Toyota Fortuner
Toyota’s Fortuner created a frenzy when news of its imminent arrival
first surfaced on our pages in November 2008. Here was a proper
middle-of-the-road Toyota SUV that seemed to tick all the must-haves.
Yes, weak brakes were a big issue on early cars, the Innova-like
interiors increasingly faced a lot of flak, and buyers really did miss
having the option of an automatic gearbox; Checklist for the facelift
done then.
As facelifts go, this is a good one, especially from the front. Toyota
has thought it important enough to upgrade the entire nose of the car
and, as a result, looking at it head-on gives you the impression that
this car is all new. Sharp lines replace the outdated rounded forms, the
new Fortuner’s wider wraparound headlights and wider chin give it a
fuller-looking face, and with cuts on the bonnet bumper and chin, this
Toyota SUV looks more Land Cruiser than Fortuner. The chrome grille is
now much wider, the rounded, pod-like Xenon elements in the headlights
look good and the new alloys are smarter and lighter looking. The wheel
and tyre size, however, are the same. Also the same, expectedly, are the
doors, the general glass area, and the big wheel arches. Toyota has
made changes to the rear too, but the changes here aren’t as well
thought out or executed. The rear wheel arch now extends back into the
rear bumper, which does look nice, and there is a new Land Cruiser-like
bar of chrome across the tailgate. But the transparent tail-lights with
their odd- looking red elements look distinctly aftermarket and cheap.
Toyota has updated the cabin of the Fortuner and though it hasn’t done
as thorough a job as with the exteriors, perceived quality has gone up.
The swathe of piano black wood running across the dash is quite
impressive, the Camry steering wheel looks better than the Innova wheel
used earlier, and the automatic gearlever looks pretty upmarket too. You
get a reversing camera, powered seats and even cruise control. The
double-DIN touch-screen audio system is easy to use as well, but the
silver satin finish contrasts with the design of the interiors and makes
it look like an aftermarket addition. The shiny plastic surrounding the
vents is cheaper looking still. The seats of the Fortuner remain the
same – the driver’s seat is supportive and adequately padded, there is
sufficient room in the rear for three, though the third row is best for
kids.
The biggest change, however, is that the Fortuner now gets an automatic
gearbox. Now this is 2012 and we are well into the era of eight-speed
autos and twin-clutch gearboxes, but Toyota’s automatic is pretty basic.
This is strange, because competitors are literally throwing gears at
their SUVs these days. The Ford Endeavour comes with a five-speed
automatic, Hyundai’s recently launched Santa Fe comes with six and even
the cheaper-by-half Scorpio Automatic has six gears. And the Fortuner
has no paddle-shifters and no tip-tronic either. All you get are three
regular forward gears plus one overdrive; as simple as a spanner. But
simple doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.
With 35kgm of torque produced from just 1400rpm, the Fortuner has
plenty of pulling power, and that means Toyota can use tall gearing. So
second on the Fortuner is as tall as third on the Endeavour and the
gearing gets even more spaced out after that. What also helps
performance is that this two-wheel-drive automatic Fortuner is 95kg
lighter than the four-wheel-drive manual. So it feels pretty lightfooted
and full of energy as you step off the line. Toyota’s 3.0-litre lump is
also pretty smooth and so pottering around town, with the high-geared
motor ambling along, is really relaxing. You can cruise up to speed
quite effortlessly; you always feel like you have plenty of torque to
dip into, and the leviathan really does feel effortless, even when
pulling up inclines. Things are pretty relaxed out on the highway too.
The Fortuner accelerates well on half-throttle, the big diesel motor
merrily gurgling along, and getting to its natural cruising speed of
approximately 130kph is no sweat too.
