Toyota has announced that it will hold an event at the NBC tent on August 17, which will feature a vehicle launch or two. We’re guessing that the new cars to debut will be the facelifted Hilux and Fortuner. Based on Toyota Thailand’s specifications, here’s what we can expect for the two:
-New 2.5-liter D4D diesel engine for the Hilux. Now outputs 120 bhp and 325 Nm
-Fortuner 2.5 liter diesel even more powerful, at 144 bhp and torque equal to the 3.0 liter at 343 Nm (just 200 rpm higher). That will effectively kill off the 3.0, if not for the 2.5 only being available with a manual gearbox
-Facelifted front and rear
-New alloy wheels: 17” for the Fortuner, 16” for the Hilux
-iPod/USB integration on the familiar Fujitsu 10 head unit
-Facelifted front and rear
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we won’t comment without seeing the cars in the metal. As for the new engine, we’ve had our share of problems with Toyota’s D4D engine in our Fortuner; we can’t quite recommend this car without knowing how the engine failed after less than 50,000 km.
Will this be enough to stave off the dominance of the Mitsubishi Montero Sport and the assault of the Hyundai Santa Fe? We think not.
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