big letdown. I don't like the brown color used on upper part of the dashboard. This SUV lacks the luxury feel of a 20L rupees vehicle.

The equipment list is pretty basic too. The Music system sounds very ordinary , its a in-dash CD changer but lacks the basic features like Bluetooth, USB and AUX-in. The AC with vents for all the seats is very powerful and chills in seconds, its controlled by a Automatic climate control, which is not very intuitive in Auto mode.

All the Seats are very comfortable. Driver and Passenger seats do not have controls to vary Lumber and under thigh support. All the seats recline just like the Innova and have very good space.

Fuel Consumption
Initially the car started with 8.5 kpl figure that has now settled on ~9-10kpl in Gurgaon driving cycle.

I did a 400km highway trip on NH-10 yesterday the result FE was 12.5kpl for the whole trip. The 80 litre tank has decent range on highways.

Eddy · 15th May 2010, 19:30

Congrats on the new vehicle Anshuman. A vehicle pretty well perfect for your needs I would say.

dadu · 15th May 2010, 20:12

Congrats for the Fortuner, happy mile munching.

Schoudhury · 15th May 2010, 22:27

Yes white elephant would be perfect for this .
Today in the evening while i was returning home we also saw a white elephant over here @ bangalore. Man it looked beautiful in white and the headlights were in light blue color and it looked pretty kool with those projector kinda headlamps.
Anyways, you enjoy our baby(quite a big baby i guess).
Cheers

Ricky_63 · 15th May 2010, 22:41

Congrats on your Fortuner. The upside & downside is pretty much known to all of us who have driven the vehicle.

With all it's negatives (and positives) it is still a desireable & imposing vehicle.

Hope you have the greatest time with the vehicle.

One question - yours is a POST brake upgrade model, & you are still not satisfied with the braking ??

That is not nice to hear. Most people are happy post the brake upgrade,. any particular reason ??

Enjoy the Fortuner !

Cheers

Utopian · 15th May 2010, 23:17

Congrats anshuman for the white elephant. It looks humongous. Fortuner looks best in white IMO. Happy mile crunching with the "white elephant."

shuvc · 15th May 2010, 23:43

Congrats. Looks majestic. It's sheer presence makes me feel like owning one.

.anshuman · 16th May 2010, 00:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy

Congrats on the new vehicle Anshuman.

Thanks Eddy, Confidence comes as a freebie with a Toyota.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadu

Congrats for the Fortuner, happy mile munching.

Thanks you Dadu.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Yes white elephant would be perfect for this .
Today in the evening while i was returning home we also saw a white elephant over here @ bangalore. Man it looked beautiful in white and the headlights were in light blue color and it looked pretty kool with those projector kinda headlamps.
Anyways, you enjoy our baby(quite a big baby i guess).
Cheers

Thanks Schoudhary, This SUV surely has a lot of presence but everyone here in Gurgaon has a Fortuner, so nobody here has time to notice the presence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Congrats on your Fortuner.

One question - yours is a POST brake upgrade model, & you are still not satisfied with the braking ??

That is not nice to hear. Most people are happy post the brake upgrade,. any particular reason ??

Thanks Ricky, The Brake pedal feel is poor and brake fade is too much. I have driven almost every car below 30lakhs(and some cars above this too) and i have never seen this kind of noticeable brake fade.

Sad but true.

The time i move back into Punto, the first difference i feel are the brakes.

sunil_k_u · 16th May 2010, 00:19

Congratulations anshuman on your new Fortuner! The pros in your post explains the large Indian fans for this model.

Wishing you many miles on it.. Safe driving.

tsk1979 · 16th May 2010, 00:30

Congratulations? But why do you feel that it will be difficult and expensive to maintain?

.anshuman · 16th May 2010, 00:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Congratulations? But why do you feel that it will be difficult and expensive to maintain?

Thank you, I never said it will be difficult and expensive to maintain. I think this is the most painless to maintain car for 20L rupees.

The 'White Elephant' name is just to convey the color and presence of this vehicle, this has nothing to do with my fear of maintenance.

raghu230506 · 16th May 2010, 08:13

Congratulations,

Drive safe and enjoy the ride.

Iam surprised to see just 200 KMPH being the max mark, though Iam not towards riding anywhere at those speeds but just couldn't understand it for a 3.0 beast. What is the max attainable speed (is it less than 180).

dilipkumar7278 · 16th May 2010, 09:37

Congrats mate...

.Welcome to Fortuner club...Happy mile munching....I surely feel more confident after the brake upgrade....
Cheers
Dilip

CrAzY dRiVeR · 16th May 2010, 10:26

Congrats anshuman! Nothing in that range comes close to a Fortuner when it comes to sheer presence on the road!

