Toyota Fortuner bookings reopen

More and more Indian customers are discovering their love for the big and bulky SUVs. One fine example of this new founf love for the SUVs is the popularity of Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s SUV Fortuner. The SUV is in great demand so much so that in no time the company was staring at a huge backlog in no time. As a result the company had to take a step and suspend bookings for Toyota Fortuner.

But that is the past as the bookings for the Fortuner have reopened from July 1, 2010 across India. The suspension on bookings came into effect on January 31, 2010 because of the massive backlog of orders. The meet the backlog and the growing demand for the car the company increased the production to more than 950 units per month from the initial 500 units per month. According to Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director-Marketing said, “We would like to thank our customers for the extremely encouraging response till date. The resounding success of the Fortuner in India also meant a backlog of customer orders and high waiting periods. We have now increased the production of the vehicle to more than 950 units to clear the present backlog of less than 4000 customer orders by this September. We are happy to reopen the bookings from the 1st of July for a limited period, and will start deliveries of the vehicle from October until December 2010.”

The brawny SUV Toyota Fortuner was launched in August 2009 and has been successful. The Toyota Fortuner has managed to sell more than 8500 units. This has taken the company into commanding a market share of more than 60 per cent in the mid SUV segment.

The Fortuner looks and feels impressive though it is mostly like the old SUVs. The design is nothing much to talk about but the sheer size and presence is. It dwarfs most of the soft roader SUVs in India and would be a direct competition to the Ford Endeavour in road presence and performance. The design is boxy but is more rounded in comparison to the Endeavour.

The interior sports a two tone dashboard as seen in the Innova with vast slab of grey. The Fortuner also has a large touch screen at the centre console with the aircon controls right under it. There is a climatronic AC system which cools all the three rows of seats. Space and seating comfort is at par with Endeavour and Captiva. There is also plenty of head and leg room. The plastic quality is not the best but it doesn’t disappoint either, leaving no rooms for any complaints.

The mighty beast comes equipped with a 2982cc Common Rail Diesel Engine that churns out 163 PS(160 BHP) of power and 35 kgm of torque, aided by a Variable Geometry Turbocharger (VGT). The choice of transmission is limited to a four speed auto and a five speed manual transmission. The suspension is stiff but it soaks up the jerks and bumps very easily without rattling your bones. The ride and handling is at par with competition. The Fortuner is a true blue SUV unlike most of its counterparts which are soft roaders and offer a car like feel. The huge tyres (Bridgestone Dueler HT 265/65 – R17) offer a decent grip on the road and should offer good off road capability to the giant. Safety features haven’t been compromised with ESP, EBD and traction control on offer.