This article is about an SUV with a huge fan following and has been ruling its segment since 2009 and SUV that sells in really high numbers despite having some flaws in it. Yes, we're saying about an SUV which has always given a tough competition to the Ford Endeavor, it's none other than Toyota Fortuner. The Fortuner took it,s name from the word Fortune, it searched for its luck in countries that require a rugged suspension, long-lasting ability, and durabilities, thanks to poor roads. The 1st Generation of the Toyota Fortuner was based on the IMV platform shared with the old Innova and the Fortuner had a pickup truck version called the Hilux. This generation of the Toyota Fortuner actually went on sale in 2005 in Thailand, but in India, we have got the Facelifted model in 2009. The 2005 model of the Fortuner had different lights, different grills, and even the shape of the bonnet was slightly and it actually resembled the Toyota Innova to a great extent. In India, the Toyota Fortuner was initially brought down via the CKD route and it was assembled in Toyota's plant in Bidadi, Karnataka. The Toyota Hilux pickup truck is extremely popular in the Middle Eastern and Gulf countries. A lot of people used this vehicle for a lot of different purposes and even the Toyota Fortuner which is considered to be a premium SUV here in India, which is actually an Entry-level SUV in the Gulf. The Toyota Fortuner became a household name in India on its launch, just like the Innova, the Fortuner also became an instant success and there was a huge waiting period for this SUV. The Fortuner was launched in India at a time when there were very limited options available in the market like the Mitsubishi Pajero and the Ford Endeavour, also we had some monocoque SUVs like the Chevrolet Captiva and the Honda CR-V on sale back in the day. So finally in 2009 we have got the Toyota Fortuner in India and it was launched in a Single Variant for Rs 18.45 Lakhs ex-showroom, well that was almost half the price of the current Fortuner. Toyota aimed to capture a 50% market share with the Fortuner but they actually ended up capturing 75% market with the Fortuner. They had a monthly production capacity of 550 units at their Karnataka plant and eventually increased production capacity. The 1st Generation Toyota Fortuner was powered by a 3.0 Litre 1 KD FTB Diesel Engine making 171 PS of power and 343 NM of torque with a 5-speed manual transmission. Initially, there was no automatic transmission on offer but the Toyota Fortuner also came with a 4x4 system with a low range LSD and locking differential. Only 1 variant of the Toyota Fortuner was launched in India and it had all the basic features like Dual Front Airbags, ABS, Electrically adjustable mirrors, a Basic audio system, and Steering mounted audio control. Apart from that, the interior cabin was not too luxurious and it kind of resembled the Toyota Innova too. The Toyota Fortuner ended up becoming a big nightmare for all of its rivals. Sales of other SUVs were dented quite a bit and even the new variant wasn't helping them much. Within 30 days of its launch, the Toyota Fortuner gathered 7000 bookings in India, which was almost 10x more than all of its rivals sold collectively in 1 month.
In September 2009, Toyota actually had to suspend the bookings for the next 7 months, because of its crazy demand. Toyota launched the Fortuner globally in 2005, and since then the company had sold 2.5 Lakhs units of this SUV in 60 countries. In India, even before the announcement of the price, the Toyota Fortuner secured 2500 bookings. Sales figures of other SUVs started declining drastically, and the Ford Endeavour saw an 85% drop in sales, and even Hindustan Motors sold a very limited number of units of the Pajero after the launch of the Fortuner, and compared to the previous year, Pajero had almost a 50% decline in Sales. Honda was the market leader in the SUV segment back in the day, and they even sold only 77 units of the CR-V. Surely the Fortuner is bringing some very good fortunes for the Toyota. In August 2010, Toyota brought in the Fortuner anniversary edition to celebrate the success of the Fortuner in India, and the sales of this SUV are constantly surpassing the expectations of the company. Again in April 2010, Toyota had to temporarily suspend new bookings for the Fortuner, the bookings were reopened in July but after a month Toyota again suspended bookings. If we discuss the Anniversary edition of the Toyota Fortuner, it came with the body-colored front bumper spoiler, body-colored rear roof spoiler, and body-colored rear bumper spoiler, along with that it also got a chrome-plated muffler tip. Only 250 units of the Anniversary edition Toyota Fortuner were made and this variant was priced at Rs 20.45 Lakhs ex-showroom. Early 2011, Toyota finally managed to clear all the backlogs of the Toyota Fortuner, and bookings were reopened again. It was during that time when BMW first launched its X1 in India, and it was priced close to the sanity of the Fortuner, because of the long waiting period of the Fortuner, there is a possibility of some customers skipping the Fortuner and opting for the BMW X1, because obviously even though the X1 is smaller it provided them the luxury and appeal. In fact, there was a point in time when BMW X1 used to cost just Rs 25 Lakhs on-road for a brand new car. In April 2011, Toyota started offering the sports package with the Fortuner, it was priced at Rs 42,650 and it included floor mats, a muffler tip, and a body kit, but the performance in the sports variant was still the same as the regular variant. The Toyota Fortuner had some of its inherent flaws like its bumpy ride quality and inadequate braking performance. A lot of customers complained about the brakes and finally, the SUV got a well-deserved upgrade for its brakes. Initially, the Fortuner used to come with a similar braking setup as the Innova which felt inadequate for an SUV of this size and weight but later on the brakes were upgraded, the brake disc was made thicker and even the size of the brake pads was increased. Even some of the old customers of the Toyota Fortuner were offered larger and thicker brake discs and upgraded brake pads similar to the Land Cruiser Prado.
