[PKG]

Graaja, great choice and thanks for the review after your road trips too. I got myself the same !! but MT and White. I wanted a Silver Fortuner but the dealer in Bangalore would not sell me one and was not offering any discounts for anything other than Black what you have and White and one off-white. I had posted also in the original Fortuner forum to check. I had no choice but settle for the White. The discount and offers were quiet a sum to ignore. I got more than 2 Lakhs discounts and offers. What was on-road of Rs. 50,78,000, was given to me at Rs.47,83,000. with all the extended warranties, everything on the pricelist.

Got the delivery beginning of this month and will soon be a month old. I wanted the MT variant. I like the control I have on the gears with MT specially on highways and while overtaking etc. Also I hope to get slightly better mileage. With just under 1K on the odo, the consumption figures show 9.5L/100KM with about 350 KM in Bangalore City and about 600 highway ride to my hometown near Chikkamagaluru. I still have not done a full tank to full tank which will do soon.. dealer mentioned to me MT on highways should give me more than 12-13 KMPL while AT's would not come close to 10 also. what has been your experience with all the nice long drives so far on mileage?
Some Pics of my big boy.









Dear Graaja, would like to know if you also got a under body protection done and also exhaust protection? Any suggestions..? should the exhaust not be part of the underbody package..? what would be different, yes, it gets heated more than other parts under !!.

PPF is one recommendation i got considering I too plan to make some long trips and to places with not so good roads etc. thanks,

How much did the tire upgrades cost you? I may end up asking you for a lot of suggestions, tips, ideas etc...

[graaja]

Originally Posted by PKG

Graaja, great choice and thanks for the review after your road trips too. I got myself the same !! but MT and White...

What has been your experience with all the nice long drives so far on mileage?

Dear Graaja, would like to know if you also got a under body protection done and also exhaust protection? Any suggestions..? should the exhaust not be part of the underbody package..? what would be different, yes, it gets heated more than other parts under !!.

How much did the tire upgrades cost you? I may end up asking you for a lot of suggestions, tips, ideas etc...

Hi PKG, thank you for the kind words, and Congratulations on your Silver Fortuner. I wish you tens of thousands of miles and smiles with the beast.

In the 7.5K kilometers I have driven, the total average FE stands at 9.7 kmpl. On most drives, my fuel efficiency is between 10 and 10.5. If there is heavy traffic or very bad roads, which require lots of braking and acceleration, the FE drops between 9 and 9.5. The worst I have had is 8.5. With highway driving at constant cruising, the FE goes up, the best I have seen is 11.5.

I got the underbody treatment done during the PPF work but did not get the details. I think they do not treat the exhaust.

The Pinzas cost 16.4K per tire. The factory HT tires were exchanged for 8K. So, I paid 8.4K net per tire.

PS: Apologies for the late reply. As I was traveling, I could not respond.

[graaja]

Weekend Drive to Agumbe:

As it has been quite some time since we went on a long family trip, we decided to use the long weekend during Diwali to drive to a nice location. I checked various options like Kadamane (from Dr.AD's travelogue), Meghamaili (from Megazoid's travelogue), and Valparai. But all these places were sold out.

That is when friend and fellow moderator KarthikK came to my rescue and suggested a couple of places that had rooms available. One was the Chidambara Vilas in Chettinad, and the other was Crepe Ginger Boutique Homestay in Agumbe. KarthikK has written about these places in his Ninja Z1000 ownership thread.

Ride to Enchanting Chettinad

Ride to CrepeGinger Boutique Homestay

As family wanted to visit some place among greenery, decided to go with Crepe Ginger. They had the cottage and the adjacent room available and booked these for two nights.

A big thanks to KarthikK for helping with the selection of the place of stay and providing route information and places to visit.

The Onward Journey:

As this was going to be a long drive (expected 12 to 13 hours including breaks), we left home early at 5:15AM.

With the third-row seat folded, the huge boot space easily accommodated all the luggage, with a lot of space to spare.


