A test unit of the facelifted Toyota Fortuner was recently placed in our care. We reacquainted ourselves with this top-selling model.

To say that the Toyota Fortuner sells well is a bit of an understatement. It has been a sales success since its introduction in 2016. In fact, the Fortuner can gobble upwards of 50 per cent of the volume in the mid-size SUV segment. During the first half of this year alone the model has tallied nearly 1 000 units PER month. That’s a figure most manufacturers would like to see in a year.

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With that in mind, you can see why Toyota does not mess with the product that South Africans, obviously, love and accept so easily. However, to remain at the forefront a facelifted Toyota Fortuner was unveiled earlier this year. We recently got a close look at one and note some of the main changes.

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5 Things To Know About the Facelifted Toyota Fortuner

  1. The facelifted Toyota Fortuner has a new err, face and tail. The front-end has LED detailing in the headlamps for a more modern appearance. A resculpted front bumper has a larger lower air intake and reshaped foglamp housings. The rear has reshaped taillamps that are slimmer and feature three-dimensional surfaces. There are also newly designed, 18-inch alloy wheels across the range
  2. The cabin of the top-spec VX version (as driven) has two-tone leather as standard. Maroon inserts and contrasting stitching of the same colour are a welcome break from the somewhat dark interior treatment (black leather, black door cards and roof lining of the same colour).
  3. There is a new instrument cluster screen with sharper graphics. There is also a new JBL hifi that boasts 11 speakers. The system is powerful and dishes out great vocals from the front-mounted speakers as well as punchy bass from the subwoofer on the rear door. Interestingly, satellite navigation has been removed from the infotainment system. Toyota SA believes that owners will opt to mirror their mobile devices via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
  4. The fundamentals have not been altered. That, of course, is a good thing. Toyota SA would be silly to mess with a winning recipe. The facelifted Toyota Fortuner still offers the same level of go-anywhere ability with its 4×4 system and rear diff’ lock. In fact, we even got to use the off-road goodies thanks to a weekend visit to friends in the Swartland that turned into an impromptu nature expedition (pics above). We would not have undertaken the excursion in almost any other test car, but the Fortuner hardly seemed bothered by the change in road type.
  5. It’s not that light on fuel. Toyota’s official claimed fuel consumption figure is 7,9 litres/100 km. We averaged just over 10. It’s not bad considering the Fortuner weighs just under 2,1 tons and has ‘only’ a six-speed transmission, as opposed to the 7-,8- and 9-speed options of other SUV options on the market.

Model: Toyota Fortuner 2,8 4×4 VX AT
Price: R942 900
Engine: 2,8-litre 4-cylinder turbodiesel
Transmission: six-speed, automatic AWD
Max power: 150 kW
Max torque: 500 N.m
0-100 km/h: n/a
Top speed: n/a
Fuel consumption: 7,9 km