Wooo...this place has been certainly busy !
I haven't been posting anything here because nothing great to update. What with the Admiral merrily chugging along with the standard Toyota predictability and well...boredom. But must say that it is a welcome predictability and boredom - touchwood !
And life sails along on an even keel...and Admiral continues to be one bright sunbeam in life.
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Originally Posted by yaji Hi Guderian,
I have been a regular visitor to TOGO channel for quite sometime now (since the time i have been thinking of upgrading from my Scorpio CRDE) and I' am a big fan of the channel Reading your posts lighten up my day along with giving me lots of info on the T-Fortuner.
Does this feature alone justify the price difference of 2+ lakhs ? Rest of the features are all cosmetic (atleast to me) and hence the price difference is not justified except that its a new and supposedly facelifted model.
I also see that the last post on TOGO channel has been more than a month ago...i hope your sights will turn back here and i will get an opinion on my dilema |
Hi yaji,
Many thanks for being around here for a long time and for the kind words too.
Glad that you have finally decided to go in for the Fortuner. Without wanting to sound very biased - I must say that you are taking the right decision if your passion is driving all around the country side !
Coming to Classic Vs New Fortuner debate. Frankly as I see it the Rs 2 L difference in price has been brought about by - the increase in duties and change in base price due to the additional(?) features. The dealer may be wanting to get rid of Classic stocks and therefore could be offering the Classic at the prebudget prices. In Maharashtra there is an increase in the road tax as well for new diesel vehicles as per the new state budget. So the Classics purchased earlier do have an advantage and could hold their prices & demand well. But anyway that's besides the point...
As pointed out, yes I am a quite partial to the looks of the Classic compared to the facelifted one. But I would have liked to have the VSC feature in the Classic too as it is more of an essential/mandatory (?) safety feature on all vehicles sold in the US & Europe. Not able to fathom why it is not so in India - possibly because of the assumption by manufacturers here that driving on sleet/snow and slush is much lesser in India ? Would help, I guess, on rain splattered roads at high speeds...
But yeah not having it on the Admiral - I am not sure how much would it affect me ?!!
And with the VSC only available on the 4X4 MT...I am even more puzzled.
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Originally Posted by dot -Before HG comments, let me quip in quickly!
-We happened to drive the new Fortuner on a rocky off road area with and without the VSC. |
- Fast draw Senor dot !
- As I understand the VSC shuts off automatically in 4LL...so it is not for offroading but for stabilising the vehicle in slippery conditions though brake action/s.
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Originally Posted by akshay1234 At higher speeds, especially while taking turns it can be a lifesaver considering the Fortuner is not as stable as a sedan. It will also give the driver a little more confidence knowing there is one more electronic aid looking after his every move. |
Only in slippery conditions and situations where there is a perceptible loss of grip I thought ?
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Originally Posted by yaji I have had a very bad experience with an earlier scoprio of mine which had turned turtle whilst going down the tarmac and coming back up (going down happened because of an ST bus coming in the wrong lane from opposite side in a near blind turning and i had to get down from the road to avoid a head on collission). I consider myself very lucky to have survived that accident !
At that time i was probably at about 100 Kms speed (cant recall the actual figures till date as things were happening too fast and i did not have the time to glance at the speedometer).
One of the main reasons for going for a Fortuner now is this reason as i often see and hear Scorpios turning turtle on highways with fatal consequences for passengers.
I also happen to drive in slush once in a while during monsoons when i visit my farm which only has a kachha road for approach and can be a mess in the monsoons. |
yaji,
That experience of yours with the Scorp turning turtle appears to me not because of loss of grip but simply because of loss of stable equilibrium or the displacement of CoG and not because of slippery conditions. You went off road into low ground and when you pulled out the high CoG and speed did you in - not sure whether a VSC would have helped you there. As I understand the VSC would prevent you from skidding or loosing control on wet, slushy roads. Driving on kachha road - not sure of its value add as you'll anyway be driving slowly and the Fortuner has a much better road grip and stability than the Scorpio. But yeah the VSC is a good safety feature to have.
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Originally Posted by yaji Would you say that the price difference is justified for the VSC feature additions ? |
Overall yaji I would say one can't place the entire difference in price on the VSC but I understand where you are coming from - as the other facelifted items don't get your mojo bubblin'.
So if price indeed is a show stopper then go for the Classic Fortuner and be done with it and enjoy the ride is what I'd say !
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Originally Posted by Manuuj I own the Classic Fortuner and have over the last two and half years driven it in all kinds of conditions from slushy mud to flat tarmac. I have never felt like the car has been unstable at any speed or even when swerving to avoid collisions.
VSC is an important feature but i dont miss it in my vehicle. Go for the Classic i say and save the 2 lacs. I prefer the interiors of the Classic Fortuner also. Cheers.. |
Hey Manuuj,
Since you have the Range Rover and couple of other hot wheels and I am sure the Rangie would have the ESP gizmo - so could you compare the drive dynamics purely from the usefulness angle of that particular gizmo ? Or are you indeed talking from that perspective from the very outset ?
Ummm...what else ?
All's well...and have an almost 4500 KMs run planned for in the month of May.
Will be driving off deep down South to Bangalore-Trivandrum-Coastal Karnataka etc.
Boy am I & Admiral eagerly awaiting that long drive !