good motoring
SUV in every sense
H.Kishie Singh

Drivers of the old generation, who were fed on a staple diet of Ambassadors and Fiats, will remember this gem of advice on motoring — after crossing a deep puddle of water, pump your brakes six-seven times. Reason? The drum brakes, because of their design, retain water and become ineffective. Pumping the drum brakes dries them out and restores their effectiveness.

You may have to do just this with the Fortuner if you cross knee-deep water. It has drum brakes at the rear. The long wait for the Toyota Fortuner is over. It is in showrooms and on roads. The long wait built up a frenzy with impatient customers, and it paid off. No sooner had bookings opened, they were closed. Sold out.

The Fortuner is a huge, muscular, macho machine with a towering presence on the road. It is even taller and wider than the Ford Endeavour, and that is something. Seen head-on, the Fortuner makes a statement: "It’s me." The squarish grill is bracketed by clear headlights with a kink in the corner of the headlights. The Toyota logo sits dead centre, and if you can see high enough, there is the air intake scoop for the turbo charger.

Below the bumper is the skid plate. Adding to its massive look are the flared wheel arches, which cover the huge 17-inch Dunlop mud and snow tyres mounted on six spoke alloy wheels. The side view is gorgeous. It is an SUV in every sense. The 45O slant of the C pillar looks good, and there is no D pillar. The rear quarter glass and the rear windscreen are almost one piece. The spare wheel nestles under the Fortuner’s boot, not on the rear gate, as is to be expected on an SUV.

This is a convenient place for the spare wheel. It means you don’t have to pull all the luggage out to access the spare wheel if it was inside the car. A great advantage on a rainy day when there is slush all around.

The Fortuner shares the platform with the Innova. It is the old-fashioned — but tried and tested — ladder frame chassis. Toyota refers to this as TOP — Toyota Outstanding Platform. It has the same suspension as the Innova. That is not all that the Fortuner and Innova have in common. The interior borrows heavily from the Innova. The entire dashboard, the steering wheel, the wood trim, air-con vents and more are straight lifts from the Innova.

The only difference is the price. In the Innova they are available at half the price. The meters and gauges are good looking and functional. They must be. They are from the Innova. Only a chrome ring has been added. The engine is Toyota D-4D with a 3-litre capacity, pumping out 171 bhp. It is 4-cylinder in line, diesel with intercooler and turbocharged, 16 valves and DOHC. This is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

The Fortuner is a full-time four-wheel drive

The Fortuner is a full-time four-wheel drive. Climbing into the driver’s seat is made easy by a running board and a grab handle on the inside of the A pillar. The seat is comfortable but the lateral travel is restricted. Drivers with long legs sit with the knees at an acute angle. This will build up fatigue over long drives. Legs need to be straight to operate the paddles and sit comfortably.

The seat has height adjustment. All adjustments are manual. Why not electric at this price? The car is equipped with cup holders, air bags, cubby holes, storage bins, remote locking, six CD changer, leather upholstery and ABS.

But most of the cars have them at half the price. At Rs 18.47 lakh — that’s what the Fortuner costs — the question to ask is why it does not have four disc brakes, powered seats, ESP (electronic stability programme), EBDF (electronic brake distribution force), traction control or descent control.

Happy motoring.