[Aditya]

MG Gloster

What you'll like:

• Huge & imposing size! Bigger than even the likes of the Fortuner and Endeavour
• Splendid long-distance mile muncher. The Gloster is built for expressway cruising. Just set the adaptive cruise control and let the Gloster waft along
• ADAS safety features such as autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitor and lane change assist are cool & work well
• Suspension is tuned for comfort. Gloster owners will enjoy its ride quality
• Spacious cabin with captain seats at the back and a usable third row too!
• Interior ambience is nicer vs the competitors which are utilitarian in comparison
• Loaded with features - panoramic sunroof, 12.3" touchscreen ICE, driver seat with massage function, 360 degree camera, three zone climate control, PM 2.5 air filter etc.
• 343 liter boot even with the 3rd-row seat being used

What you won't:

• Engine and gearbox tuning are shockingly terrible inside town. Turbo lag and the gearbox's reluctance to downshift make things awful in city traffic
• Massive size can be a handicap in urban India. Quite cumbersome in tight areas
• While the interior looks premium, you know it is not as well-built as a Toyota or Ford
• Top-end Savvy variant is optimistically priced at par with the well-established Fortuner & Endeavour
• Savvy variant doesn't get the 3-seater bench option for the middle row. Captain seats = 2 occupants
• 4,000 rpm redline is too early. Engine has a very narrow powerband
• Urban fuel economy is mediocre due to the power & fat kerb weight
• Twin-turbo diesel, 8-speed AT & gizmos bring a lot of complexity. Long-term reliability is unknown (unlike the Fortuner & Endeavour)

Review Link

Toyota Fortuner

What you'll like:

• Contemporary styling & imposing street presence
• Tough build. Toyota body-on-frame UVs are known to have very long lives
• Powerful diesel and smooth petrol, with user-selectable driving modes too
• Interiors are much improved. Cabin is practical & user-friendly
• Loaded with features like Bi-beam LED headlamps, powered tailgate, paddle shifters & more
• Impressive offroad capability (by big SUV standards)
• Top-notch safety kit. 7 airbags, ABS, ESP, TC, hill assist, ISOFIX & 3-point seatbelts for all
• Toyota's excellent after-sales quality, fuss-free ownership experiences, low service costs & up to 7 years of extended warranty coverage

What you won't:

• Pricey! More expensive than the better-equipped & equally-competitive Ford Endeavour
• Missing sunroof, auto-dimming IRVM, lumbar adjustment, front parking sensors, auto-wipers etc.
• Ride quality – although improved – is still far from plush. You’ll feel the bumps
• Cost-cutting in a couple of areas; some interior plastics, ICE audio quality, camera display…
• Diesel’s short service interval of merely 5,000 km! Inconvenient for those with high usage
• Petrol variant is a guzzler. We saw merely 6 – 7 kmpl on the AT
• No longer a full-time 4x4. Also, 4x4 carries a Rs. 2.5 lakh premium on the MT (3 lakhs on the road)

Review Link

Ford Endeavour

What you'll like:

• A big all-rounded SUV with no real deal breaker. Fair pricing too
• Macho styling packs appeal. Solid build quality matches the butch presence
• Cabin is a nice place to be in. Likeable design, comfy seats & lots of storage
• The 2.0L diesel engine has “adequate” power and improved refinement levels
• New 10-speed AT is fantastic! And very smooth too
• Good balance between ride & handling for a body-on-frame SUV. Sweet steering as well
• Offroad ready - Terrain Management System, rear diff lock, 225 mm GC & 800 mm of water wading
• 5 star safety: ESP & TC, 7 airbags, roll stability control, hill launch assist etc.
• Loaded to the gill with features! Panoramic sunroof, 10 speaker ICE, powered tailgate & more
• Owners of the current-gen Endeavour have reported good reliability with their steeds

What you won't:

• 2.0L diesel simply doesn’t have the muscle, punch & soundtrack of the old 3.2L motor
• India doesn’t get the twin-turbo 210 BHP / 500 Nm version. Period
• Fortuner's cabin is roomier, offering more headroom & overall space
• Annoying feature deletions (e.g. headlamp washers) over the years
• Missing essentials (steering reach adjustment, tumbling 2nd row seat, paddle shifters)
• Ingress is difficult for the elderly / short folk. 3rd row access is terrible!
• Urban fuel economy is ordinary due to the fat 2410 kg kerb weight & AT
• No manual gearbox anymore. The Fortuner 2.8L 4x4 is available with an MT
• Weirdly, it’s now gotten heavier (despite a smaller engine) & has just 3 colour options!
• A bit uncertain of how the long-term after-sales will be, with the Mahindra-Ford JV

Review Link

The 2019 Facelift:

• Review Link

The 2020 2.0 Diesel Automatic:

• Review Link

Mahindra Alturas G4

Link to Short Review

[GTO]

Although I miss the lovely 3.2L motor, my choice in this segment would still be the Endeavour. The current 2.0L diesel engine is 'adequate', while the gearbox is really good. At second position would be the Fortuner or Alturas. The Gloster isn't my kind of SUV at all. The engine & gearbox are extremely important to me and if not done well, it's a deal-breaker right away.

