[Wanderers]

Toyota Fortuner-4X2 MT: Initial Ownership Experience

I never thought that I would be buying a Toyota Fortuner, even though I always liked it as a full fledged SUV. As you would see later in this thread, there was no rational behind my car choice but life is full of irrational impulsive forces & desires and we human just playing our part.

The list of Probables & Final Choice

After selling Honda City-2nd Gen way back in 2008, we had planned for a smaller car for city use and a bigger Car/SUV for long distance & Holidays. The Swift Vxi was immediately bought as a replacement of Honda City but the bigger Car/SUV never found it place on shopping list. Self reasoning like two new car back to back-No way, did play for some time. Later on other investment decision, Job change and shift from Gujarat to Delhi-NCR kept my bigger Car/SUV plan aside.

Nevertheless, being a Car enthusiast. I always looked for test drives and reviews of new launches. At any point of time I always had a short list of Cars/SUVs, which I would love to have but this was followed by long list of personal constraints.

Well things did settle down by August 2012 and I started looking for options seriously. The following were the probables.

1. Ford Ecosports
2. Renault Duster
3. XUV 500
4. Safari Stome
5. Aria
6. Innova
7. Volkswagen Jetta (Diesel)
8. Skoda Laura (Diesel)
9. Skoda Yeti

List pretty exhaustive but surprisingly Toyota Fortuner was nowhere on the list. Reason- anyone’s guess. Yes, I was looking for Car/SUV under 15 Lakhs.

I would have gone ahead and bought Ecosports but it was yet to be launched. You will be surprised to know that all the Delhi Ford dealers had my name in first 10 interested person and at some point, I even though of paying a token advance but dealers started taking such booking only after March 2013, by the time my interest had slow down and decided to wait to see the actual Car.

I personally never liked Renault Duster but every thing changed the day my Cousin from Jharkhand asked to me to book a Duster for him in Delhi as there was no Renault dealer in Jharkhand (March-2013). I drove the car for him before booking & fell in love with it. Ride comfort of Duster impressed the most. Also I liked the under steering control for music & phone better than steering mounted ones. (Its easier to pull than push)

I liked the XUV 500 for its value propositions along other USPs. But my in-laws in Jharkhand had bought XUV 500 in June 2012. Duster & XUV 500 was struck off to avoid owning the same car in our near family.

As such I do get to drive both the Cars quite frequently as both were bought from Delhi and I have access to them during my holidays back home.


We decide against Skoda or Volkswagen due to unavailability of dealers in the regions of our travel. Also these car have low GC, which was again a big negative for us. As such they are great cars to own.


Somehow I liked the old Safari more and hence did not go for Safari Storme, even though it’s a totally different car altogether. Also, I liked Innova more than Aria and this brought me to Toyota Showroom, where things took a new turn.

I asked for Innova road-test but there was no Innova for Road-test. The sales guy offered me the test-drive of Fortuner and I went for it.

Fortuner pleasantly surprised me with the ease it moved & maneuvered on Busy Delhi-Mathura Road. Well Fortuner looks always impressed me but it was only the price, which had kept my mind away from thinking about it. I never had great affinity for Car interiors & comfort features. It’s the engine and gear-box, which kicks me in.

For a driver from the era & place of narrow 2 lane roads, where overtaking required great deal of judgment & experience, A Torquey car always had advantage.
Well mind started working towards Fortuner and all positives like finances, parking space & most importantly, a big yes from my better half fell in place and one fine day I decided to call Toyota Dealer for final price, discount & booking.

I had to drop the plan with broken heart, when the sales-man informed me that the delivery normally takes 3-4 months. Another Dealer in Noida had indicated 5-6 months.

I could not imagine waiting for a Car for 4 months, so back to square one, I started waiting for Ford Ecosports launch, which was expected anytime in June 2013.
By this time, I had seen Ford Ecosports, put on display at various malls in Delhi. So to avoid waiting I agreed to pay informal booking advance one coming Monday.


But the Destiny had been Fortuned. The very Sunday, Times of India- Noida times announced the opening of second dealer in Noida and I rushed to it very same day.