.anshuman · 16th May 2010, 11:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utopian

Congrats anshuman for the white elephant. It looks humongous. Fortuner looks best in white IMO. Happy mile crunching with the "white elephant."

Quote:

Originally Posted by shuvc

Congrats. Looks majestic. It's sheer presence makes me feel like owning one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunil_k_u

Congratulations anshuman on your new Fortuner! The pros in your post explains the large Indian fans for this model.
Wishing you many miles on it.. Safe driving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilipkumar7278

Congrats mate...

.Welcome to Fortuner club...Happy mile munching....I surely feel more confident after the brake upgrade....
Cheers
Dilip

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Congrats anshuman! Nothing in that range comes close to a Fortuner when it comes to sheer presence on the road!

Thank You Everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by raghu230506

Iam surprised to see just 200 KMPH being the max mark, though Iam not towards riding anywhere at those speeds but just couldn't understand it for a 3.0 beast. What is the max attainable speed (is it less than 180).

Fortuner cannot do speeds above 200 for sure, it might not be able to touch 200, I am least interested to try a top speed run in this SUV.

15th May 2010, 19:22	#1
.anshuman Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Good-Gaon Posts: 7,763 Thanked: 11,069 Times View My Garage	Toyota FORTUNER Ownership report. Why Fortuner? Why not Superb, Accord or 320d CE? We wanted a new vehicle. We wanted it to be under 20lakhs. We wanted it to be a Diesel. We wanted it to be extremely reliable. We wanted it to be strong enough to be able to take abuse. We wanted it to be spacious. We wanted a vehicle than can take us anywhere. We wanted a strong tough SUV. Cost: The Toyota Fortuner costs 19.35lakhs (ex-showroom Gurgaon), We got the Insurance done from outside for Rs.33k and Registration(Self) Rs.29,025 + Premium number charges. I Like- The 3.0 D4D Engine is a Gem. Trademark Toyota Reliability and Longevity. Mini Prado looks. Flexible and comfortable seating with AC vents for everyone. Lots of Space. Commanding driving position. Full time All wheel drive. Off-roading ability. Highway manners. Additional grip from AWD all the time. I did not like- Poor Brake feel and Brake fade after repeated hard braking. No Automatic Transmission option The Innova like interiors Lack of luxury feel Basic equipment levels Absence of TCS and ESP High NVH for a 20lakh rupees car Ordinary Ride quality for a 20lakh rupees car Not so great sound system with no Bluetooth, USB, Ipod jack. Engine and Performance Crank the Engine and the SUV will shake and start with the same engine note as the Innova. The Vibrations filtering through the gear level and steering at idle reminds me of the Innova, the NVH levels feel high for a SUV that costs 20L+. The Engine has a very powerful and responsive Low-end. The Huge SUV pulls cleanly from very low 1000rpm, it delivers the power in a very linear way, the engine is in maximum torque zone upwards of 1400rpm. As a result Driving the Fortuner in the traffic is a very easy task, you can retain the same gear in conditions where you will be forced to downshift in other turbo-diesels. Overall acceleration is very good with well sorted gear ratios. The wide powerband means you can stay in fifth gear on highways all the time. The only thing i did not like about the engine is refinement at the top-end of the powerband, the engine lacks the free revving feel felt in the Captiva. I tried some fun off road sand driving at a construction site. I could not believe the kind of torque this engine makes, the SUV powered through the sand 3rd and 4th gears in low mode in steep incline in sand. Ride, Handling, Steering and Braking The Steering weighs up nicely with speed and is adequately light at parking speeds, overall i find the Steering good though its not as direct and precise as Europeans but for a Toyota its very nice. The Ride on good roads is very good but things start getting shaken and stirred as soon as the bad roads arrive, the Fortuner clearly cannot match the Pajero for the Ride and Handling but still it has a much better ride than its closest competitor the Ford Endeavour. Overall the ride needs to be much better for a 20lakh rupees car. The additional grip from the AWD makes sure you don't get a rear out slide like an Endeavour if you push the SUV in a tight corner at speed. The high COG and high set body on chassis layout means this vehicle should not be driven a car on a twisty roads. The Fortuner can handle long sweeping curves on highway quite comfortably. Possibly the worst part about the car is poor Brake feel. Our Fortuner has the recently upgraded brakes but still the pedal feel is very spongy, Brake fade after repeated braking is also an issue of concern. Toyota should provide better brakes with rear discs ASAP. I found the actual performance of the brakes to be good on my recent highway trip on NH-10., the ABS lets the tires lock up a bit before kicking in. The tires scream loudly at slightest hint of locking up. Interiors and Equipment The Dashboard and lots of components lifted from the Innova are a big letdown. I don't like the brown color used on upper part of the dashboard. This SUV lacks the luxury feel of a 20L rupees vehicle. The equipment list is pretty basic too. The Music system sounds very ordinary , its a in-dash CD changer but lacks the basic features like Bluetooth, USB and AUX-in. The AC with vents for all the seats is very powerful and chills in seconds, its controlled by a Automatic climate control, which is not very intuitive in Auto mode. All the Seats are very comfortable. Driver and Passenger seats do not have controls to vary Lumber and under thigh support. All the seats recline just like the Innova and have very good space. Fuel Consumption Initially the car started with 8.5 kpl figure that has now settled on ~9-10kpl in Gurgaon driving cycle. I did a 400km highway trip on NH-10 yesterday the result FE was 12.5kpl for the whole trip. The 80 litre tank has decent range on highways. Last edited by .anshuman : 7th November 2010 at 22:04. Reason: cost details updated
	(1) Thanks

