Complete Guide to Buying a Toyota Fortuner

The Toyota Fortuner was launched in India in 2009 and the rest they say is history. The Japanese SUV has a cult following in our country and is in fact a household name, regardless of whether one owns it or not. In fact, we can say that it has the same status as some of the marquees of the Indian automotive scene over the years, such as the Maruti 800, Mahindra Bolero and Honda City. There are several reasons for such fanfare over this large SUV, even though it comes with a significant price tag. Therefore, we are going to look at the reasons why it would be a good addition to your garage, as well as some of the reasons why you might want to consider other options.

Why should you consider the Toyota Fortuner

The Toyota Fortuner has a lot going for it. Starting from the table above, it’s clear that Toyota has gone above and beyond to offer both petrol and diesel engine options, along with manual and automatic transmission options with both types of engines. Now it is no secret that 99 percent of buyers opt for the diesel version of the Fortuner as not only is it a lot more powerful than its petrol counterpart, but also has lower per kilometre running cost. Despite that, Toyota offers the Fortuner with a petrol engine for the 1 percent who prefer the refinement it brings with it. However, the petrol Fortuner is available on order only and you won’t find one casually standing on showroom floors ready to be driven off.

Cult Value

Since Toyota launched the Fortuner in India, it has captured people’s attention and how. When it first arrived on the scene, it was one of the value-for-money options for those who had achieved success. It offered a practical alternative to the likes of German marquees that cost twice as much to purchase and maintain. Over the years, the Fortuner’s price has increased significantly, so much so that it’s now almost similarly priced as the marquee names it once almost made obsolete. Despite the higher cost, this Japanese SUV has earned a special place in people’s hearts, and is a highly coveted choice. Owning a Fortuner means you command a level of respect on the road that other cars find hard to match.

Bulletproof Reliability

This is less of a Fortuner trait and more of a Toyota promise but you will hardly ever see a Fortuner leave its owner stranded by the road. This is in fact one of the traits of the Fortuner that has made it quite popular with owners. All they ever have to do is send it for regular maintenance and the Fortuner continues to run forever. In fact, some first generation Fortuner owners who are having to get rid of their SUV in the Delhi/NCR area are quite miffed as their Fortuner continues to run as smoothly as ever but the latest policies have rendered their SUVs obsolete. This makes it quite easy to buy a second hand Fortuner without a worry as well.

Safety

The Toyota Fortuner is a butch SUV in its own right, offering a reassuring sense of safety at first glance. However, when it comes to safety, nothing can be left to chance. While the Global NCAP has not tested the Toyota Fortuner, it has been awarded 5 stars by ANCAP (Australia and New Zealand NCAP), which holds significance due to the SUVs popularity in those markets. Safety rating aside, the Fortuner gets 7 airbags as standard and several active safety features that make it one of the safer SUVs on Indian roads today.

Off-road Prowess

Now this is an area of excellence which only a handful of owners will be able to attest to, as not everyone who buys a Fortuner is an off-road enthusiast. However, the Fortuner was initially built as a lifestyle offering for the Indian market which worked well on the road and could take the beaten path at will. Toyota packs in a lot of off-roading hardware and the ladder-frame chassis of the SUV adds to toughness and the ability to go off-road. The Fortuner can traverse the harshest of terrains and can work in multiple conditions such as sand, mud, snow or even rocks!

Why should you not consider the Toyota Fortuner

Stiff Ride

While the Toyota Fortuner has its strong points, one of the areas it’s not the best at is ride quality. It has a rather stiff ride and while that makes it good when it comes to smooth sailing over well paved roads and even going around corners to an extent, things tend to get a little bouncy as you come across a bad patch of road. In such instances, the best way to negate this issue is by going really slow, kind of how you would drive in an off-road scenario but this is not a practical approach in real life with millions of cars on the road. If you travel over bumpy surfaces quite often, then you should look at other cars in the segment which will offer you more comfort.

Not Enough Features

One of the reasons why the Toyota Fortuner is so bulletproof when it comes to reliability is that there isn’t a lot to go wrong. It’s good when you live in the wilderness where help is not that easily accessible, and made sense while the Fortuner was a value-for-money offering when it was first launched. But, with the Furtuner’s price now touching Rs. 50 lakh, customers anticipate amore premium offering. This issue has been accentuated by cars half the price offering way more features today. While Fortuner loyalists don’t really see an issue with this, it is the new buyers who end up disregarding the Fortuner because of this very reason.

Best Toyota Fortuner Variant to buy

First of all, we would not recommend the petrol version of the Fortuner as not only is it incredibly down on power, but will also incur higher running costs. The diesel version is much better and if you are someone who is going to take their Fortuner off-road, there are no two ways about it. You should pick the Diesel manual version with 4×4 – it is reasonably priced and will offer a much better smile to miles ratio. If you want comfort, and just want to be chauffeur-driven, ditch the 4×4 and instead go for the Diesel engine with the automatic transmission in a 4×2 guise. The top-spec GR-S Diesel version of the Fortuner does come fully loaded but there are hardly buyers out there who will be able to use it to the fullest, so unless you fall into that niche, we recommend you skip it.

Toyota Fortuner Warranty and Service Cost

The Toyota Fortuner comes with a 3 years or 1,00,000 kilometres warranty from the factory but customers can have that extended to 5 years and 2,20,000 kilometres. Honestly, the number of kilometres that Toyota lists is a distance hardly any private buyer covers in that time frame and it’s generally the years that will run out before the kilometres do. Toyota also offers a 24×7 Roadside Assistance facility.

Summary

Ultimately, there are two main reasons that you are looking to buy the Fortuner. In the first case, you are drawn to it by the respect it commands on Indian roads and in which case, there is no SUV that does it better. Secondly, it’s the off-road chops of the Fortuner and most importantly, it has enough space inside for you to take your family along comfortably for the adventure. As for the drawbacks, there aren’t any deal breakers aside from the stiff ride, so make sure you get a long enough test drive over uneven surfaces before putting your money down.