[Ricky_63]

Other than ofcourse the very entertaining writeup, the photographs that you posted of the inside-outside-underside-frontside-rearside and any other imaginable side were like an endoscopy !!! LOL

Totally love this thread, keep it rolling !!





Cheers

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

@Guderian - I am sure it must have taken trememdous amount of self control to maintain lower speeds on the expressway during the run in period. But as you mentioned it had to be done for nothing else but mental peace

Admiral i guess won the battle in flying colours. Keep it coming.

Amit - You bet ! It was like a totally exhausted, thirsty man standing outside a distillery - wondering whether to go in or not !

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Guderian Sir,

Congrats with your new acquisition of a Flugzeugträger. I have a small question: Are/were you from/in the services? You seriously seem to show the trails of Boys turned into Men in Dehradun.

Thanks AK.
Hi AlphaKilo......This is HotelGolf - Closely rooted to the services as mentioned earlier. Currently travelling in blackout and radio silence status.

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Other than ofcourse the very entertaining writeup, the photographs that you posted of the inside-outside-underside-frontside-rearside and any other imaginable side were like an endoscopy !!! LOL

Totally love this thread, keep it rolling !!





Cheers

Well Ricky the idea was to 'expose' every bit - so that nothing is left to imagination !

[Guderian]

I Don't Like...... !

So far have been by and large fawning over the new kid on the block. But then one has to be objective too, right ? There have to be some things that you don't like or feel that it could be improved and they in the T Fort as per me are:
1. The steering wheel. Liked the SW of the Scorpio - hefty/chunly call it what you will but it felt good gripping it. In comparision the steering wheel on the Admiral feels very scrawny. Can be seriously beefed up. I am wondering how I can beef up the current wheel to make it chunky and good to grip.
2. Seating height and cabin position. The Scorpio was much better and one could get a total view of the edges of the vehicle - the cabin of course being forward positioned.
3. The faux wood inserts everywhere. Could be better. Classy inserts or even colour coordinated leather inserts would have been fine.
4. Chrome ? Why so much of the shiny stuff ? Mirror outers, door handles. Wished it was body coloured or at best black.
5. Fairly high gear lever articulation - once the engine starts, its a ballet all the way ! Do what you want, you see the Swan Lake being performed.
6. At a point of time I felt the diesel roar in the cabin quite high - but now am used to it and sounds, well, very macho !
7. There doesn't appear to be a secure spot for the Hazard Triangle Case. Place it under the front seat and keeps sliding around everywhere.
8. The reverse parking sensor should have had camera back up. Would have helped greatly. ("How then Harry San do we keep price low ?" "Admiral San - is 24L OTR low ?")
9. The spare tyre system is pathetic. Mounting/retrieval system is very poor, per me. The Scorpio system was much more robust. Worse the folding Tommy's quality is pits. On the day of the delivery before I left the dealers tried my hand lowering and raising the spare to get a hang of it. The tommy splintered in my hands and there was a scramble to replace it ! Besides the activity even if done very carefully damages the rear bumper - where there is an aperture to insert the tommy. Some serious design changes required here !
10. The glove compartment is rather pedestrian for a T Fort level vehicle. If not the space in general, at least the design can be optimised to give better usability.

As I discover more the list will expand and I sincerely hope not !

Some snaps again from Bangalore:




Wait, wait - don't go away as yet !
Here is what I consider the best snap ever:


Ain't that pennanted bumper luverly ?!!

[Sutripta]

^^^
Any comments on
A) Ride quality
B) Dipped beam
C) Scuttle shake (I know, I know)
D) Brakes to be discussed in a separate post all by itself.

Regards
Sutripta

PS. BTW, which is the largest vessel in the J. Navy now?

[vinaydas]

Congrats on the new ride. Excellent writeup by the way .

I have extensively driven the fortuner and found the engine rather adequate as opposed to being a scorcher.

[SumitBahl]

Fantastic writeup. Enjoyed every bit of it.
Congrats on your new acquisition!!

Originally Posted by Guderian

1. The steering wheel. Liked the SW of the Scorpio - hefty/chunly call it what you will but it felt good gripping it. In comparision the steering wheel on the Admiral feels very scrawny. Can be seriously beefed up. I am wondering how I can beef up the current wheel to make it chunky and good to grip.

You can get a custom leather stitched on the steering wheel. I chose a thick stanley leather which was stitched around the steering wheel on my swift. It feels much better and chunky now.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

^^^
Any comments on
A) Ride quality
C) Scuttle shake (I know, I know)
D) Brakes to be discussed in a separate post all by itself.

