Top 3 reasons to buy Toyota Fortuner

Ever since its launch almost a decade ago, the Toyota Fortuner is having a dream journey of its own. The legendary quality and reliability of a full sized Toyota SUV at a price of a Toyota Camry sounded fascinating. This is the reason why despite its bare bone appeal in the first generation guise, the Toyota Fortuner went on to become a blockbuster with record sales wherever it had a presence.

However, Toyota did sense the basic appeal and lack of modernity and contemporary features in the Fortuner, which is why it gave massive revamp to the second-generation model. And needless to say, with all the freshness in its appeal and inclusion of several changes and features, the Fortuner now seems unstoppable.
Apart from its affordable price point and the current trend of preference of SUVs over sedans, following are the top three reasons why the Toyota Fortuner is such a big hit in the SUV segment,:-

Looks and features

All Toyota SUVs might not look as flashy and tech-loaded as similarly priced European SUVs. However, the Fortuner is one exception. While it is easily the sleekest looking SUV,  it has the traditional flavor of being bulky, intimidating and in-your-face-attitude from other Toyota SUVs. The sleekness of the Toyota Fortuner can be sensed from the front fascia itself, which has a sense of inclination.

The tilted front grille, slim full LED headlamps with daytime running LEDs, high mounted front bumper with LED fog lamps and a decent amount of chrome makes it look very premium from the front. Same can be said about the rear profile as well, as the slim LED tail lamps and chrome bar with ‘Fortuner’ embossed on it looks elegant and modern. The high ground clearance, large glass areas with blackened D-pillar for floating-roof effect and large alloy wheels give it a bulky appeal which is typically Toyota.

 

On the inside too, things have taken a radical turn, as the dashboard of the Fortuner looks up-to-date, curvaceous and feature-loaded, unlike the old-school SUVs. While it still lacks some modern features like an electric sunroof, electrically adjustable and ventilated front seats, Android Auto and Apple Carplay, the Fortuner manages to be equipped with all the modern necessities like leather upholstery, touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control, paddle shifters, push-button start, steering mounted audio, and Bluetooth controls.

Engine and performance

All the Toyota engines have been known for their perennial life and refinement, and the current set of powertrains are no different. The new Fortuner is blessed with second generation engines as well. For the UAE market, Toyota has decided to skip on the oil burners and stick to the gasoline-powered mills only. The smaller 2.7-litre four-cylinder engine is capable of pumping out 164 PS of power and 244 Nm of torque. On the other hand, the bigger 4.0-litre V6 engine from the Land Cruiser Prado belts out 235 PS of power and 376 Nm of torque.

Both these engines are mated to a common 6-speed automatic gearbox and are equipped with part-time 4x4 drivetrain as standard. Despite its mammoth kerb weight of nearly two and a half tonnes, the Fortuner is powerful enough to give you a peppy feel while on the go.

Reliability and safety

Apart from the engine, the chassis of the Toyota vehicles are known for their unchallenged longevity and reliability. The Fortuner too retains the DNA of a true-blue Toyota SUV of being nearly indestructible, all thanks to the rigid ladder-on-frame chassis and strong mechanicals. Despite having such amount of bulk on the ladder-on-frame chassis, the Fortuner’s body roll is well controlled due to the presence of anti-roll bars at front and rear.

And when it comes to safety, this new generation Fortuner specs has taken a giant leap forward by being one of the most well-spec entry-level full-sized SUVs. One does get safety features like front, side, curtain and knee airbag, ABS with EBD, tyre pressure monitoring system, vehicle stability control, front and rear parking sensors, auto disconnect differential, cruise control, ISOFIX mounts for child seats, rear view camera, rear differential lock, hill descent control, and hill start assist.