At the 2012 Auto Expo in India, Toyota brought in the facelifted Fortuner, it got the same 3.0 liter Diesel Engine but this time it was also offered with Automatic Transmission, it got a better audio system, new grille, new headlamps, and new taillamps. Toyota then launched the new TV ad with Virat Kohli and the tagline was "Waku-Duki Waku-Duki". In January 2013, Toyota finally gave the Fortuner a 5-speed automatic transmission, because the previous one was an old 4-speed unit. The 2013 Toyota Fortuner was priced from Rs 22.33 - 22.93 Lakhs, and the top variant was the TRD Toyota Fortuner Sportivo Version. Toyota also brought in the Manual 4x2 TRD Sportivo version which was priced at just Rs 21.96 Lakhs. In January 2015, Toyota again upgraded the Fortuner, it got a new top of the line 3.0 Litre 4x4 Automatic variant and it also got a 2.5 liter Diesel engine shared with the older Innova, the 2.5 liter Diesel engine was only offered with the 4x2 and it delivered a 142 Horsepower and 343 Nm torque in comparison to the 3.0 liter Diesel Engine which made 168 Horsepower and 360 NM torque. The 2015 Toyota Fortuner priced from Rs 24.35 - 26.5 lakhs ex-showroom.
It was in 2016 when Toyota finally discontinued the 1st generation Fortuner and started preparing for the launch of the new generation, was at this time when Ford launched the new generation Endeavour which was a massive spet up from the older Endeavour and it was much more capable, it looked much better, it had a lot more technology as well, and it also came with a better 2.2 liter and 2.3 liter Diesel Engine options. The 2nd Generation Toyota Fortuner came to India in November 2016. It was the time when pollution was quite high and the Government was actually banning SUVs with Diesel Engine having more than 200CC capacity and this lead to a slightly negative sentiment to the minds of the buyers, which is why the Fortuner got a Petrol Engine as well. The Toyota Fortuner was launched with the 2.7 Litre Petrol Engine and a 2.8 liter Diesel Engine, and 4x4 was only offered with the Diesel Engine but both the Engines got a manual or an automatic gearbox. The 2nd Generation Toyota Fortuner was launched at the starting price of Rs 25.92 - 31.12 Lakhs ex-showroom Delhi. The 2nd generation Toyota Fortuner came with a lot more features compared with the outgoing 1st generation model. It got switchable driving mode Eco mode and Power Mode, it got LED projector headlamps, it got DRLs, a Power tailgate, and a powered driving seat. The Toyota Fortuner also got Dual Zone Automatic Climate Control, a Touchscreen infotainment system, 7 Airbags, and ABS. The exteriors and the interiors of the 2nd Gen Toyota Fortuner were completely revamped, and the new styling also got mixed responses from the people, while some people preferred the clean styling of the older Fortuner, there were a lot of people going over the gaga of the Lexus like the design of Fortuner. The 2.7-liter Petrol engine of the Fortuner delivered 166 PS of power and 245 Nm torque, and this was offered with a 5-speed manual and 6-speed Torque Converter while the 2.8 liter Diesel Engine also shared with the Innova Crysta delivered 177 PS of power and 420 NM of Torque on Manual and 450 NM on the Automatic variant. The Diesel variant got a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter.