[cool_dube]

The Endeavour would have been clear winner here, if not for the puny 2.0 lit engine. Having test driven both the Endeavour 2.0 and the Fortuner 2.8, I can reaffirm that there is no replacement for displacement. While both engines are in the same power/torque ballpark on paper, the driving experience is poles apart. While the Endeavour just about manages to keep afloat, the Fortuner is just brimming with power! This difference is further accentuated by the fact that the Endeavour (4x4 AT) is heavier than the corresponding Fortuner variant by more than a quarter of a ton!!

At the end of the day, it is the powerplant that matters to me the most, over and above everything! So, the Fortuner it is.

Edit: If the Fortuner facelift is launched with the 200 bhp/500 nm engine, then it is game over for competition!!

[Abhi5868]

Voted for the Fortuner.

Simply because it's the real OG and no I don't mean it in the Faridabad/Gurgaon sense(no offences meant). These SUVs are essentially trucks with some enhancement, meant to be durable. I know that Endeavour has proven to be extremely reliable till now, but only the Fortuner can go on and on after 2.5lakh KMs without the fuss. And I'd like my car to be that much reliable irrespective of my usage.

Also the facelifted Fortuner will have bumped up power figures, improved in car entertainment. Whereas Ford hasn't confirmed the BIturbo yet. Infact in the coming year it's biggest competitor is gonna be XUV500. Yes I know that's a lower segment, but then again the forum itself is filled with examples of consideration of these two together. Although Fortuner has got considerably pricier than those days.

[fastturtle10]

If I were to vote last year, my pick would easily be the Endeavour and its 3.2L engine. But with Ford deciding to go with a 2.0L once BS6 kicked in, my vote would go to the Fortuner. What initially attracted me to the Endeavour over the Fortuner were the features on offer and that wonderful engine. Post-BS6 the Fortuner with its stunning looks (I prefer the Fortuner's looks/road-presence over the Endeavour's), Toyota after-sales, reliability, and off-road capability easily takes the cake for me. Furthermore, with the uncertainty of Ford India's future, I rather play it safe post-covid time. Not a big fan of the Gloster and after reading the official review, the unsatisfactory engine+gearbox combination will end up as a disappointing purchase. I really do like the Alturas but resale value and demand are somewhat important for me so will pass on this as well.

[anumod]

I voted for Endeavour, even after having a so great engine, but for what it offers for what we pay. The cabin is superb silent with active noise cancelation, the Sync 3 is very superior to the competition. The sound quality of the music system is also better compared to Fortuner, thanks to the sub woofer and mid range. The 3 way climate control is very convenient. The semi automatic parallel parking was very useful in Hyderabad tight parking lots. Auto folding rear seats are also useful. In Bs6 , the engine is inferior to the 3.2, but the transmission is better in 2.0 . I hate the transmission in 3.2. So overall, I feel it is really value for money ..

[CEF_Beasts]

Voted for the Fortuner.

If Ford didn’t discontinue the Endeavour 3.2L it would have been my pick easily. Till then it’s the Fortuner all the way. The interiors of the Fortuner may not be to everyone’s liking, the engine is rough and the low speed ride is bumpy but the strong points of the Fortuner just overweigh the negatives. I am not a sunroof fan so not having one doesn’t bother me, where the Fortuner strikes is the GD 2.8L motor’s strong torque and power, reliable to the T, better interior space than the endeavour, more off-road friendly, there is a Fortuner for everyone manual automatic petrol diesel and 4X2 4X4 pick what ever suits you, and then the final and important thing for me after-sales. The biggest mistake Ford made is discontinuing the manual gearbox 4X4.

I hope the Fortuner’s 2.8L 204hp and 500Nm version makes it to India, the competition will completely be demolished!

In India at the moment the torquiest manual transmission car is the Fortuner’s 420Nm and the other one being the manual Porsche Boxter with an identical 420Nm!