Took the usual Coimbatore - Sirumugai - Bhavanisagar - Bannari - Dimbham - Chamrajnagar - Nanjangud - Mysore for the first part of the journey. Thankfully, there were no traffic jams on the 27 hairpin bends in Dimbham ghats and we reached Mysore in about 4 hours.

Took the usual breakfast break at Hassanur.


A coffee break at CCD on Hunsur road after Mysore.




After Mysore, KarthikK recommended I take the following route: Mysore—Hassan—Belur—Jannapura—Mudigere—Balehonnur— Jayapura—Hariharapura—CrepeGinger. But I forgot to feed in Jannapura and Mudigere as waypoints, and Google put us through another shortcut route. The road was narrow and totally broken. I was saved by the Fortuner's bad road handling capacity here. The car just bulldozed through all these bad sections.

Lots of sections of unpaved roads with slush and water-logging.


A big part of the drive was through a single-lane broken road through plantations. I had to get down to the steep shoulder several times to let oncoming traffic pass.


We got stuck for almost 45 minutes in Balehonnur where there was some procession of hundreds of vehicles with Karnataka flags.








After Balehonnur, it started raining heavily. It was such a heavy downpour that the wipers could not manage even at the highest setting. We reached CrepeGinger late in the evening at around 6:30PM, with a total drive time of around 11 hours. The last 5 kilometers to the property is through a narrow road through the forest.

[graaja]

The Stay:

Crepe Ginger is located amidst forests. The property is maintained very well with rooms in a main bungalow and a cottage and another room a little away from the main bungalow. Rooms are tastefully decorated, with comfortable beds and clean bathrooms.

A few pictures of the property.

The main bungalow on a misty morning.


Another view of the main bungalow.


Common area in the main bungalow. We did not spend much time here as we had some good family time in the cottage itself.


The pathway from the cottage to the main bungalow with well maintained lawns and trees.


The main bedroom in the cottage.


Living room and the kitchenette.


The second bedroom.


The living room area was decorated with antique items.






One of the dining rooms. They had set up a nice candle light dinner on one of the nights.


The other dining room.




KarthikK had mentioned about a stream near the property where the staff serve snacks. But as it had rained the previous night, we did not venture near the stream as the kids were terrified of leeches

The Food:

The best part about the stay was the food and the support staff. There is a Nepali gentleman and a couple of Assamese ladies who prepare food. From traditional South Indian food like idlis, pooris, chicken chettinad to chines to continental dishes, the food was just fantastic. They even made a cheese cake to celebrate my birthday. They even make their own breads and buns. The staff were also very responsive to our needs. On the second day during lunch, I asked if they made any desserts. Looks like they had not planned a dessert for lunch (they served dessert for dinner). But the cook prepared served us hot kheer in under 15 minutes.

A few pictures of the yummy food we had.

The traditional food - idlis, vadas, akki rotis, pooris


The continental - pasta and garlic bread


The lunch spread - chicken biriyani, dal, rice, beetroot and ladies finger sabjis.


Fish fry - Goan style


Hot kheer


Cheese cake


Home made bread and jam


Overall, had a wonderful 5-star rated stay at CrepeGinger. Thank you once again KarthikK for suggesting this property.

[graaja]

Local Sight Seeing:

On Saturday, we visited a few nearby places - Sringeri temple, Kavi mane, Kavi shaila and Rameshwaraswamy temple in Theerthahalli.

Sringeri temple.






Kavi mane is the house where the famous Kannada poet Kuvempu lived. It was quite crowded when we visited the place.


Tried the Generative AI feature in light room to remove people from the picture. AI did a good job, I think!


A stone wall with several details of the poet.


Kavi Shaila is another nearby location where the poet Kuvempu used to sit and write his poems. They have created stone-henge-like structures, and it was a good place to visit.

Steps leading to Kavi Shaila.




Stone-henge-like structures.




Sri Rameshwaraswamy Temple, Theerthahalli.