Without showing my excitement, took another exhaustive test drive and asked the sales man, when can he deliver. He tried to gauge my seriousness and I showed him a cheque leaf, Pancard copy & address proof. In in next 15 minutes, I was filling up the booking form in front of Head of Sales, who was pretty happy talking to me as it was quite a new dealership.

It came out clear that Toyota allot cars & monitor sales for each dealership independently and did offer me a 4X2 MT from next upcoming lot by June’13 end. Automatic, 4X4 & darker shades had a waiting period ranging from 1 to 3 months.

At one instance, I did thought of going for automatic for Delhi traffic but never thought of 4X4, which made famous by Gurus at Team-BHP, would have been my choice, If I had read them before.


I did the Pre-delivery inspection of the Car, however, I did not get many to choose from as I wanted the one without any forced accessories and there was only one of its kind.

I checked the date of manufacturing. O Dear, it was only 14 days old. I gave my nod after further check on all tires, underbody, corners and Engine Bay. It had 6 km shown on Odometer and hub caps were still packed and kept in box under arm rest. I also noted the Chassis number & Engine number as Insurance was on my account, a pre-condition for booking.
The Sales Head did try to match my Insurance quote but I preferred mine as it was more reputed & bigger name.


Later on, I asked the dealer to install side cladding and 3D Mats. Side cladding at Rs. 26,000 approx was costly but I wanted them for it's looks & protection. Well the 3D mat at Rs. 2800 was cheaper than fabric mat Rs. 3900 (both without boot piece) and it was better than 3D mats available in market as color and size was very specific to Fortuner.

Total Cost: 25 Lakhs (approx)
Outside Accessories
Rear Bumper Chrome Bar: Rs 3200/-
Chrome Exhaust: Rs.900/-
Chrome garnish for Display meters: Rs.1100/-


I received my Toyota Fortuner, Superior White color, in the 1st week of July, even though it was ready by June end as I had to travel for my job.

The Fortuner Comes Home



To be continued……..

[Wanderers]

Before moving on to "Driving Experience" please see the photo shoot of the Model in question.

To get a better image, I took the Car to a open parking Area. My Basement parking does not give a feel to the Car. However some photographs are from the basement parking Area.

This photo shoot is very recent and exclusively for this thread so take a look at as a 9 month old car.

The 9 month old boy out for the photo shoot near an orchid.



Main View


The side-View


Another Angle I love to see it.



Proud to display the Team-BHP Sticker & my Handle



Another View


The Rear View



The Top View


The Head light with washer. I love the Low beams. High Beams do have some problem during high speed driving. But it can be solved (explained later)




Well placed Fog Lamps


The Alloy Wheels- Easy to clean


Some Indoor close up


Proof that I am indeed driving a Fortuner. I had to show this to one of my elders back home otherwise he would not believe it.


So called blind mirror (I think so), very useful during in & out of the parking slot as well as while changing lanes, to see some road hugging cars and others.
I only installed a piece on left side and kept the other one spare. I could not find any use for it on the right side.



To be Continued......

[Wanderers]

Moving on to Interiors

In a sentence, you may say that there is nothing great to look at or its another Innova upgrade.

But God lie in detail and Prasadam can never satisfy the Hunger.
Let the Hunger remain & feed on some other Car & their reviews. Some mortals are happy with the given and appreciate every bit of it.

The Dashboard: It does have some curves and chrome lining along with dark fakewood inserts and I find it better than premium poly carbonate ones. The two tone dashboard & interiors are better than the fully beige. The front windshield being narrow in width, would be half occupied by reflection of beige dashboard so its good to have grey on top.

Also the steering is easy to hold. Fakewood on steering looks lovely but may be a problem to hold during long trips due to sweating.



The display. The chrome garnish is an after market one.


The ICE plays good music at lower & medium volume but bass effect is missing. I plan to install woofers but keep the Head unit same as its Dolby decoding is really good. Moreover an after market head unit (except MapmyIndia or some imported ones) will not match the curve around the Head unit opening.

I really miss an in-built Navigation system. I could find from South African Hilux forum that the there are head unit which looks similar but has in-built Navigation system.



