Toyota Fortuner : Old vs New

While the Toyota Fortuner is a popular SUV in India, it has started to lag behind in terms of features compared to its competitors. As a response, Toyota has launched a mid-life facelift of the SUV in Thailand. It boasts cosmetic updates, additional equipment and an uprated engine. Here’s how different the updated Fortuner is from the current one sold in India:

Design

While the overall silhouette remains the same, there are noticeable cosmetic differences. The biggest one is at the front with its larger grille, revised LED headlamps with LED DRLs and bigger fog lamp housing.

Towards the side, changes are minimal, with the most noticeable one being a new set of alloy wheels.

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At the rear, the new Fortuner gets a revised bumper as well as a new LED pattern for the tail lamps that resembles the Camry sedan.

A new top-spec Legender variant in Thailand sports further changes in the form of a Lexus-like front end, larger air dams, sportier bumpers and 20-inch dual-tone alloy wheels.

Interior

Step inside the Fortuner facelift and you’ll notice that the cabin is relatively similar aside from a few subtle updates like darker upholstery compared to the dual-tone camel/burgundy colour upholstery in the pre-facelift Fortuner in India.

A closer look reveals that the instrument cluster has received modern touches alongside subtle updates.

The most noticeable change on the inside is that the touchscreen infotainment system has gone up from 7-inches to 8-inches and 9-inches for the Legender variant. It also finally gets Apple CarPlay but misses out on Android Auto.

Features

The facelifted Fortuner Legender receives more feature upgrades like connected technology, a 9-speaker JBL sound system, ambient lighting, 360-degree camera, wireless phone charger and Activated Kick door that allows you to open the boot by waving your leg underneath the car. It retains comforts like climate control, cruise control, powered driver’s seat, drive modes and keyless entry with push button start from the pre-facelift model.

Powertrains

The main updates to the Fortuner facelift lie under the hood. While it retains its 2.8-litre diesel engine, it gets a power bump to 204PS of power and 500Nm of torque. That’s 27PS and 50Nm (80Nm for manual) more than the India-spec Fortuner automatic. In Thailand, the other engine option is a 2.4-litre diesel engine compared to the 2.7-litre petrol mill in India. 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. Like before, the facelifted Fortuner gets the option of rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive.

Pricing

The pre-facelift Fortuner in India is priced from Rs 28.66 lakh to Rs 34.43 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). On the other hand, the Thailand-spec Fortuner facelift retails from 1,349,000 THB (Rs 32.34 lakh) to 1,839,000 THB (Rs 44.09 lakh). When the Fortuner facelift shows up in India, expect a premium in prices, especially for the top spec variants.

Expect the facelifted Toyota Fortuner to reach India by early 2021. Post launch, it will take on the likes of the Ford Endeavour, Mahindra Alturas G4, and the upcoming MG Gloster.