About the Gloster, there will surely be initial buyers attracted to it but I feel it is just too gizmo loaded and the engine as mentioned is lazy at low speeds, the last thing you would want is being overtaken by smaller cars, Tata Aces in the city. I wonder if the 2L 218bhp and 480Nm is like this what would be the case with the 163bhp and 385Nm version coupled with it’s heavy weight.

[asit.kulkarni93]

It would have been the Endeavour if it was the 3.2L. Unfortunately it’s discontinued and the Fortuner makes a strong case. If the facelift Fortuner gets a higher state of tune and features then it’s bye bye Endy.

[peus017]

Voted for Fortuner. If I were in market shopping, there is not much difference between Fortuner and Endeavour, since both are head-on in the category. Toyota time and again has proved reliability and fuss free maintenance. So the vote goes to Fortuner.

[Turbolove]

Voted other. VW Tiguan Allspace seems far better to me, thats until the Kodiaq petrol comes out (gotta love the czech interior design). Unless I'm going rock crawling every weekend, the Tiguan can do almost everything these ladder frame suvs can do, whilst being way better to drive and not handle like a boat on the twisties.

[Zinda]

Voted for Fortuner. IMO, these points are in favour of the Toyota:
2.8 Litre engine
Fuss free ownership
Reliability and low cost of maintenance

I am okay to sacrifice the excellent 10-speed Auto transmission, Sunroof and superior cabin of Ford, for the peace of mind Toyota offers.

Price - 3 or 4 big ones don't matter much when all the options retail above 35L

[Sran]

Toyota Fortunner.

Because it has Manual Transmission. A day may come when AT's will be enjoyed in ghats, hills, twists and turns but those days are not now. Shifting gears at will and hearing the roar of the engine makes me smile. I rarely play music in my car (1 out of 100 times). I enjoy the sound of car's engine, that is my music.

[rahul_jo]

Voted for the Endeavour.

Honestly. The Gloster doesn't have the exterior LOOKS to match the Fortuner or the Endeavour.

It looks decent in pictures but then I saw one in reality and something about it just looked OFF.

And hey, maybe this segment of buyers don't want a glorified IPAD on wheels. Heck, the very INTERNET INSIDE badging kills it for me. It isn't a damn cyber cafe on wheels.

We have internet inside our phone's as well but you don't see APPLE, SAMSUNG bragging about it by putting a badge on top.

[Axe77]

I’m not naturally a customer for a 45 lakh SUV but if I had to choose:

Ordinarily, it would be the Endeavour all the way. If one goes the USED way the Endeavour makes even more sense since it is as good as the T Fort if not better but the T Fort holds its resale value better making the Endy a better bargain to buy used. Plus for the immediate / near future it gives you the opportunity to still buy a 3.2 variant which may not be too old yet.

HOWEVER, speaking of buying these today off the showroom, I am really disappointed with the engine downsize in this new avatar. It seems like Ford has essentially offered something slightly better than its previous lower spec engine and is now charging money comparable to the erstwhile 3.2 variant for it. This segment as it is does not provide outright performance compared to comparable sedans. If relevant to segment also the engine is merely “adequate” then its a huge red flag for me.

The other downer on the Endeavour is its relatively least comfortable back seat compared to MG and Toyota. This is the other big disadvantage of the Endeavour and one I would consider carefully.

For the engine alone, I would be inclined to pick the Fortuner. It has better torque, available over a broader RPM range, more outright power, paddle shifters (I really like paddle shifters - worth putting this in the PROs perhaps in the opening post). I only hope they take the 2021 iteration as an opportunity to improve the look and feel of the interiors to something more commensurate with their price point in India.

As a side note, I would add that I would not close my eyes to the MG from this list. However the known devil of poor engine / gearbox mating would definitely put me off in a BIG way. And I would want to see 3 - 4 years of their track record on reliability, maintenance etc.

If I had to make a decision today, it would likely be the Toyota Fortuner.

Side note:I have not personally driven these vehicles so I would add, given that my natural leaning would have been to the Endeavour, I would also personally want to drive both vehicles and “feel” their performance in the real world. If I feel I can live with the performance of the Endeavour or conversely its not like the Fortuner feels significantly more powerful when actually driving, then I would flip to the Endeavour perhaps.

[Sreesh1009]

Voted for the Fortuner. The Fortuner may not have a lot of features or tech inside it but I feels like a true SUV in every sense. It's stance, reliability, rugged looks, powerful engine (to get more horses with the Legender) and large fuel tank.

I'm satisfied with what it offers and am hoping the Legender launches soon.