The ICE playing a original Dolby DVD. Resolution is good for mid day & backseat viewing. More Important as we can't have shades or curtains.



The display during night


The FE figure for April. I normally Reset once a month or before a highway trips



The window controls & Central locking. Auto-locking activated and driver door can always be opened from inside (overrides central lock)


The rear View. I know that Polythene cover should be out. I will do this during 10,000 service.


Clear view


Side View


3D Mat. From Toyota Dealer itself.
Please note that 3D Mat eats into the Clutch full pushed length and I need to press the clutch hard on the mat. Initially, I thought the gear box has a problem.


Rear most seats. They always remains half-folded. I did it more for aesthetic looks as the hanging seats looks odd to me and also cover the entire rear quarter glass. I know now that this the standard practice at Team-BHP for other reasons as well.


The Key to Fortune. Its the same as Innova. 4X2 does not have the red panic alarm button. The key in enclosed in a silicon cover bought from ebay.in


To Be continued.......

[Wanderers]

Initial Driving: Break-In

Driven by books & Manuals, I gave lot of importance to initial break-in period of all my new cars. Hence I drove the Fort carefully during first 600 km. I did not take it out for any highway trip and confined my driving to city. Noida- Gurgaon office travel gave a good opportunity for break-in. I varied speed, changed gears quite often and never shot above 100 Km/h.

Official Vehicle on Move (Noida-Gurgaon)

Start your morning with "Dakshina". The Toll-both at Noida (It's worth the wait)

Another View


Luxury Cruise (At least in the Morning) Delhi-Noida Toll Road is one of the best part of my morning drive. Enjoy as it goes.

Be in your Lane.


Traffic is not a infrastructure problem in Delhi-NCR. It's we people who make it.



FE figures after monthly/periodic RESET somewhere in Delhi.


Till you arrive at this Juncture and FE starts dropping like it's scolded by Jumbo jets on its landing approach. (Runway starts perpendicular to this NH-8)


Get informed



Arrive in Style



Getting into the Car Experience now.

The Engine & Gear-box

As it turned out, the torquey nature of the Fort makes it partially automatic in city and you decide to change the gear only to be a driver by books. The car performs like an automatic in 3rd gear and you only need to change gear during start stop. If you miss to change the gear before the climb from the basement parking, you would only notice it during next change.

The Fort can pulls from anywhere, although I never practiced it except for few instances, (when I get busy on ICE or phone) as gear-box or the engine would not shout for the gear change.

The engine has a prominent sound, remarkably audible in the basement parking but the size does matter. Also the engine bay does not have sound/heat insulation and noise easily reaches cabin. I did not find vibration to be a cause of worry, only the long gear-stick vibrates, sometimes abruptly and middle of nowhere. Surprising it does not vibrate during idling.



Ride Comfort & Handling

Enough has been said about the ride comfort of the Fort and I believe it to be true. I learned driving on an Indian Jeep and have come up very far but still expecting a back sit comfort of a Sedan in a SUV, is like asking for Elephant HAUDA (Seat) on a Stallion back.

But then there are people, who complain of stiff ride on Honda City (2nd & 3rd Gen) and they would certainly find the Fort bouncy. Lot of it has to do with high GC coupled with ladder frame construction.

On positives, it eats pot holes & speed breaker like the temple-run game. Maintaining decent speed is the key here. I have now bought a Tire pressure Gauge (digital) to maintain 30 psi pressure all around to get best out of the ride.

Believe it or not, as big as it may look but once in a driver seat, you may tend to forget the size of it and for primarily a Swift driver, it turned into a small car on big wheels. The steering is small & precise. At 1840 mm width, its less than XUV 500 and all D segment cars and overtaking in tight slots is not a problem.

Also 4X2 turning radius (5.7 m) is lesser than 4X4 (5.9 m) and it helps while driving into my tight parking place in the basement.



Interiors & Features

Move from XUV to a Fort and features loving Indian would cry like babies deprived of their feeder bottles. There is nothing great to mention except that whatever Toyota have included in the list, are full-proof, tried & tested before put into production version and are easy to operate. For example, you will never face any connection or sound problem with blue-tooth. The sound quality & micro-phone is excellent for talking from the middle row as well.