The Return Journey:

On Sunday, after a homely breakfast, we checked out and started our return journey. This time, as suggested by KarthikK, took the route via Chikmagalur. This road was supposed to be in good condition. But the road condition has deteriorated a lot during the recent monsoons. About 80% was very good. But the remaining 20% was quite broken. There was also very heavy traffic as everyone was returning home after the long weekend. The Fortuner did very well in these sections, I was able to go with decent speeds over these bad sections where sedans were crawling.

We did a little better between CrepeGinger and Mysore compared to the onward journey. But the journey from Mysore to Coimbatore was bad. It started raining heavily after Chamraj Nagar, and visibility was very poor once it became dark. The LED lights in the Fortuner were very bad in wet road as all the light got scattered. The constant oncoming traffic with high beams did not help either. We reached home at 11 in the night to conclude this trip.

[graaja]

I will close this trip report with some pictures of the Fortuner clicked during this trip and my experience (likes and dislikes) driving it through various road conditions.

Car Pictures:

On Saturday morning, I had some time to shoot the Fortuner in the property's parking area. Here are a few pictures from this photoshoot.















This friendly dog wanted to be in the frame.


A few pictures of the Fortuner during the local sightseeing.

The smooth winding roads to Sringeri.


The single lane road through forest area to the property.




A few pictures of the Fortuner near a lush green paddy field in KR Nagar on the return journey.






The Experience with the Fortuner:

I will now summarize my experience with the Fortuner during this 1000-kilometer trip through various road conditions. Let me list the good first and then cover the bad.

The Good:

• The odometer is at 7.5K kilometers now, and I feel the engine is nicely opening up. It is more responsive to throttle input, and overtaking in 2-lane roads is getting easier.
  
• I am getting used to the body roll in the corners now. I have started slowing down while approaching corners and the body roll is very well-controlled. The Family also says they are much more comfortable in the Fortuner than the BMW where they used to get thrown around as I was usually aggressive in the corners
  
• Kids are super happy with the Fortuner. They love the comfort the second-row seat offers and the AC that chills the cabin quickly. In both the Jetta and the BMW, the AC performance was below average for the second-row passengers.
  
• I love the way the car flies through bad roads. I can cross potholed sections at 20 to 30kmph while sedans are crawling. Not long ago, I was one of those crawling through these sections.

The Bad:

• Though I like the way the car handles bad roads, the low-speed ride is still very bad. The car just crashes into deep potholes. The more I drive through these roads, the more I am thinking about getting a suspension upgrade. I am still not decided on which suspensions to go - road-biased suspensions like Tein, or off-road-biased suspensions like Toughdog.
  
• I can live with the suspensions, but the headlights need immediate attention. They are just horrible in the rain. In dry conditions, the headlights are just enough to light the road, and I am able to manage. But once it rains and the road gets wet, there is zero illumination. In the narrow single-lane road section between Chamraj Nagar and Dimbham, with the light scattering from the LED lights and high beams of oncoming traffic, I was literally driving blind. I would greatly appreciate any input on how to improve the performance of the headlights. I would like to first explore plug-and-play options like brighter lights that have the same cutoff pattern as the existing lights so that they don't blind oncoming traffic but light up the road better.

That's all folks, I have for now. Until the next update...

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by graaja

I will close this trip report with some pictures of the Fortuner clicked during this trip and my experience (likes and dislikes) driving it through various road conditions.

The Bad:

• Though I like the way the car handles bad roads, the low-speed ride is still very bad. The car just crashes into deep potholes. The more I drive through these roads, the more I am thinking about getting a suspension upgrade. I am still not decided on which suspensions to go - road-biased suspensions like Tein, or off-road-biased suspensions like Toughdog.
  
• I can live with the suspensions, but the headlights need immediate attention. They are just horrible in the rain.

That's all folks, I have for now. Until the next update...

