Enhanced Hilux hits the spot
The war for supremacy in the ute market is still being waged by market leaders Toyota and Ford, with the Hilux and Ranger.
But modern families now want a vehicle that works on the farm, then scrubs up for a weekend away or a night on the town. So the SUV was born.
With sales of SUVs climbing year after year it's no surprise to see Toyota NZ increase its choice to seven ranges with the recently released Fortuner.
Aimed at the upper-middle end of the choices, the Fortuner is Toyota's 'medium-rugged' SUV costing less than the Land Cruiser Prado, and more hard-core than the 'medium-soft' Highlander.
Offered in three grades – the GX, GXL and Limited – all models use the new 1GD-FTV engine already seen in the 2016 Prado and the new Hi-Lux. With 134kW on tap and up to 450 Nm torque at 1600-2400rpm these motors burn diesel at around 8.6L/100km.
All ranges are available with a super-smooth six-speed automatic transmission, or for those with a twitchy left leg the GX model can be sourced with a six speed manual and the 'intelligent' manual transmission (i-MT) that matches engine revs to gear shifts.
Three selectable drive strategies offer eco, normal and power settings, and combine with easy-to-select 2WD high, 4WD and 4WD low range, for those in search of off-road adventure. Indeed, with a separate chassis, double wishbone front suspension and a four link rear set-up, the vehicles showed optimum handling, great stability and good road handling during our first limited test drive.
In common with all ute-derived SUVs the ride could be described as being on the 'firm' side, but not uncomfortably so.
A raft of safety features such as reversing camera, vehicle stability control, hill-start assist and downhill assist will give novices the confidence to take this vehicle off-road and return safely; its work capabilities include 2.8 tonnes of braked towing capacity and trailer sway control to keep things on the straight and narrow in difficult situations.
Cabin fit and finish are high level, and thoughtful storage areas and cubbyholes ensure a place for all the ephemera we carry in our cars. Three rows of adult size seats give seven perches in total, although the vertical storage of the third row, when not in use, cuts into the load space and could do with a re-think.
As one would expect of this type of vehicle, electronics play their part, and the steering wheel console has a 4.2 inch screen for trip information with a centre console-positioned 7 inch touch screen doing audio, Bluetooth and satnav functions.
GX and GXL is offered with cloth trim over large comfortable seats; the top-end Limited gets the 'bling' – full leather trim, larger alloy wheels and powered seat adjustment.
A neat touch on the GL and Limited is a powered rear door which can be opened without leaving the driver's seat; and a memory function allows set-and-forget for lift height for opening in areas with limited headroom.