The New Fortuner also gave birth to the New Hilux, this SUV also scored a 5-star safety rating in the Latin NCAP crash test. The 2nd Generation Toyota Fortuner is based on the TNGA i.e, Toyota New Global Architecture platform, shared with the Innova Crysta. In 2018, Toyota gave the Fortuner a small update, it got some extra features like rear fog lamps, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, an Electric Adjustment front passenger seat, and an upgraded Anti-theft alarm (glass break and ultrasonic sensor) in the cabin. In 2019, Toyota launched the TRD Sportivo version of the 2nd Generation Toyota Fortuner, priced just Rs 33.85 lakhs ex-showroom. Now, this new variant was only offered with the 2.8 liter Diesel Engine initially with a 6-speed automatic transmission, and only in 4x2. The new TRD Sportivo Version came with Blackened Grill, a Dual-tone paint scheme, blackened pillars, and Faux skid plates for both the bumpers along with 18-inch alloy wheels this variant also got TRD badging on the front and on the rear. In 2020, when the BS6 Fortuner came out the prices were increased by Rs 48,000 but before the launch of the BS6 Fortuner, there were a lot of rumors floating around, people said that the 2.8 liters will be discontinued and the 2.4 liter Diesel engine from the Innova will make its place in the Fortuner and also the BS6 Fortuner will be pricier by Rs 3 - 4 Lakhs, so yeah, 48,000 didn't seem that much. Toyota again launched the Fortuner TRD limited edition in India, and this time it was priced at Rs 34.98 Lakhs for the 4x2 automatic Diesel and Rs 36.88 Lakhs for the 4x4 automatic Diesel. So finally the TRD Sportivo variant came with 4x4. Now if we discuss the changes of the TRD Sportivo, it came with black leather seats with contrasting red stitching and dual-tone red inserts on the dashboard, along with that the TRD variant also got a red push start button, 11 speakers JBL audio system, and carbon or kevlar inserts on the gear lever and on the steering wheel. It was also in 2020 where Toyota showed the Fortuner facelift globally, and an early 2021, the updated Fortuner was launched in India along with that the new Fortuner Legender also made its way to India. The 2021 Toyota Fortuner is priced from Rs 29.98 - 37.58 Lakhs ex-showroom, which is quite a lot but then this SUV a lot of buyers as well. With this facelift, the new Fortuner got cosmetic updates, mechanical upgrades, and extra features, and this one also scored a 5-star ASEAN NCAP rating. The 2021 Toyota Fortuner is loaded with a lot of features and it also got some extras over the older version of Fortuner. This one gets Connected car technology, ventilated seats, a cool glove box, heat rejection glass and of course, the regular features like 7 airbags, ABS+EBD, Vehicle stability control, Hill-start assist, keyless go with push-button start, dual-zone automatic climate control, but it still doesn't get a sunroof. The Toyota Fortuner facelift is also a bit more powerful than before, the 2.7-liter petrol engine turns out the same output as before but the 2.8 liter Diesel Engine now makes 204 PS power and 500 Nm Torque. The Fortuner facelift also comes with a sportier top model know as the Legender, the Legender variant gets slimmer and sharper headlamps, a sharper grill and the front facial also looks sportier than the regular Fortuner. The Fortuner Legender gets dual projector LED headlamps, LED DRLs, LED turn indicators, a gloss black finish on the grill instead of the chrome on the regular Fortuner, and a 20-inch alloy wheel. Sadly the Toyota Fortuner Legender misses out on 4x4 and it is priced Rs 3 lakhs more than the regular 4x2 automatic variant. In fact, the price of the regular 4x2 automatic and legendary 4x2 automatic is so similar that people might get confused, which one to buy. Now people who really want the true capabilities of Toyota Fortuner will obviously offer the 4x4 regular Fortuner, but people who just want a flashy SUV just for style, they might go for the Legender. Toyota cars are known for their reliability and the Fortuner and the Innova are no different, they are reliable, easy to maintain, they are family-oriented vehicles, and they fetch brilliant resale value. These cars last really long and you can still see hundreds of old Fortuner flying on the roads. In fact in the used car market today, Toyota Fortuner goes for as high as Rs 8 - 10 Lakhs, which speaks volumes of the kind of demand this car has. Also, those who are selling their 10-year-old Fortuner had actually brought these cars for Rs 20 Lakhs back in the day, so they have got brilliant value for money.
Okay buying a Fortuner today is a very costly proposition as the top variants cost around Rs 45 Lakhs on road, and if you are spending so much money so be sure that the Fortuner will outlast you even with basic maintenance and that's the reason why Fortuner sells so much.
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