The stock suspension settles down after around 30-40K on ODO and ride improves quite a bit. After 60K on ODO and new tires I can certainly feel the difference when compared to initial days. The ride is quite comparable to my first gen Endeavour I had, the latter though had an edge especially for driver and co passenger w.r.to comfort. That said after market suspension are versatile, you can get one that suite your need and taste.

For headlights, you can try units from Legender, these have better throw and illumination, the OE one’s are a bit expensive though.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

The stock suspension settles down after around 30-40K on ODO and ride improves quite a bit. After 60K on ODO and new tires I can certainly feel the difference when compared to initial days. The ride is quite comparable to my first gen Endeavour I had, the latter though had an edge especially for driver and co passenger w.r.to comfort. That said after market suspension are versatile, you can get one that suite your need and taste.

For headlights, you can try units from Legender, these have better throw and illumination, the OE one’s are a bit expensive though.

Thank you for the inputs. I am considering the Legender headlights as an option, but I have to check the lights firsthand in the dark to make a decision.

A few friends have suggested good aux lights. Some good products are available, but the downside is that these will be extra fittings and will attract unnecessary attention from the police.

Another option I am considering is replacing the almost useless LED fog lights with aftermarket HID or LED projectors. I have seen lots of videos on this, and the light throw and brightness seem to be very good, solving the problem with the main headlights. These are also plug and play and should be a clean install. I will do some more research on the topic and update on the final solution.

For the suspensions, I am almost decided on changing them, but there are too many options out there and choosing the right ones will be tricky.

[diesel&dust]

Originally Posted by graaja

Though I like the way the car handles bad roads, the low-speed ride is still very bad. The car just crashes into deep potholes. The more I drive through these roads, the more I am thinking about getting a suspension upgrade. I am still not decided on which suspensions to go - road-biased suspensions like Tein, or off-road-biased suspensions like Toughdog.

Beautiful pictures, the suspensions do bed in after 30k-40k on the ODO. I maintain a tyre pressure of 30psi and never felt the need to upgrade my setup. Although there was an itch to upgrade with Ironman Nitrogas with comfort springs but later had mixed reviews of increased body roll due to increased height so dropped it.

Originally Posted by graaja

I can live with the suspensions, but the headlights need immediate attention. They are just horrible in the rain. In dry conditions, the headlights are just enough to light the road, and I am able to manage. But once it rains and the road gets wet, there is zero illumination. In the narrow single-lane road section between Chamraj Nagar and Dimbham, with the light scattering from the LED lights and high beams of oncoming traffic, I was literally driving blind. I would greatly appreciate any input on how to improve the performance of the headlights. I would like to first explore plug-and-play options like brighter lights that have the same cutoff pattern as the existing lights so that they don't blind oncoming traffic but light up the road better.

There are options of Bi-Led from UPS WAYMAKER.
I have replaced my LED fog lights on my 2018 Fortuner with UPS WAYMAKER BI-LEDS f65 150w and the results are simply fantastic. The installation was pretty simple and straight forward. Although mine is a 3inch unit but I have seen 1inch units too for the new generation Fortuners/Hycross.

Here’s how the light spreads on the highway under wet conditions.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by diesel&dust

I maintain a tyre pressure of 30psi and never felt the need to upgrade my setup...

There are options of Bi-Led from UPS WAYMAKER...

Here’s how the light spreads on the highway under wet conditions.

Hi diesel&dust,

Thank you for the response. I used to maintain the tire pressure at 30. But during this trip, the pressure was about 32 psi. I will reduce this to 30psi again and check if this 2psi makes a difference.

Is your Fortuner the previous generation that came with 3" fog lights? The light throw in your car looks very good.

Mine has 2" fog lights. I have read good reviews about a 2" projector model Nova 2R which are 2" projectors that are suitable for this generation Fortuner. Got some good reviews from a couple of friends who have installed these in other cars. I will be going and checking this projector and then make a decision. Need to check how the light output is in a 2" projector.

