[mdsaab]

This Rav4 sized SUV seems to fit the bill perfectly. Look forward to it.
and BTW top secret ~ My wife saw a X1 pass by today, and she actually said. Hey that looks nice. what is it? is that BMW.
I smiled at first and then said Yes it's the X1 remember i told you about.
The smile vanished when i remembered my earlier plan, Give the Civic to the parents and buy a diesel X1. Now that the Honda City is here. this plan will just have to wait.
So it's either a small hatch in a short while. or wait a little longer and get a nice set of wheels to keep me happy for years.
Tough choice mate!

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

...one of these days lets do the T-Fort drive together.

Hi Monaro,
Have sent you a PM. Catch it and...respond !

Originally Posted by mdsaab

...or wait a little longer and get a nice set of wheels to keep me happy for years.
Tough choice mate!

Hi mdsaab,
Not a tough choice at all.
Want a nice set of wheels to keep you happy for years ?
I have no hesitation in recommending a vehicle that was launched in August 2009.
One that was delayed by almost 5 years coming here. The same one which set the markets ablaze. The one that your truly drooled over for almost 1.5 years before he had the wherewithal to get one.

Which one ?
Arre...apro T - Fortuner, dikra !

Get one right away - for by middle next year or so the current shape is going to vamoose/change quite a bit.

And going by what I have seen, from the first rushes, the new one is not a patch on the current shape. Just love the current rather macho, 'throw me a dare' shape compared to the softer, gentler new shape.
And if it is the internal gizmos that you want from the new TFort then you can always replace the old with the new stuff very easily.

And if you delay - scratching your scalp in the meantime - you may miss getting the current TFort.

Nope, I haven't been recently employed/engaged by Uncle Toyota to push out current TForts in time for the new release !

And now don't tell me you weren't warned...

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi mdsaab,
Not a tough choice at all.
Want a nice set of wheels to keep you happy for years ?
I have no hesitation in recommending a vehicle that was launched in August 2009.

Guderian trust me i love the T-Fort to bits, but like i mentioned earlier the City has arrived and now plans to buy a new big car are on hold. Only a hatch in the horizon, and now even that too is on hold. Dilemma Dilemma.
Would love to have something like a Rav4 too.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by Guderian

1. Did the Tatas slime you out of a fog lamp ? Nope, guess not. That would have been a dummy switch to be used in case you install a front/rear fogs. But then in other vehicles there is only space for the switch and a hard case/point rather than a working switch to save costs.

And what other rear were you expecting to light up ?!!

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Hi Amit, - for all that matter, you might be missing only the bulbs. Tata might have done even the wiring - so, check if you can just plonk in a bulb.

I have never tried it on my Vista - will check.

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

@ Amitwlele: check with the AS guys. The switch must be for something else.

Hey General & other viewers of the TOGO channel apologies for going back to the topic of rear fogs. Had to update the thread with investigative reporting.
We had a T-BHP Dinner meet yesterday in Pune and perfect time to investigate the rear fogs along with fellow BHPians. And voila the button in the Vista for the rear fogs does indeed light up 2 red lights behind. It was embarassing to say the least that i noticed it after 2 years of ownership. Now the next target to find foggy roads to make use of them.

[mdsaab]

Hey Amit, so you did find them red fogs after all.
Bravo! So Tata did not take you for a ride.
Head over to Lavasa you are bound to encounter fog there.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

1. And voila the button in the Vista for the rear fogs does indeed light up 2 red lights behind.

2. It was embarassing to say the least that i noticed it after 2 years of ownership.

3. Now the next target to find foggy roads to make use of them.

Hi Amit,
Feels like a new car eh ? Now you can start a new ownership thread for your T-Vista - now with the rear fogs.

1. Oops.

2. " You are never too late or never too old to be embarassed." Old jungle saying.

3. Good one.

Have fun with the old/new foggies.

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Hey Amit, so you did find them red fogs after all.

...and guess what - he found them behind. The only place he didn't search for them !

[Guderian]

Cap'n From the Bridge...

Thankfully its weekend again. And time for some snaps from the streets of Mumbai...as seen from the bridge of a TFort...

Peacefully driving along this morning spotted this slouching creature:


Yeah, the Merc ML 320 - 4 Matic. For a long time drove side by side and could get a good look at the dimensions and compare it with the Admiral.



Its length is a wee bit shorter than TFort. And in the height and GC departments the TFort is far ahead.
Looks - the TFort looks far more menacing with a streetfighter's stance and the ML very gentle like a smiling dragon going about its way in a crouch.

The two vehicles had couple of empty stretches. Admiral was able to keep up and then some with the Merc despite the Merc's better power (224 Vs 168 BHP) and huge torque (510 Vs 343 NM). May be the driver was driving rather conservatively. Finally at the Mankhurd turn the ML peeled off.

Pity it was in the hands of a driver and not the owner.

And I was very happy and content sitting at the bridge of the Admiral and looking down at the ML.

And from the streets...a rainy day...