Initially I did not like to A/c Controls but it's idiot proof and defaults are India specific and you don’t have to do jugglery with the settings. The unit returns to standard re-circulation & front vent mode unless you want to keep your setting unchanged.

Motorized driver seat adjustment is a way above the manual adjuster of XUV. This is perhaps the only feature (and may be the headlights), which a Fort owner can boost in front of heavy-breasted XUV owner. There is no memory function in seat adjuster.

As said before, I really liked the ICE. I have read that this looks more like an aftermarket addition but if you look below the ICE, Toyota has given long horizontal chrome strip insert, which is in sync with chrome boundaries of the ICE display. The bass effect is definitely missing from the ICE. Try to watch a original DVD with Dolby and you are in for better experience. In future, I would like to upgrade the speakers & install a woofer with amplifier/s.

Also I bought an aftermarket chrome garnish around the optitron meter display and the whole arrangement looks better than some of the black beauty ICE.



Safety Features, Horns & Lights

The missing side airbags tell us that the Fort is not suppose to be a speed cruiser and should be driven accordingly. I made extensive use of ABS during long trips and did find it trust-worthy.
Enough has been said about the Fortuner brakes. I tend to agree that disc brake should be at the rear as well.
Is is something to do with the radial brake forces in drums Vs axial brake forces in a disc ?

Fort with high GC may tend to roll with axial forces as compared to pitching with radial forces in drums. Rolling would be worse than pitching.

(Points to Ponder for all the readers)


Horn is definitely not OK and would like to upgrade. Also the horn-pad is not easily accessible but its turning out to be the case with all the cars having steering mounted controls. Horn is just an emergency feature in developed nation so the car makers do not design it for frequent use.


All Fort owners know that its low beam (HID) is excellent but high beam keeps asking for more.

While driving very early morning on Yamuna Expressway, I had to slow down as I found that high beam could not reach up to a safe stopping length.

While returning late night, I lowered the seat to minimum and Voila, I was able to see further up the road and thereafter I do the same during night driving on highways. As such low seating is more comfortable during long drives and I only raise the seat in city driving for better view around the front.



Mileage

All Mileage figures reported are from MID. I understand that actual may be little less but could not do tank to tank method check. Initially I got between 10-11 km/l during city drive. It improved to 12-12.5 after sometime. On highways, I always got 13+ and best FE figures till date has been 15.6 Km/l. During this winter, I constantly got 13.6 km/l without A/C.



Service

I completed two services, at 1000 & 5000 Km interval and have nothing new to write. I opted for express service by appointment and got the car back within an hour.
I did not pay anything as everything was covered under free service. Nothing much required to be done except checks, top-ups & filter cleaning. I had a problem with front left wiper. The metal strip had come out and asked for replacement but the technician repaired it by putting the metal strip back in position and it’s still working well. Having said that, I find that wiper design is quite basic and newer car have better designed wipers. But Fort wipers are under Rs. 1000 each.



To be Continued……

[Wanderers]

First Highway Cruising


After clocking 650 KM, I decided to go for a highway drive and a day visit to Vrindavan was planned. I deliberately took the Mathura Road instead of Yamuna Expressway. This was more to avoid tempting high speed & more important constant speed driving. NH-2 gave lot of variation and we could maintain speed well below 100.

During the return Journey, I handed over the wheels to my wife and she obtained the magic FE figure of 15.5 till Palval. This is the Best FE (on MID) received till date

First Long Distance Travel: Delhi-Bokaro-Kolkata-Patna-Delhi (Diwali Vacation 2013)

Total Distance covered (approx): 3600 Km
Overall FE: 12.2 Km/h


Due to nature of my job, the Fort largely remained parked for next 2 months with occasional trips to office and covered only 1700 Km till end of Oct-13. This is the reason I would like to change to synthetic engine oil at 10,000 KM service (first oil change). I use Synthetic oil in my swift and it helps the engine fire without any problem after long hibernation and also helps during short distance, frequent start-stop drive normally taken by my wife.