[diesel&dust]

Originally Posted by graaja

Is your Fortuner the previous generation that came with 3" fog lights? The light throw in your car looks very good.

Mine has 2" fog lights. I have read good reviews about a 2" projector model Nova 2R which are 2" projectors that are suitable for this generation Fortuner. Got some good reviews from a couple of friends who have installed these in other cars. I will be going and checking this projector and then make a decision. Need to check how the light output is in a 2" projector.

Hello graaja,

I drive the same Gen 2 2018 4*4 AT, the factory bi-led headlights are quite strong on these models, yes it came with a 3" led foglights.

Sorry, I meant 2" foglights for your 2024 models from UPS WAYMAKER, they come with specific toyota mountings.

[Gagan_DB]

A few pictures of the yummy food we had.

Food Pics says it all , looks delicious and yummy. Will add this place to my bucket list. Thanks

[graaja]

Installed: Tough Dog Foamcell Pro Suspensions

In a previous post on the drive to Agumbe, I mentioned the harsh suspension in the Fortuner and my wish to change to a better suspension.

Last week, I changed the OE suspensions to Tough Dog Foamcell Pro Adjustable suspensions. I have documented the installation of the suspensions and the analysis in much more detail in the following thread.

Installed: Tough Dog Foamcell Pro Suspensions in my Toyota Fortuner 4x4 AT

I am adding a brief report for record in this ownership thread.

Selection of Suspension:

Following are the requirements I listed for the new suspension.

1. Should increase the ride comfort at low speeds on bad roads
2. Should improve the body roll and high-speed handling
3. As #1 and #2 don't necessarily go hand in hand, preferably a suspension with adjustable damping which can be adjusted depending on the types of roads driven

I shortlisted the following suspensions.

• Old Man Emu: Based on old threads and posts in TBHP, the de facto standard while it comes to Fortuner suspension change. But the reviews mentioned these to be stiffer than the OE suspensions. These did not have adjustable damping as well.
• Ironman Foamcell: These suspensions are with the new foamcell technology that prevents gas mixing in the oil inside the struts reducing shock fade from heat. Ironman suspensions had lots of positive reviews, but most of them mentioned these are on the stiffer side, and these are fixed.
• Tein 4x4: Tein was recommended by a couple of friends who have them installed in their Endeavor and Fortuner. Teins come with 16 way adjustable damping and also an electronic control unit (EDFC) to adjust damping from inside the cabin. If EDFC is not opted, then to adjust the damping, the car has to be lifted on a hydraulic lift to access the adjustment knobs.
• Tough Dog Foamcell pro: These suspensions had lots of positive reviews and also were considered to be more comfort tuned than the Ironman. These suspensions also come with adjustable damping, which can be accessed without having to lift the car.

Of the above, I chose the Tough Dog for its foamcell technology, 9 way adjustable damping, and the ability to change the damping without lifting the car.

Installation:

I got the suspensions installed at 6th Mile Customs, in Indra Nagar, Bangalore. Mr. Thomas who owns 6th Mile Customs readily answered all my questions about selecting the correct variant, installation, warranty etc. I had the option to get the suspensions to Coimbatore and install locally. But I decided to get it installed directly by 6th Mile Customs. So I drove from Coimbatore to Bangalore for the installation. The installation was completed in 4 hours.

A few pictures from the installation.

6th Mile Customs, the dealer and installer for Tough Dog suspensions.


Customary picture with all the components.


Ride height is measured before installation.


The car is lifted for the suspension change.


The OE suspension in the front.


The OE suspension in the rear.


The OE and Tough Dog springs. The Tough Dog spring is longer.


The OE and Tough Dog struts. The Tough Dog strut is thicker and longer.


Tough Dog installed in the rear.


Tough Dog installed in the front.


The adjustment knob for the rear strut(s). These are easily accessible below the rear bumper.


The adjustment knob for the front strut(s). These are accessible with the wheel turned. I have now got used to accessing these without turning the wheels.


The final ride height after the new suspensions are installed. The front has raised by 50mm and the rear by 40mm.