Things, however, get a bit sticky when you’re in a hurry. The gearbox’s
lack of ratios and sluggish nature mean kickdowns are only executed
after a bit of a pause. You really need to ‘kick’ the accelerator to get
a downshift going and the gearbox seems to get flustered, even jerky at
times. Still, the automatic Fortuner is no slouch and in fact is much
quicker than the manual four-wheel-drive car in a straight line. It is a
second faster to 100kph at 11.8 seconds, three seconds faster to 140kph
which comes up in 23.9sec, and by the time you get to 150kph, the
automatic car is four seconds clear of the four-wheel-drive manual.
Dropping the front drive-shafts, differential and low-ratio transfer
case sure seem to have made a difference. This very strong performance
also makes it substantially quicker than the four-wheel-drive Ford
Endeavour 3.0 auto, which is approximately two seconds slower to 100kph
and a full 10sec slower to 140kph. And despite having fewer ratios, the
Fortuner is quicker in-gear too. It only gets out-dragged by the
monocoque Hyundai Santa Fe which, despite having four-wheel drive, is a
second and a half quicker to 100kph. What’s also noticeable however that
is the Toyota motor doesn’t get too strained or vocal when it is on the
boil; the common-rail unit remaining strain- and stress-free as well.
Toyota has also left the tuning of the suspension largely untouched, so
there is some amount of stiffness at low speeds and you do feel the
bumps on broken surfaces. Up the pace, however, and the ride smoothens
out, and that little bit of extra stiffness in the springs means that
there is not much boat-like pitching. What’s also different and quite
nice on this car is the lighter steering. Now devoid of the push-pull of
the four-wheel drive system, it’s much lighter to use and this is
particularly impressive when the Toyota is driven in city conditions.
Full-fat SUVs are seldom great driver’s cars – the physics just aren’t
in their favour – and the Fortuner is no different. Body roll is still
considerable, body control is loose, and it feels progressively
top-heavy the harder you drive. The light steering that is devoid of
feel around the centre doesn’t help either. What Toyota has improved
considerably are the brakes. In 2010, Toyota upgraded the Fortuner’s
weak brakes with larger and thicker front discs and this has really
improved things. Pedal feel is better, the Toyota has more stopping
power and you don’t need to pay attention to braking as much as you had
to earlier. Hit the brakes hard at 80 and, with help from the ABS
system, the new Fortuner comes to a dead halt in 24.6 metres, a full
four metres shorter than the earlier car.
Though this version has no four-wheel drive or low range, the torque of
the motor and the impressive traction of the rear wheels mean you can
actually go dirt tracking. The ground clearance is the same, so rocky
ground isn’t as much of an issue and you can go pretty far off-road too,
as long as you keep things real and don’t try anything too ambitious.
Deep sand and slush, however, are best avoided.
At the pumps, the Fortuner 2WD Auto isn’t too bad. We got 7.8kpl in the
city and, thanks to the tall fourth gear, 12.7kpl on the highway.
Kawasaki has unveiled their spanking new Ninja 300 abroad, bigger,
faster and far meaner than the outgoing 250cc model it is set to
replace. What the world thought would be the new Ninja 250R is really
the Ninja 300, slated for launch across various markets very shortly.
The Ninja 300 houses a four-stroke, parallel-twin and liquid-cooled,
296cc engine. Fuel injection is standard, with Kawasaki claiming new
throttle valves have worked to improve mid range grunt, and engine
response. The latest Ninja is expected to output 39bhp at 11000rpm, with
peak torque of 2.8kgm built up at 10000rpm. And that’s not all;
Kawasaki has sunk much effort into perfecting the 300, its engine
optimized with flatter piston crowns, sleeveless die-cast cylinders and a
cylinder that accommodates 7.8mm longer stroke. Both intake ports are
wider, and seat larger dia valves. Power is directed to the road via a
6-speed gearbox, as aggressive downshifts are taken care of with a
slipper clutch system usually only seen on larger capacity motorcycles.
Shelby isn't the only company celebrating a major anniversary in Monterey this year. Lamborghini marked its 50th year in business, and the 2012 Concorso Italiano is packed with Raging Bulls from every era of company's history. While the show serves as a showcase for all Italian makes, the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch always sees a wide cross section of manufacturers and models from around the globe.
