2016 Toyota Fortuner: The wagon to beat

Going by the analysis of Practical Motoring, an auto magazine, the latest brand from the stable of Toyota Motor, the Fortuner, is a class above rivals such as the Isuzu MU-X, Holden Colorado 7 and Mitsubishi Challenger. According to Practical Motoring, it would cut into Kluger sales and nibble at Prado’s and some of that will be brand loyalty and novelty value until people actually realise that the Fortuner is a solid offering of its own accord. Some potential buyers may bemoan the Fortuner’s lack of high-tech safety gear but it’s a great-looking vehicle that drives well and has real 4WD ability, so we reckon the Fortuner is poised to give the Large SUV segment a real shake-up.

Every car-maker likes to believe that its product is one of a kind but at least “unique” was fi tting this time because, according to Toyota’s executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb, Fortuner was the largest single development program ever undertaken by Toyota’s local engineers – with “unique” wiring looms, body elements, testing and more tasks tackled on home soil.

The Fortuner may only be the latest of many additions to the confusion of choice that is a booming SUV market segment, but Toyota has a steely-eyed confi dence about it. “Fortuner defi nitely lives up to the promise of its roadless- travelled 4WD heritage,” Cramb said at the launch.

“Fortuner is positioned perfectly between Kluger and Prado; diesel alternatives to Kluger are selling around 1400 vehicles a month, or almost 17,000 a year. Fortuner will give us a signifi cant slice of that action.

“It’s a great choice for people who aspire to a luxury SUV … they want a stylish vehicle, they want seven seats and the safety of a highseating position and great visibility; they also want genuine 4X4 ability.”

The diesel-only sevenseat Fortuner is being offered here in three variants: GX, GXL and top-of-therange Crusade. All have the proven 2.8-litre four-cylinder common-rail direct-injection turbo-diesel engine with a six-speed manual or auto box. Maximum power and torque is 130kW and 450Nm (auto); 420Nm for the manual. Braked towing capacity is listed as 3000kg (manual) and 2800kg (auto). Fuel consumption is a claimed 7.8L/100km (combined) for the manual and 8.6L/100km (auto).

The Fortuner, shorter and narrower than Kluger and Prado, is chunky and solid; it looks like a mad scientist fused a LandCruiser, Prado and Kluger together, threw in a bit of RAV4 for a laugh and then pumped the resulting mix full of steroids. It looks good; not too city-smooth, as do plenty of modern-day 4WDs, but country tough with class.

Inside is neat and tidy. Crusade’s fi t and fi nish, hand-stitched everywhere, is good but unspectacular. If the design team drops the wooden trim from the next Fortuner version, it wouldn’t be too great a loss.

There is stacks of headand legroom in the front and second-row but the third row, as expected, is really for kids only. Nice touches include 4kg capacity shopping bag hooks on the back of the front seats and three 12V outlets. Our Crusade also had a 100W, 220V power socket.

On-road, the Fortuner is open-road smooth at all times, quiet and stable. Little to no noise intruded inside, other than a high-pitched whistle at high speeds due to a trapped stone (somewhere in a disc brake we suspected) after a particular tough bit of off-roading. It must have worked its way loose because the whistling stopped son enough.

Steering is not as direct as some might expect, although it’s not a surprise given it’s an SUV. It can be a bit vague – and there was a touch of understeer on our tester – but nothing that could be considered problematic. The 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine and six-speed auto are a tasty combo. We had a cruisy time in auto proper.

Fortuner’s standard features include air-conditioning, rear differential lock, touch-screen audio display with Toyota Link connected mobility, cruise control, side steps and 17-inch steel wheels with “all-terrain tyres”. Toyota says it expects to achieve the maximum fi vestar safety rating as all variants are equipped with stability and active traction control, seven airbags, reversing camera, trailer sway control, hill-start assist control and rake-and-reach adjustments for the steering column. It includes three top-tether anchors and two ISOFIX childseat mounts.

Fortuner’s seven seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 confi guration. The 60/40 splitfold second-row seat has a one-touch slide and tumble feature while the 50/50 third-row seats are stowable. Cargo capacity ranges from 200 litres to 1,080 litres when packed to the top of the seat backs.

Standard equipment also includes durable fabric seat-coverings with contrast stitching, projector-style headlamps, LED tail-lamps, an air-conditioned cool box, Bluetooth connectivity, six speakers, three 12V accessory sockets, audio and phone controls mounted on the steering wheel, eco and power drive modes and a multi-information display (MID) in the instrument cluster.