[sudev]

My lips are sealed till after my friends taken decision and (if) delivery. No premium either.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by hondadude

Indians like butch diesel SUVs. The proof is in sales numbers. Even before fortuner was launched, Endy & Pajero put together were outselling CRV, Captiva, Outlander, GV and X-trail put together. So, Indians like traditional macho looking diesel SUVs as opposed to Softroaders.

Both Endy and Pajero have a major flaw each. Endy has a bone jarring ride quality and Pajero has the combo of anaemic engine and dated interiors. However, inspite of that, they were sellling reasonably well.

Toyota launched a butch looking diesel SUV (which Indians like) without the shortcomings that Endy and Pajero have. The result, a perfect SUV at 20L for Indians. Ofcourse add to it the fact that Toyota is very reliable and you have people queueing up to pay 20L to buy Fortuner.

It is that simple actually!

EXACTLY The very reason for Fortuner's instant success, Plus that mini Prado look reminds everyone of its links to Landcruiser family.

[arungee6]

guys, I live in Oman. Please don't get fooled by the goodies, fortuner is just another hilux pick up with a covered body. Driving a fortuner here in Oman is like driving just another Hilux pick up and with a price tag of 20 lacs plus. Just pity 169 hp diesel engine ? what is mean by "powerful" its a shame. I respect Toyota technology, its reliablility, image everything but please do not get fooled.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by arungee6

guys, I live in Oman. Please don't get fooled by the goodies, fortuner is just another hilux pick up with a covered body. Driving a fortuner here in Oman is like driving just another Hilux pick up and with a price tag of 20 lacs plus. Just pity 169 hp diesel engine ? what is mean by "powerful" its a shame. I respect Toyota technology, its reliablility, image everything but please do not get fooled.

Unfortunately we are in India and 171 is a big number.

[1-Testosterone]

Originally Posted by arungee6

guys, I live in Oman. Please don't get fooled by the goodies, fortuner is just another hilux pick up with a covered body. Driving a fortuner here in Oman is like driving just another Hilux pick up and with a price tag of 20 lacs plus. Just pity 169 hp diesel engine ? what is mean by "powerful" its a shame. I respect Toyota technology, its reliablility, image everything but please do not get fooled.

Until and Unless the competition catches up with these car so called "high end" car makers, we will keep on shelling 20 lacs on these trucks. Hopefully things will change in near future. The reason Fortuner is making hay is because there's virtually zero competition in this segment.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by 1-Testosterone

There may be some factors too, but these are the major ones IMO.

Spot on man! You covered it all except for one:

1,80,000 Toyota body-on-frame diesel attestations . These guys believe, and have seen, the Innova like run forever!

Originally Posted by sudev

Had a chance test drive on Fortuner as a friend was interested in buying - his decision is still pending. I was surprised that he was being given a reasonably quick delivery without booking and despite 6 months wait time hoopla!

Could be that the city your friend bought it from has lesser demand. I saw this during the Maruti Zen wait period days. People frequently bought cars from smaller towns, drove down to Mumbai and got it registered themselves / through a local RTO agent.

Originally Posted by hondadude

Indians like butch diesel SUVs. The proof is in sales numbers.

Truly. And diesel SUVs really make more sense than petrols. Superior FE, longer tank range, no problem with regular diesel etc.

Originally Posted by arungee6

guys, I live in Oman. Please don't get fooled by the goodies, fortuner is just another hilux pick up with a covered body. Driving a fortuner here in Oman is like driving just another Hilux pick up and with a price tag of 20 lacs plus. Just pity 169 hp diesel engine ? what is mean by "powerful" its a shame. I respect Toyota technology, its reliablility, image everything but please do not get fooled.

Arun, whether a product is good or bad is relative to alternatives available in the same market. The scene here is entirely different from the one in Oman.

[veyron1]

Originally Posted by GTO

If you didn't find the middle row that good, but the third row satisfactory (our report was opposite), it says a lot of how the middle row was adjusted. It slides back and forth!

Actually, I was not quite elaborate on my comment there. What I wanted to say was that the third row wasn't as cramped as I expected it to be. At least not as much as the Endy's for example. But of course, the second row was yards ahead in comfort, but still not quite to my liking. And yes, I did try sliding the rows...I'm very picky (spoilt by the Safari, rather)... The only thing that I liked (sort of) was the cupholder recesses for the third row in the rear quarter panels. Thoughtful.

Originally Posted by GTO

That's way too low man. We saw 9ish in the city, 10 on a spirited highway run, and 12 if driven normally (highway).

My thoughts exactly. But I'm guessing that's what the real figures are gonna be. 2-3 months down the line, we should have some info on what the real world numbers are. There are 3 Fortuner owners in Vasai (as of now), one of whom I met recently, and he quoted a realistic 8 kmpl on mixed driving conditions..

Originally Posted by GTO

Innova like?

YES...! Actually, even the Altis sports better console & trim plastics...quite surprising.

Originally Posted by GTO

No comments on firmness & suspension pitch?

Ah yes. Actually, I found the ride quality to be decent above 80 Kmph, but not as absorbent as the Pajero. I Also felt that it's not as composed as an Endy would be over a ton. Low speed ride is juddery, owing to the stiffly sprung rear. Safari still king here. Although, I do know for a fact that the car will behave far more tamed under load.

