Toyota Fortuner: Old vs New

What’s changed for the facelifted Toyota SUV?

The facelifted Toyota Fortuner has been launched in Thailand and it is expected to arrive in India by early 2021. It features notable cosmetic updates, especially to the front fascia, along with new features. Let’s take a look at how both versions of the facelifted Fortuner compare to the outgoing model on sale in India.

Exterior

The dimensions of the Fortuner remain unchanged apart from the 5mm increase in wheelbase that is now 2750mm long. The Thai-spec SUV gets a new Legender trim level which distinguishes itself from the standard model both visually and in terms of features on offer. In the Base form, the visual differences are subtle with a slightly different design, new LED headlamps with integrated LED DRLs and updated LED taillamps.

However, the Fortuner Legender variant gets a Lexus-like front fascia with a smaller grille, sleeker LED headlamps and a large air dam. It gets sportier front and rear bumpers along with new 20-inch dual-tone alloys.

Interior

Inside the cabin, the updates are subtle and vary between the base and Legender variants. Toyota has not changed the layout for the Fortuner’s dashboard but it has updated it with larger touchscreen infotainment systems.

The base model gets an 8.0-inch unit flanked by physical controls while the Legender gets a 9.0-inch display. The pre-facelift model has a 7-inch screen on offer. Both the Base and Legender get new dark upholstery whereas the India-spec pre-facelift SUV gets a dual-tone camel/burgundy colour upholstery. The dials of the instrument cluster have also been refreshed.  

Features

The Fortuner’s infotainment system now comes with Apple CarPlay but still misses out Android Auto compatibility. There’s also a 9-speaker JBL sound system with a subwoofer. The pre-facelift model doesn’t come with any branded audio system and its 7-inch infotainment system misses out on both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

The Legender version also comes equipped with ambient lighting housed on the door panels, a wireless charging pad and a 360-degree parking camera. The facelifted model now gets auto dimming inside-rear view mirror.

It also gets a kick-to-open feature for the powered tailgate.

Safety

Toyota has equipped the new Thai-spec Fortuner with active safety features like pre-collision systems, dynamic cruise control and lane departure alert. These features are unlikely to make it to India.

It continues to get 7 airbags, rear parking sensors, hill assist control, vehicle stability control and ISOFIX child seat anchorage.

Engines

The Thai-spec Fortuner is offered with 2.4-litre and 2.8-litre diesel engines as opposed to the 2.7-litre petrol and 2.8-litre diesel engines offered on the Indian model. Those engines are only offered with automatic transmissions while the Indian-spec Fortuner gets a choice of both manual and automatic with both petrol and diesel engines.

Toyota has improved the 2.8-litre diesel engine for lower NVH levels for a more relaxed cabin experience. It has also increased the power output for this engine in the top spec to make 204PS and 500Nm, 27PS and 80Nm (50Nm for automatic) more than the current 2.8-litre diesel Fortuner in India.

Pricing

The BS6 Toyota Fortuner now retails between Rs 28.66 lakh and Rs 34.43 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Expect the facelifted model with updated features to charge a premium, especially in the top-spec variants.

In Thailand, the new Fortuner will be priced from Rs 32.25 lakh to Rs 43.96 lakh as converted from the prices listed in Thai Baht, i.e., 1,349,000 THB to 1,839,000 THB.

Read More on : Fortuner Automatic