TOYOTA FORTUNER FACELIFT OUT!

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Mzansi’s most popular SUV just got its midlife facelift. Toyota Fortuner, the runaway SUVsuccess, is now proudly the wearer of a new face plus a new engine. Currently it holds about 35% of the total SUV market, which is exceptional. The new one aims to keep this going, or even surpass it.

We took turns driving the facelift Fortuner over 400km of Zambian roads, diverse as the 72 languages spoken there. From SA-classtar roads, to secondary pot-holed filled b-roads, to gravel and off-road adventures. Toyota’s mandate was to show us the media that their car is a crowned all-rounder, a jack of every trade in the book and a nice guy to boot.

The new front grille is more aggressive strange enough, despite being smoother and perhaps more upmarket in appearance. Headlights are new too, and so are the side indicators on the mirrors, again signalling a sort of upmarket turn for the product. A new design 17-inch alloy wheel becomes available too. These wheels are surrounded by 265/65 R17 7.5J tyres, and are pretty useful when negotiating a tough uphill climb on the side of a steep mountain, as we often did along the route. A thick “Fortuner” marking was moved from the left rear to the centre where it’s more visible and shinier. To stand out somewhat among the 35% crowd, buyers will be able to choose from one of 7 exterior colours, including the two new ones called Silky Gold and Dark Steel Mica.

Cabin enhancementsare also quite evident if you’ve been following the Fortuner over the past few years. There is a new Optitron meter design laced with blue lighting, fresh new wood grain inserts, again for a more luxurious feel. I liked the new steering wheel as it felt of higher build quality. For the higher-specced models a rear-view reverse camera makes parking easier. The dashboard itself is now decorated with a new music system terminal. While it has a navigation button, Toyota SA currently has no supplier to make sat nav functional in their cars, so the button is merely decorative in this instance. The USB and auxiliary holes work well though. All Fortuners offer seating for up to 7 passengers, but the rearmost seats are still clumsilyconfigured against the side walls when they are up, rather than the more modern underfloor setup we see elsewhere.

New to the engine bay is a 2.5-litre D-4D turbo diesel engine. Peak power output is 106kW, while a very useful 343Nm of torque can be called upon pretty early in the rev range. Its best buddy is a 5-speed manual gearbox actuated through the typically-Toyota long gear stick. For now there is no AWD available for this engine, so it stays as a rear-wheel-drive (RWD). Nevertheless this should quickly become the best-seller on the list.

The rest remain the same. That is to say, the 3.0-litre D-4D is kept at 120kW and also 343Nm of torque. You can have it in either 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic. Another strange choice in a new world of eco-friendlier 6, 7 or even 8-speed transmissions. Toyota really needs to get up to speed with the rest of the industry now. The only petrol is the 24-valve VVTi 4.0-litre V6 kicking out 175kW and 376Nm of torque. Models with AWD feature a heavy duty transfer case and a lockable rear differential, with a Torsenlimited slip centre differential (LSD). With these in its box of goodies, the Fortuner becomes an outstanding bush baby, able to tackle mud just as well as sand and rock.

The Fortuner range is sold with a 5 year / 90 000 km service plan and a 3 year / 100 000 km warranty. The service plan can be extended to 7 years or 220 000 km and the warranty to 6 years or 220 000 km. The warranty also includes a ToyotaCare Roadside Assistance Programme that is applicable in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho.

Competitors who sell cars like the Ford Everest, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento are always scratching their heads wondering what exactly Toyota is doing right in order to sell upwards of 500 unitsof this car every month. It just seems good value and a very capable vehicle, as well as that vast support networkare quite key. Nothing looks to change in the near future either.

2011 Toyota Fortuner Pricing

2.5D-4D 4x2 manual (R325 500)

3.0D-4D 4x2 manual (R395 000)

3.0D-4D 4x4 manual (R439 800)

3.0D-4D 4x2 automatic (R406 300)

3.0D-4D 4x4 automatic (R451 200)

4.0 V6 4x2 automatic (R422 300)

4.0 V6 4x4 automatic (R466 900)