2016 Toyota Fortuner

Can the new Fortuner build on the unprecedented success of its predecessor?

- Anand Mohan

2009 WAS AN unpredictable time for the automotive industry. I remember how the financial struggle had led to hirings being frozen, almost every business was under pressure and the auto industry world over was struggling to make ends meet. In the whole scheme of things, car launches were few and far between and expensive cars didn’t stand a chance at success. Everyone was thinking budget cars, and somewhere in between, came the Toyota Fortuner. An SUV with which Toyota was asking north of ₹20 lakh, and getting it with very little effort. The success of the Fortuner was mind boggling. How could something in this price range sell over a thousand units every month? As of today, over one lakh Fortuners have been sold in India, which averages to about 15,000 a year, and globally the Fortuner accounts for 15 per cent of Toyota’s sales. And it commands a considerable premium here: to give you an idea, internationally, the Fortuner costs about 30-40 per cent more than an Innova but in India, it is close to 70 per cent. It is that popular. Politicians buy it, television stars swear by it, anyone who wants to demonstrate a position of power wants a Fortuner... preferably in white. It doesn’t matter to most that it is a capable off-roader with mechanicals that last forever; its butch styling did the trick. So naturally the new Fortuner has to scare you silly when it fills your rear view mirror. If it can tick that box, the rest of it will follow – reliability, ruggedness, a modern package and good quality. We flew all the way to Kochi to find out all of this and more.