All-new 2016 Toyota Fortuner: 10 things you DON’T know about

The new SUV will be competing directly against the Ford Endeavour and upcoming Skoda Kodiaq. Now that Toyota has confirmed the launch of the new Fortuner, here are 10 things that you should know about the upcoming SUV.

Most powerful Fortuner ever

The new Fortuner will be powered by a new set of GD turbo diesel engines that offer significant power and torque boosts. The 2.4-liter motor will make  148 Bhp-400 Nm, while the 2.8-litre will make 177 Bhp-450 Nm. It will get 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions. Currently, the Fortuner is powered by 2.5 liter and 3.0-liter turbo diesel engines that produce 143 Bhp-343 Nm and 169 Bhp-343 Nm respectively.

Petrol Power

Even though the ban has been lifted from the diesel engine of 2,000cc or more capacity, a new 1% environment cess has been added to such cars. This makes the vehicles much more expensive. Toyota recently launched the petrol variant of the Crysta with petrol engine.

Like the Innova Crysta, the Fortuner could also get a similar 2.7-litre petrol engine in future. The petrol powered four-cylinder 16-valve engine produces a maximum of 148 BHP and is available with both manual and automatic transmissions.

Better fuel efficiency

Unlike the current 4X4 in the Fortuner, the new one will not offer full-time 4X4. The new Fortuner will engage the 4X4 mode only when the situation demands. We all know how rarely the 4X4 comes into play. Making the vehicle part time 4X4 will save a lot of energy, and this will translate into huge fuel savings.

New Chassis

The all-new Fortuner is built on the IMV II platform. The new chassis of the car is stiffer than the current one. It will be translate into better handling. Also, the stiffer chassis allows Toyota to fit slightly softer springs and more absorbent dampers, making it more comfortable. The new SUV will be much sharper to drive and yet will offer more comfort than the current Fortuner. It will also be more agile.

Tougher and rugged

The current Fortuner is not a fragile piece of work. The second generation of the SUV will be tougher than the current version. The new ladder-on-frame chassis has been reinforced by side rails. It also gets strut tower brace for suspensions and a robust cross-member, making it a very difficult toy to break easily.

New interiors

The new Fortuner will get a lot of bells and whistles. On the inside, the new SUV gets premium features that make the current Fortuner look like pre-historic age. The new SUV gets leather-wrapped seats, chrome inserts on the dashboard, touch-sensitive infotainment system and a new instrument cluster.

Will be safer

The current Fortuner comes with drum brakes in the rear. Initially, many Fortuner customers faced poor braking. While Toyota upgraded the front brakes in 2005 with bigger discs and new calipers, braking is still the weak point of this SUV.

All this will change with the new model.  The new Fortuner gets disc brakes on all four wheels. It will also get standard ABS and EBD that will take away a lot of braking related worries. Expect the 2016 Fortuner to stop more confidently.

Easier to drive

The new Fortuner will receive a long list of electronic driving aids to assist the driver during difficult situations. The car will get Vehicle Stability Control, Downhill Assist Control, Trailer Stability Control which prevents the trailer from swaying, Engine Traction Control, Active Traction Control and Rear cross-axle differential lock.

The 2WD mode gets all the electronic assists but in 4X4 situations, all the assist become highly active. There are options to disengage traction control and vehicle stability control in the 4X4 low ratio.

Sharing a lot with the Innova Crysta

The new Fortuner will share a lot of parts with the Innova Crysta. Both the car are built on the platform, IMV II. The engines will be the same. The new Fortuner will get a lot of features that similar to the Innova Crysta like 20 water holders in the car, easy slide seat, cooled glove box and much more.

Launch preponed

At one point of time, Toyota announced that there will be no new investments in India, and that the new Fortuner would not arrive in the market. Now though, the launch of the Fortuner has been advanced to November of this year. The decision of lifting the diesel ban was the decisive factor of the arrival of new Fortuner.