The electronics world can be brutal—if you’re not Apple. One day you have the hottest and most lust-worthy gadget in the world, and a few months later it’s a has-been. Time to roll out the latest version. So it is in the automotive world. Forget dog years; a car is considered ready to retire by the time it’s five.
The Toyota Fortuner caused a sensation when it was launched in 2005. We had seen seven and eight-seat Toyota SUVs before, but they were imports (the 4Runner) or priced way out of reach of non-seven time world boxing champions (the Land Cruiser and Prado). A Toyota SUV with four-wheel drive, car-like interior, and up-to-date powertrains, retailing for around P1.5 million—that was just the ticket. So the Fortuner sold faster than half-priced ice cream at S&R, and was wiping the floor with the competition. The Ford Everest was the first pickup-based SUV by more than a year, but the Fortuner just looked so much better, inside and out.
Six years later, the Fortuner has been overtaken by the Mitsubishi Montero Sport, and the Hyundai Santa Fe is snapping at its heels. Time, then for Toyota’s second facelift of the Fortuner. The nip/tuck is much more radical this time, worthy of Vicki Belo. The character of the exterior styling is less Hilux, more Camry. (The Hilux itself received a Camry-like nosejob). The headlamps are smaller and the bumper more car like, with a horizontal grille trimmed in chrome. The fender surrounds are as beefy as ever, and they blend well with the new front. The rear gets clear taillights with red inserts—these would look good on a sports car but fit rather awkwardly here. The original Fortuner’s lines were modern and understated, and it has aged rather well. The new bits do a good job of refreshing the styling and hinting at a more luxurious personality.
Inside, it’s luxury as Toyota knows best—slap on plenty of wood and leather. Wood now surrounds the audio unit, the door switches, the gearshift, and covers the top arc of the steering wheel. It’s not as terrible as plastic wood goes—it has a deep black grain. But we find the mix of different colors: dashboard, leather trim, and wood trim not always harmonious. The gauges also receive the colorization treatment: the lighting is now in a gaudy blue and red, an unfortunate “upgrade” from the very legible white of the original. The audio unit gets a USB port, although that would leave the cable snaking around; the Thai version, with the USB port mounted in a lower bank of switches, is a much cleaner solution. The head unit allows all the Bluetooth niceties: picking up and making phone calls, and streaming of audio from your device.
It’s a credit to the Fortuner’s original specs that it hasn’t been completely demolished. We tested the 2.5 liter D4D turbodiesel engine. With a couple of passengers on board, pushing the Fortuner around is a cinch for the 2.5. But we know from experience that with a full house on board, the engine will be hard pressed during climbing and overtaking maneuvers. The 2.5-liter engine can certainly use an upgrade, what with Thailand getting a 144-bhp, 343 Nm version (equal to the 3.0-liter, at just 200 rpm higher). Toyota is citing local fuel quality as the reason we cannot get this version. The Philippine-spec 2.5 liter diesel is still rated at 102 bhp and 260 Nm. (Then there’s the durability issue with the D4D engine, again blamed on fuel quality. That is another story.)
The interior retains seating for seven, including the best third row in this vehicle class. The seats are full-sized and are as comfortable as any other in the cabin. Folding them up will be the equivalent of an upper-body workout. Average-height ladies as well as shorter gentlemen shouldn’t bother attempting to hook the seats up to the grab handles. These are power seats—you better have enough power to push them up. In contrast, the second row seats are spring-loaded, so propping them up for cargo room or to allow access to third row is fingertip easy. As before, the second row slides forward to give more room to the people in the back. The aircon vents are integrated into the ceiling for better air distribution.
The 2011 Fortuner’s steering has been revised to feel much lighter, more similar now to the Montero Sport’s. To its credit, it doesn’t feel overboosted or numb. As for the infamous rock-hard ride, the stiffness is very much still there. It’s baked into the Fortuner chassis. That being said, the hardness has been reduced, the rough edges having been sanded off. It resists bouncing around on highway rumble strips and provides a fractionally better ride on the rough stuff. Handling is, thankfully, still reasonably responsive for an SUV, with limited body roll and no boat-like movements. A welcome upgrade are the standard HID headlamps.
Best of all, Toyota has kept the pricing steady. The 4×2 2.5 diesel manual starts at P1,330,000. The 4×2 2.7 gasoline AT goes for P1,343,000, the 4×2 diesel AT P1,408,000 and the range-topping 4×4 3.0 diesel AT is at P1,719,000. (Resale values for the previous versions are reportedly rock steady as well.)
Is it enough to propel the Fortuner back to “King of the World” status? Anyone who has rejected the Fortuner because of poor ride will likely not be swayed by this new version. Neither will buyers who have eyes for newer models like the Mitsubishi Montero Sport. What it will swipe are the fence-sitters who have always had the Fortuner on their short-list, and now have a more solid reason to purchase one.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