Regards
Sutripta

I test drove the T-Fort last week-end, and:

1. Ride quality: Fantastic. Really soaked the bumps. No judder. The car had about 27k on the odo.
2. Scuttle shake - I guess this is the rear getting out of hand on hard braking. Does not happen. ABS does its job.
3. Brakes: No fuss braking. I did 100 and came to an absolute stand-still without a screech. The brakes were very reassuring.

Toyota has done its job of fixing the niggles rather quickly. If an upgrade from the Scorp or the Safari - its the T-Fort all the way. I just wish they gave some more goodies in the interior - would have really completed the package.

[suman]

Originally Posted by Guderian

One funny thing I noticed was that when you hold the brake it holds, does the job it was asked to and after a few milli seconds later your foot starts sinking again as though you are stepping on marshy land.

Thanks for reinforcing what I felt during my Test Drive

Nobody believed me when I said this, although I probably didn't express myself as well

[n.devdath]

Thats a nice update Guderian, or shall I call you Admiral now??!!!

You pretty much echo my feelings after a few extended drives with the T Fort to Ooty, Mysore and a few other places. It somehow doesn't feel as comfortable from a driver's angle when compared to the Scorpio due to its thin steering wheel, low seating position, and that diesel roar intruding into the cabin at most times, at least in the city.

What are your observations on the headlights, again compared to the Scorpio and otherwise?

But then, there is no other SUV at this price range which can come close to it when it comes to reliability, low TCO and most of all, longevity.

Sighh...I wish I could buy the completely "Made in Japan" Prado.

[ACM]

Guderian congrats, superb write up, loved your narration style and attention to detail.

The photographs seen here are the most detailed and unique views and angles of the insides of a vehicle.

Wish you a lot of happy (s)miles. And do keep the updates coming.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by suman

Thanks for reinforcing what I felt during my Test Drive

Nobody believed me when I said this, although I probably didn't express myself as well

You know, it is things like this and a few other things mentioned by Guderian that make me feel that our own Scorpios and Safaris are actually very very close to the T-Fort in most areas. Wot say?

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I test drove the T-Fort last week-end, and:
......

Hi,
Thanks. But would also like to hear from people who use it on a daily basis.

Scuttle Shake:- Result of insufficient torsional rigidity.

Regards
Sutripta

[Manuuj]

Hi Guderian!

First things first..have rated your thread a full 5 Stars. It is a wonderfully written and superbly witty peice with very well taken pictures.

Ricky would have guessed that you are a Yoga Teacher instead of an Advertising Executive or Lawyer if he had seen the angles from which you have clicked the Admirals innards.

My absolute favorite is the one in which 'the Admiral' is growling at the Captiva from across the road.

Congratulations on the acquisition of the Fortuner. I am very confident that you will have many years of Happy Milecrunching and be prepared to be surprised by the low mainatainence costs. (Though parts like wing mirrors are horridly expensive as i found out recently much to my disdain)

Silver was the right color choice as i feel it is harder and less prone to scratches and swirl marks than the Mica White of my Fortuner.

I will suggest you upgrade your music system to the Pioneer P4250 or any equivalent full screentype system and have a rear view camera installed. It really is a boon and makes reversing a breeze. Its also very useful in seeing small animals behind the car or as in my case once a tiny child frolicking in my intended trajectory.

Do also get used to the looks from PYT's! They somehow still keep coming and now i am harboring the delusion that it may have something to do with me rather than my beast.

I have had mine since December 2009 and it makes me smile whenever im driving it. Even the FE figures are a revelation with the Fortuner once returning upward of 14.3 kmpl on a particularly lazy 380 km drive.

My Thread is "White Toyota Fortuner TRD..25,000 Wonderful Kilometers"
though i must warn you i had no hand in making my Fortuner look like a Punjabi Lala meets Bihari Politician meets LA Pimp.

I wish you many miles of happy motoring ahead, do keep the posts coming!

I look forward to seeing more pictures and updates of the Admiral.

[blackbeast]

Congratulations for the lovely Fort. My Last 30 min were interesting, thanks to those five pages and elaborated driving experience.

One question though, Do you really feel Fort is worth twice the money you put on scorpio/safari. I do know that few things like premium image, Awd cannot be measured here. But from a practical stand point, do you feel your money is well spent ?

I'm advising someone in my family to book a vento and wait for 2011 safari which would workout the same price.

[creative420]

I wanted to write more, but my boss just shouted at me for spending too much time on TBHP.

Awesome car. Awesome review. Awesome writing. 5 stars (wish there were 7).