And here it comes:


Luckily the municipality (BMC) suddenly woke up and patched up the roads overnight.
And this is a brand new flyover requiring extensive patchwork:


Thankfully the FE too is crawling back to the earlier figures. But very slowly indeed.

[dkaile]

A little present for your great photos (you know why I am doing this) -



Does he also want to ask you something?


(Taken on my last trip to Rajaji National Park, Haridwar)

Thanks for all you are doing for this topic; Maybe Toyota should put you on their payroll for marketing the TFort...

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Cap'n From the Bridge...

And on return...

Perhaps I should go to this guy for my next set of rough and tough OTR tyres for Admiral ?!!


And now look at this idea...
"So what if I have lost the rubber ? I can still wipe my rear."
Looked like a saree or dress material piece. Ingenious temporary solution till the run to the VW- ASC. Or is it a permanent soloution and a new discovery in wiper technology ? Bosch wipers ? Rs. 2000 a piece ? Baaah !

Originally Posted by dkaile

1. A little present for your great photos (you know why I am doing this) -


2. Maybe Toyota should put you on their payroll for marketing the TFort...

Hi dkaile,
1. Many thanks for the lovely gifts ! They are for keeps. Have downloaded them. And am glad you reached the place you set out for.

2. Are you suggesting, indirectly, that I too come under the Lokpal Bill ?

[dot]

Spotted a Merc ML 320 (?) on the way to Mumbai airport. Was comparing instinctively with the Fort. Dont you think the D pillar looks very similar in both the vehicles.

Originally Posted by Guderian

And from the streets...a rainy day...

And our Innova was caught in a blind fury on the Lonavala-Khopoli bends. The wipers were totally useless even at max speeds. I was shocked. How do you compare the wipers of Innova and the Fort (bringing back an old topic, I know)

[noopster]

Nice comparo with the ML. Any idea why they badge it as 4matic? Surely it's not just a 4 speed AT .

I actually saw THREE of these outside the home of a rich builder near my place (same dude with the awesome stable of cars which has been making rounds of the internet). All in different colours too. No idea what was going on- maybe MB organised an event of some sort.

The Fort must be awesome to drive around in the monsoons. Sometimes when I'm dirving around with my nose seemingly inches from the ground in my low-slung sedan, I really feel the pang for an SUV!

[F150]

Originally Posted by noopster

Nice comparo with the ML. Any idea why they badge it as 4matic? Surely it's not just a 4 speed AT .

I actually saw THREE of these outside the home of a rich builder near my place (same dude with the awesome stable of cars which has been making rounds of the internet). All in different colours too. No idea what was going on- maybe MB organised an event of some sort.

May be 4WD and Automatic. Just a guess.

[mdsaab]

Ok here is my guess. For 4matic.
Its for all wheel drive, 4 of them, remember the spare is resting either in or on the boot.
And the sysytem engages automatically hence the matic part.
Hey Noops that means our cars are 2matic.
Being 2 wheel drives, with power to the wheels being transferred automatically by the torque convertor. LOL!

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dot

1. Dont you think the D pillar looks very similar in both the vehicles ?

2. How do you compare the wipers of Innova and the Fort...

Hi dot,
1. Quite true. Glass wrap around with the steel pillar hidden. Though the shapes slightly vary. With TFort's style looking better. Obviously !
2. Not sure about the Innova. But I find the TForts...or better still Admiral's...wipers rather adequate and good for the job. Even in blinding rain. Both f'd and stern wipers.

Originally Posted by noopster

1. Nice comparo with the ML. Any idea why they badge it as 4matic ?
2. The Fort must be awesome to drive around in the monsoons.

Hi Noops,
1. It's a 4X4 Automatic which is MB's patented AWD - design, released in 1986.
Read all about it here:
4Matic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2. Believe me Noops when I tell you - it is a delight. Not just any SUV but specifically the TFort. And why ? Because of all the glass around and the fantastic visibility. And during very heavy rains, when you are in the mountains - just park to the side and watch the water cascading all around you. Feel as though you are sitting in a glass house, on a deep rich sofa, with the fire burning away at the fire place, with your pet Labrador at your feet and a pipe waiting to be lit...and a glass of rich yellow ambrosia near by...
And you just don't feel like picking up even a stone. Why ? "Kyonki, Jaani, joh log sheeshe ke gharon mein rehte hain, woh doosron pe pathhar nahin phenkte !"
Ahem.

And of course the delight of having not much of electronics around you and with everything being mechanical. Nothing to beat that really in a vehicle, especially during the rains.

Originally Posted by F150

May be 4WD and Automatic. Just a guess.

Quite true sir.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Hey Noops that means our cars are 2matic.
Being 2 wheel drives, with power to the wheels being transferred automatically by the torque convertor. LOL!

Yoicks...
By that logic the cycle is a 1matic. With the power automatically transferred from the thigh convertor to the rear wheel.

And if there is an MB ML 320/350 or whatever with an air filter/intake problem - what would it be called ?

Asth-matic.

Incidentally I am told that the MLs have quite a few reported problems. And drivers in the US/elsewhere apparently are not very happy with the vehicle.