Wheel alignment is being done. They did a few test drives and re-adjustments to get the correct alignment.




A few pictures of the car after the suspension upgrade.








My experience and thoughts on the new suspension:

I have driven the car for about 500 kilometers under various road conditions and settings.

The installer had set it to a soft setting of 1. Even with this soft setting, when I drove on the Bangalore—Salem highway, the car felt very stable with no bounciness. It also absorbed broken road sections very well. I distinctly remember thinking, "The rumbling strips don't rumble."

While driving on the Yercaud hill road with this setting, a friend who rode shotgun mentioned about feeling some motion sickness. I stopped midway and changed the setting to a stiffer 4 after which the friend felt very comfortable.

I also tried the combination of setting 2 in the front and setting 4 in the rear and found this to have a very good balance between comfort and handling. Tried this setting on the hill roads of Yercaud and the highway from Salem to Coimbatore. I am planning to test 1 in the front and 3 in the rear, and choose one of these combinations for use most times. I will use softer or stiffer settings if I have to drive extensively on bad roads or for long distances on the highway.

I also recorded and analyzed physical data like accelerometer data for force being transmitted from road, and inclinometer data for pitch and roll and did some analysis of this data to validate my experience with the suspensions. I have documented this analysis in detail in the dedicated suspension installation thread.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the significant improvements the new suspensions have brought to the comfort and handling of the car. I am glad that I chose to change this early in the ownership. The best part about these suspensions is the adjustability. I can adjust the stiffness based on road conditions and how the passengers in the car feel. And I can adjust the damping of all the four struts in under a minute.

The long term reliability is yet to be seen. But going by the reviews online, I am sure the struts should last at least 70K to 80K kilometers, if not more.

That's all folks, I have for now. The next upgrade in line is the fog lamp upgrade to projectors. Stay tuned.

[shardul_pathak]

Originally Posted by graaja

Modiber 360-Degree Camera Installation

I found the reverse camera inadequate for a car of this size in the Fortuner. There are too many blind spots. So, I wanted to install a 360-degree camera. The dealer had a 360-degree camera as an official accessory. This was manufactured by a company called Modiber. Shortly after taking delivery of the car, I got this installed at the dealership. I have written a detailed thread on the installation, calibration, features, likes and dislikes on this system.

Hi Graaja,

I have a Fortuner 4X4 AT in Attitude black booked at a dealer in Jaipur, I am being told that the delivery will be between 10-15 of December. Thanks to you that now I know of this 360 degree camera which does not tamper with the car's warranty and is fixed at Toyota ASS!

I have had a tough time convincing the dealers in Jaipur and one in Delhi of the very existence of this device for a Fortuner, let alone them installing it without hampering the warranty.

Can you please give me some insight on which doors to knock to make this happen for my car too?

On a side note, can you let me know if after booking the car, did you have a line of correspondence open with Toyota with updates on the delivery?

I am also being told that the Chamois interiors are not in production currently, which I find hard to digest. The brochure on Toyota's website clearly states the car can be had with 2 interior options. Is the dealer playing tricks with me?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by shardul_pathak

I have had a tough time convincing the dealers in Jaipur and one in Delhi of the very existence of this device for a Fortuner, let alone them installing it without hampering the warranty.

Can you please give me some insight on which doors to knock to make this happen for my car too?

On a side note, can you let me know if after booking the car, did you have a line of correspondence open with Toyota with updates on the delivery?

I think these accessories are arranged by the dealers and not Toyota. The device that I got installed in my car is available in South India to my understanding and the dealers here have a tie up with the distributor to install in the cars. If the dealers in Rajasthan do not have any such source or tie ups, I think it is going to be difficult to install this without affecting warranty.

You could try calling Toyota dealers in Chennai or Coimbatore and check with them if it is possible to get this done somehow.

When I booked my car, I did not have any communication with Toyota. All my communications were with the sales representative here and he handled everything smoothly.