Fortuner – Reliable & New SUV from Toyota
In spirit, the Fortuner is based on the same platform as the Hilux and the Innova, but in reality, it is miles ahead in terms of design and quality refinements. Whilst the Hilux is targeted at the urban cowboys and the more serious workhorse types, and the Innova is mainly for families and businesses that need to move a lot of people around, the Fortuner has more creature comforts built in. The Fortuner has been designed to be the ‘luxury’ sibling to appeal to the more well heeled part of the market. Some of the design appears to have been influenced by the very popular Harrier; the overall appearance is pleasing to the eye; it looks macho enough for the toughie who wants to take it off-road on outings, and refined enough for the executive who wants to ride high and yet wear a tie to work.
Seating in the Fortuner is a versatile arrangement, consisting of three rows of seats, with the middle and third rows splitting and folding in countless ways to provide additional space for large and bulky items. The second row seats fold over forwards to allow the third row passengers to get into the vehicle, while the third row can be split and folded up against the sides. Beige coloured leather upholstery, perfectly matching the two-tone beige and brown dashboard and side trim make the interior quite nice. The dashboard material is plastic, but as long as you don’t go around knocking it with your knuckles, it looks quite good. The seats themselves are very soft and comfortable. The audio system is quite good and does not need an upgrade unless you are one of those compulsive ICE enthusiasts who must have a twenty thousand ringgit set.
The instrument panel is pretty neat, with attractive-looking analogue meters that follow the designs of the Lexus brand, with easy to read, brightly lit dials. A ‘gate’ type gear lever makes it slightly different from run-of-the-mill vehicles.
In the safety department, the Fortuner comes with the well-known Toyota GOA (Global Outstanding Assessment) body structure that uses high tensile steel sheets and an impact-absorbing structure that dissipates collision ‘energy’ to protect the occupants. Dual SRS airbags for the driver and front passenger are standard equipment, while the steering is collapsible in the event of an accident. ABS is also standard equipment, as are front ventilated discs. (Rear brakes are drums). Seat belts are available for all three rows of seats.
The engine in my test car, courtesy of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd, was a 2.7 litre, 16-valve DOHC petrol unit, complete with VVTi (Variable Valve Timing and Ignition). Maximum output is 118kW (160 PS) at 5,200 rpm, and maximum torque is 241Nm at 3,800 rpm. This in effect makes the Fortuner a very pleasant vehicle to drive; the generous torque characteristics give it plenty of get-up-and-go. (There is a diesel version, but that’s another story when I get one for a test.)
The Fortuner features full-time 4WD, meaning that both the front and rear axles get drive all the time, without any option to turn off one axle. Whilst this gives one very good traction and grip, it sure helps to guzzle up fuel at a faster rate. A full tank of 65 litres lasted about 350 kilometres before the low-fuel warning came on. Our rough estimate tags the cost per kilometre at around 27 to 30 sen, depending on your driving style. Actually this is to be expected if you want to drive around in a 1.8 ton piece of machinery.
Drive is transmitted to the tough-looking alloy wheels via a 4-speed automatic gearbox, (electronically controlled, of course), with third gear being direct (1.00:1), and fourth gear being an overdrive gear. Final drive ratio is 4.555 to give it good acceleration.
The front suspension is made up of double wishbones, coil springs and a stabilizer, while the rear is a solid axle with a 4-link arrangement, augmented with a lateral rod to keep the axle in line. A torque-sensing Limited Slip Differential at the rear helps improve traction. The suspension feel is on the harder side of ‘firm’, to the extent of being a little ‘jarring’ at times.
Handling is acceptable, with the 4-wheel drive helping a lot around corners; remember that this is an SUV with a relatively high centre of gravity. Expect some roll, and some ‘give’ from the 265/70 x 16 tyres. It helps if you keep gentle pressure on the accelerator while negotiating bends. I would expect that a set of 18-inch wheels with some high performance, low profile rubbers would do wonders. Having said that, if you are one of those ‘normal’ drivers who keep to the regulation speed limits, you would probably find the Fortuner in standard form perfectly adequate for your day-to-day use. We had no problem with it doing exactly that.
The Fortuner 2.7 petrol is priced at RM178, 023.80 (price on-the-road without insurance.