I was excited about my first long distance trip even though I have done this stretch 4 times. May-13 itself, I had driven the duster to Bokaro. Also In June-12, I had driven the newly bought XUV 500 all the way. Only difference, during each time earlier, we were two drivers. My cousin/brother-in-law and myself. This time it was only me with my wife to give company on wheels.

My 11 years son took the back seat laced with all gadgets & games. He makes full use of USB charging for his PSP without bothering to look around as we use to do during our childhood journey in car or train. Things have changed.


On both the earlier occasions we had covered Noida- Bokaro, a distance of 1220 Km in a day and planned to do this time as well. But I had kept the option of staying overnight at Varanasi, in case tiredness kicks-in. I had heard all the stories about Fortuner not comfortable for long trips. Added by personal experience that Duster & XUV 500 is definitely more comfortable to sit & may have been easier to drive as well.
I could not really bring out the comparison but we completed this Journey in 16.45 hours, 1211 km as seen on Fort tripmeter.


We started early at 4:45 AM to avoid Noida Expressway traffic as it was the weekend of F1 racing at BIC. Forget about traffic, we did not even see a police patrol on the highway. Slightly Foggy morning had taken everyone by surprise and I had to wake the guy at toll-booth for payment. We saw the day light gradually breaking-in at the end of YE and continued without much traffic till Etawa.
Since it was an early morning, we did not come across any traffic in Firozabad. Etawa- Kanpur section had been undergoing 6 laning but we only had to slow down on approching culverts and village flyovers under constructions. Traffic considerably increased about 40 km before Kanpur. Post Kanpur it was as good as GQ was expected to be.


I gave the wheels to my wife on Allahabad bypass and we crossed Varanasi by 3 PM. We stopped for late lunch & combined evening tea and decided to move on to Bokaro, another 425 Km to go. I slowed down considerably, when darkness pitched in as we were not in hurry, having driven more than 2/3 of our journey. Also I had started feeling little tired.


In other place a quick stop & tea would have helped but I was crossing a Naxal belt and never felt like stopping at a Dhaba with the family. We had enough to munch & drink in the car itself. But I did stop twice to wash my face with water at some deserted place. In Naxal Areas, I feel that places such as small Dhabas & Highway Petrol pumps are not as safe as some truly deserted stretch, provided you have traveled the road before, preferably during day and stop is brief.

I am sorry that I do not have any photograph for this Journey but for NH-2 GQ drive there is nothing new to see except all that have been part of Team-BHP Travelogues.

Bokaro - Kolkata & return Journey via Patna were in pieces and nothing great to write about it. I loved driving to Kolkata after a long time. It was a home coming to a place, where I was brought up, learned driving and owned my first two cars.

Post Diwali started from Patna at 1:00 PM with a plan to stop at Allahabad but my wife & son fell asleep and I kept driving and reached Noida by 4:00 AM, next morning.



That’s end of the story for time being. I plan to do Kashmir or back to Gujarat this summer and would surely bring the best through a photo travelogue.

[mints21]

Congrats Wanderer for the car. I wish you miles and miles of safe and pleasant driving moments with your car.

I noticed that you have hidden the car registration number but the picture which shows your handle and Team-Bhp LTD sticker shows your registration number.

You may request mods to edit, if you feel like.

All the best.

[getsurya]

Hi Wanderers,

Congratulations and a great picture laden ownership report. Great to see that you are enjoying your beast for both the in city and on the highway drives.

Any other accessories in last few months, that you have added to the Fortuner?

Happy Motoring!

[drmohitg]

Congratulations on your new ride. Its the best SUV to own in our country this side of 30L. I do feel you should have opted for AT variant as it really makes your life so much easier especially in the Noida-Gurgaon office traffic that you seem to drive through a lot.
Any reasons for not considering the same? Or even the 4X4?

Also what made you drop the Innova without even a TD? Its a equally good mile cruncher and offers more comfortable seating at the same time.

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by mints21

Congrats Wanderer for the car. I wish you miles and miles of safe and pleasant driving moments with your car.