Front is complacent enough, but dives under hard braking. Much an SUV characteristic, & I feel the front end could have had better rebound damping. Hard braking on potholed roads would tend to bottom out the front suspension. Great ground clearance, though. I tried going over a few rocks, and didn't scrape her belly. Didn't really get a chance to take her off-road, so don't know what the wheel articulation is like and how effective the 4x4 will be.

I do feel however, that high-speed tarmac driving would be leisurely, & not quite involving as the Endeavour or Outlander/CRV. Body roll is another factor why. She rolls just as much as the Safari or Pajero does. Endy still king in handling department. Surprisingly little body roll.

Originally Posted by Sahil

I haven't read to many comments on the power steering, is it as effortless in traffic as the Altis? This may have drawbacks at high speed steering feedback but I am talking purely in traffic conditions.

She's very easy to putter around in the city with, and quite nimble. Though not as urban-friendly as the Scorpio, this's the least intimidating SUV to park in tight spots, and belies it's girth. Do expect those 3-point turns to turn out to be 5-point ones though.

[NullRock]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Unfortunately we are in India and 171 is a big number.

Why unfortuately?
I am proud to live in India and 171 is a good number for us.

[1-Testosterone]

Originally Posted by NullRock

I am proud to live in India and 171 is a good number for us.

The thing is after spending 20 odd Lacs, we deserve better numbers

As of now, the only vehicle which seems to match the 20L price tag (or even exceed it) is Skoda Superb. If Skoda can do it, I see no reason why others can't. The quality and performance is altogether in a different league.

[jkdas]

veyron1; we have an owner who said its bumpy above 120kmph.

I was waiting for someone to post about FE; 8kmpl is good for an AWD.

[veyron1]

@jk; I didn't quite get a chance to take the car over 120 (as the test drive stretch was limited; should get my hands on a long drive soon), but from what I could gather, the car is not thrown off balance at those speeds over potholes; the suspension just "thuds" at broken patches, unlike say, a Bolero which would "bang" and tug at the steering everytime it hits a pothole at a ton. Yes, the ride is wallowy (as is the case for most SUVs;Pajero is supple, whereas the Safari bobs like a boat & the Endy gets better with speed); However, with 5 people in the car, the ride quality should settle down comfortably.

And for the F.E; 8 kmpl is decent, yes. Just about the same as the IDI Pajero & the 3.0 Endy. But that figure could go down to 6 under pedal-to-metal driving, methinks. I haven't driven the new Xtrail, but that should trump this department.

Which reminds me. Somebody should compare the Nissan with the Toyota. Who's in for a comparo....?

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by veyron1

Which reminds me. Somebody should compare the Nissan with the Toyota. Who's in for a comparo....?

If you don't want to do it yourself, latest overdrive has the comparo

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by arungee6

guys, I live in Oman. Please don't get fooled by the goodies, fortuner is just another hilux pick up with a covered body. Driving a fortuner here in Oman is like driving just another Hilux pick up and with a price tag of 20 lacs plus. Just pity 169 hp diesel engine ? what is mean by "powerful" its a shame. I respect Toyota technology, its reliablility, image everything but please do not get fooled.

When you are in India next time, please drive the other SUVs offered in the 20 lakh range and let us know how the compare with the Fortuner. When you are here, also try to convince our govt to do away with the 100% import duty for CBUs and maybe we can finally get some 200+ bhp SUVs for 20 lakks.

[akj53]

NEW DELHI: It wasn’t exactly built for speed. But ironically, Toyota’s new SUV Fortuner is setting the sales chart on fire here. In the compact mid-SUV segment — comprising strong contenders such as Honda’s CR-V, Ford’s Endeavour, Mitsubishi’s Pajero and GM’s Captiva — Toyota seems to have set the cat among the pigeons.

The phenomenon, which can now safely be called the “Fortuner Effect”, has hit the sales of these rival vehicles like a sledgehammer, despite some of them such as Ford India launching new variants of their existing models. In a span of 30 days after the Fortuner’s launch, Toyota Kirloskar Motor received bookings for 7,000 vehicles, which is roughly 10 times more than what the other companies sold collectively in the month of August this year.

At the same time, sales figures of rival SUVs have been declining drastically. Last month, Ford India saw an 85% drop in sales of its Endeavour over the corresponding period last year. When contacted, a Ford India spokesman refused to comment.

In the same month Hindustan Motors sold 118 Pajeros compared to 202 units in the year-ago period. And Honda Siel, which was the leader in this segment with its CR-V, has adopted a confirmed order system for selling the vehicle here. It means that only when a customer books the vehicle will it be imported to India. This has given rise to a waiting time of three months.

Compared to 129 vehicles in August last year, Honda sold 77 CR-Vs during the same month this year. But Jnaneswar Sen, VP (marketing), Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI), has a different explanation for the low sales.

“The current strategy on CR-V has nothing to do with competition coming in and was taken well before in the beginning of this year itself. The rupee witnessed a depreciation of over 16% versus the dollar in the last one-year and the yen strengthened by 10.5% during the same period which led to our import costs consistently rising. While we absorbed the cost for some time, but from April 09 onwards, we had to increase the price of the model by more than Rs 3.5 lakh. This changes the price value equation for the customer.”

***News item in The Economic Times

[1-Testosterone]

Out of 7000 bookings, I wonder how many of them have test driven this vehicle before booking. Like they say, "It happens only in India"!