It hardly warranted changing, Toyota’s all-conquering SUV, that simply could do no wrong whether driven around suburbia or tackling serious off-road terrain. The stats reflect this; since its launch in 2006 the Fortuner consistently sells around 900 units per month and accounts for 50 per cent of all medium-sized SUVs sold. It is the car every competitor dreams of beating. Nevertheless a revamped cosmetic package has been added to further strengthen its grip and early indications are that it will do just that.
The front design gets new headlights with black-out details and the fogs get a new bezel finish. Same story at the back with new lights and matching black-out detail. Chrome wing mirrors replace the colour coded ones. Unique edition models under the name ‘Epic’ gain a chrome nudge bar, 17-inch dark grey alloys and towbar with rear-sill protector. Epic models will account for 50 per cent (produced over a two month period) of all 3.0D-4D and 4.0 V6 models.
Like I said in the beginning, the Fortuner is almost immune to change and even with the cosmetic refreshments there’s little reason to jump into a new model at the expense of your old one. You know what they say, if it ain’t broke…
Pricing
Fortuner 3.0 D-4D 4×2 Epic R461 800
Fortuner 3.0 D-4D 4×2 auto Epic R474 700
Fortuner 4.0 V6 4×2 auto Epic R493 100
Fortuner 3.0 D-4D 4×4 Epic R513 400
Fortuner 3.0 D-4D 4×4 auto Epic R526 500
Fortuner 4.0 V6 4×4 auto Epic R544 500
