Toyota Fortuner beefed up for fight with new Ford Everest

The Toyota Fortuner’s sales numbers speak for themselves. Not only is it the bestselling body-on-frame SUV in South Africa, but over time also the bestselling mid-sized SUV.

The Fortuner has maintained a healthy lead over its nearest rival, the Ford Everest. The all-new Ford Everest offers the Blue Oval its best chance yet of wrestling some market share from Toyota.

Therefore, the Japanese carmaker’s timing of introducing subtle tweaks to the Fortuner could not have been any better.

Watch Toyota Fortuner from up close

Just as Ford has introduced Wildtrak and XLT models to the Everest range, which debuted last year only in Platinum and Sport guise, the Blue Oval’s onslaught will be met with a nip and tucked Toyota Fortuner.

Quite coincidentally, the Isuzu MU-X, which jostles with the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport for the distant third place in the segment, have also been updated.

The revised Isuzu line-up will receive a first-ever 1.9-litre derivative later in the year. This model will be the gateway to the range, making it more accessible to give it more leverage against the top dogs.

But back to the updated Toyota Fortuner. The Citizen Motoring drove it on a scenic launch drive over gravel mountain passes in the Southern Cape last month.

Despite holiday trips like that, the majority of Fortuners will be spending most of their lives between their homes, offices, schools and shops.

That is exactly what we’ll be doing with the long-term Toyota Fortuner that was deliver to our offices last week.

The Citizen Motoring will put our top-spec 2.8 GD-6 4×4 VX clad in Glacier White through everyday city life, with the occasional open road trip thrown into the mix.

Subtle but striking

The 2023 updates to the Toyota Fortuner were very subtle, but are striking nonetheless.

Up front, the grille splitting into an upper and lower part make an immediate impression. This goes along with an updated bi-LED headlamp design, accentuated fog lamps housings, sequential turn lamps and new skidplate.

At, Lexus-esque black L-shape corner mouldings on the bumper differentiates the model from previous ones. In turn, the familiar chrome strips joining the taillights has been changed to black.

Viewed from the side, the Toyota Fortuner sports newly designed silver and black 18-inch alloy wheels.

Moving inside, the biggest tweak from the previous model sees the Toyota Fortuner go from black to a maroon and black colour combination.

Most of the finished remain black, with a gloss black ornamentation pattern. Maroon is introduced on the door inserts and on the leather seats and their contrast stitching.

Interior ambience illumination makes its debut in the Fortuner, while the instrument cluster features new meter graphics and illumination.

Occupants in the rear now also have access to twin type-B USB ports.

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Toyota Fortuner power unchanged

Up front, the Toyota Fortuner 4×4 VX is powered by the familiar 2.8-turbodiesel engine that makes 150 kW of power and 500 Nm of torque and is mated to six-speed automatic gearbox.

There isn’t much we can say about this diesel mill that we haven’t said before. While not being the most refined oil-burning engine you can find, it will probably survive the apocalypse, the British Monarch and current battery-electric vehicles.

We achieved fuel consumption of just over 10 litres per 100 km during our first week in the Toyota Fortuner, which is about par for the course.

The good and the bad

Along with the never-say-die engine, we also like that the 4×4 mode selector. Nothing beats a good old turning knob on the centre console.

The electric tailgate and the front seat warmers also come in very handy.

Things in the Fortuner we don’t like include the two third-row seats folding up to the sides. While Ford has perfected the fold-flat third row in the Everest, we feel the side folding option takes up too much boot space.

Strangely, we also can’t figure out why the driver’s sunvisor still don’t have a vanity mirror. Many Fortuner buyers are women and you’d expect Toyota to have addressed that little omission by now.

The Toyota Fortuner 2.8GD-6 4×4 VX costs R915 400. It is sold standard with a nine-service/90 000 km service plan and three-year/100 000 km warranty.