I noticed that you have hidden the car registration number but the picture which shows your handle and Team-Bhp LTD sticker shows your registration number.

You may request mods to edit, if you feel like.

All the best.

Thanks a lot Mints21.
Oh! I missed that but I think, it's better to be silent than to go for correction.

Originally Posted by getsurya

Hi Wanderers,

Congratulations and a great picture laden ownership report. Great to see that you are enjoying your beast for both the in city and on the highway drives.

Any other accessories in last few months, that you have added to the Fortuner?

Happy Motoring!

Thanks getsurya,

I read all your post till date on Fortuner and can't match level of accessories your BOSS has.

I did not add anything since purchase.
But I would like to go for Speakers & Amplifiers- one or more.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Congratulations on your new ride. Its the best SUV to own in our country this side of 30L. I do feel you should have opted for AT variant as it really makes your life so much easier especially in the Noida-Gurgaon office traffic that you seem to drive through a lot.
Any reasons for not considering the same? Or even the 4X4?

Also what made you drop the Innova without even a TD? Its a equally good mile cruncher and offers more comfortable seating at the same time.

Thanks a lot Dr.
Well I did not write much about Innova in my thread but I have driven Innova (1st Gen) 2006-2008 in Gujarat (Company provided).

Since I loved this Car, I wanted to own one.

In 2011 Jan I also booked a Innova at Baroda with 3 months waiting (without accessories was my condition) but cancelled it as I started getting idea for job change & shift to Delhi by March 2011.

It was matter of routine that I asked for Innova TD at Delhi Dealer even though I was game for it.

Diminishing price difference between Innova (V) & Fortuner forced me think about Fortuner. So far affordability was the main factor keeping me away from my wish car.

I have not driven Fortuner auto but I really need a manual box on Indian Highway. But Yes during evenings, returning back from Gurgaon, the left leg does suffer due to frequent clutching.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[dean5545]

Congratulations on the Manual and the fastest Fortuner available(4x2 mt is faster than 4x4 and 4x2 auto.)Good you didn't go in for the auto,I feel its no match to the 3.0 ltr also the dsg's have spoilt me.

Have you tried launching the truck,meaning give it the revs till 2k rpm and then releasing the clutch?
Doesnt work well inthe 4x4 but should be fun inthe 4x2 mt.
(word of caution:try doing in a safe environment with no cars around.)

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by dean5545

Congratulations on the Manual and the fastest Fortuner available(4x2 mt is faster than 4x4 and 4x2 auto.)Good you didn't go in for the auto,I feel its no match to the 3.0 ltr also the dsg's have spoilt me.

Have you tried launching the truck,meaning give it the revs till 2k rpm and then releasing the clutch?
Doesnt work well inthe 4x4 but should be fun inthe 4x2 mt.
(word of caution:try doing in a safe environment with no cars around.)

Hi Dean 5545,

Thanks a lot for your good wishes

No I did not try it. Well we have done it on the bikes during our college days and sometimes on my old Zen but I have come out of those times.

Also its not advisable for a peppy truck on the city traffic.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by dean5545

Have you tried launching the truck,meaning give it the revs till 2k rpm and then releasing the clutch?

Launch control Eh?!

Originally Posted by Wanderers

No I did not try it. Well we have done it on the bikes during our college days and sometimes on my old Zen but I have come out of those times.

Also its not advisable for a peppy truck on the city traffic.

I appreciate your reply and the maturity!

One question:

How does the hood scoop fare in city driving? Does it affect visibility/judging?

Anurag.

[dean5545]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Hi Dean 5545,

Thanks a lot for your good wishes

No I did not try it. Well we have done it on the bikes during our college days and sometimes on my old Zen but I have come out of those times.

Also its not advisable for a peppy truck on the city traffic.

Your welcome!
I too wasn't talking about doing on public roads,sorry if I sounded a bit dangerous.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Launch control Eh?!

Not exactly what I meant was something like this
Not to mention,of course in a safe environment.

[Sommos]

Many congratulations Wanderers for the Fortuner.
Wish you many happy miles with the Fortuner and would love to go through your TL in the future.
Enjoy your ride and drive safe.