15th May 2010, 19:30	#2
Eddy Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 9,413 Thanked: 13,456 Times	Congrats on the new vehicle Anshuman. A vehicle pretty well perfect for your needs I would say. Last edited by Eddy : 17th May 2010 at 13:07.
	() Thanks

15th May 2010, 20:12	#3
dadu Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,803 Thanked: 462 Times View My Garage	Congrats for the Fortuner, happy mile munching.
	() Thanks

15th May 2010, 22:27	#4
Schoudhury Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Blore/Dallas-TX Posts: 1,066 Thanked: 480 Times View My Garage	Yes white elephant would be perfect for this . Today in the evening while i was returning home we also saw a white elephant over here @ bangalore. Man it looked beautiful in white and the headlights were in light blue color and it looked pretty kool with those projector kinda headlamps. Anyways, you enjoy our baby(quite a big baby i guess). Cheers
	() Thanks

15th May 2010, 22:41	#5
Ricky_63 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,885 Thanked: 519 Times View My Garage	Congrats on your Fortuner. The upside & downside is pretty much known to all of us who have driven the vehicle. With all it's negatives (and positives) it is still a desireable & imposing vehicle. Hope you have the greatest time with the vehicle. One question - yours is a POST brake upgrade model, & you are still not satisfied with the braking ?? That is not nice to hear. Most people are happy post the brake upgrade,. any particular reason ?? Enjoy the Fortuner ! Cheers
	() Thanks

15th May 2010, 23:17	#6
Utopian BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New Delhi Posts: 603 Thanked: 123 Times	Congrats anshuman for the white elephant. It looks humongous. Fortuner looks best in white IMO. Happy mile crunching with the "white elephant."
	() Thanks

15th May 2010, 23:43	#7
shuvc Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 2,913 Thanked: 353 Times View My Garage	Congrats. Looks majestic. It's sheer presence makes me feel like owning one.
	() Thanks

16th May 2010, 00:19	#9
sunil_k_u BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 134 Thanked: 104 Times	Congratulations anshuman on your new Fortuner! The pros in your post explains the large Indian fans for this model. Wishing you many miles on it.. Safe driving.
	() Thanks

16th May 2010, 00:30	#10
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,724 Thanked: 22,924 Times View My Garage	Congratulations? But why do you feel that it will be difficult and expensive to maintain?
	() Thanks

16th May 2010, 08:13	#12
raghu230506 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 766 Thanked: 64 Times View My Garage	Congratulations, Drive safe and enjoy the ride. Iam surprised to see just 200 KMPH being the max mark, though Iam not towards riding anywhere at those speeds but just couldn't understand it for a 3.0 beast. What is the max attainable speed (is it less than 180).
	() Thanks

16th May 2010, 09:37	#13
dilipkumar7278 BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: COCHIN Posts: 441 Thanked: 109 Times View My Garage	Fortuner Congrats mate....Welcome to Fortuner club...Happy mile munching....I surely feel more confident after the brake upgrade.... Cheers Dilip
	() Thanks

16th May 2010, 10:26	#14
CrAzY dRiVeR Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore / TVM Posts: 17,230 Thanked: 73,719 Times View My Garage	Congrats anshuman! Nothing in that range comes close to a Fortuner when it comes to sheer presence on the road! Last edited by Eddy : 17th May 2010 at 13:08. Reason: Title edited. Removing references so as to avoid confusion for ppl reading it from now on.
	() Thanks