Toyota Fortuner facelift breaks cover, gets bolder styling cues
Fortuner's last update was almost five years back and so, it was quite a closely-followed development when Toyota finally introduced the 2020 facelift in Thailand on Thursday. The wait may have been well worth it as the Fortuner facelift now gets several styling upgrades on the outside, a few equipment revisions in the cabin and a new and more powerful diesel engine.
The Fortuner has been a dominant player in several markets for Toyota, including Thailand. Here, the company showcased the 2020 Fortuner facelift which now gets a completely new front grille, bumper design and head lights. These further accentuate the purposeful yet stylish front appeal of the SUV. Over at the rear, the LED tail lights have been given a sleeker makeover.
There is a sportier Legender variant on offer which gets a split grille and a distinct front bumper design. It comes with gloss black finish at the front instead of getting the chrome treatment and this extends to the rear bumper and boot lid as well. The vehicle sits on 20-inch alloys and gets sequential LED turn signal.
The SUV now also gets TConnect system from Toyota which enables mobile-based features like location, theft alert, Geo-Fenching and SOS connect to the response center. It can also be used for telematics car for features such has maintenance reminder and vehicle diagnostics.
Inside the cabin, the facelift Fortuner mostly resembles the outgoing model barring a larger eight-inch touchscreen. It is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Legender variant on offer gets an even bigger nine-inch touchscreen, ambient illumination and wireless phone charger.
(Check out more pics of Toyota Fortuner facelift here)
In terms of safety, seven airbags are standard across all variants while the top variant gets additional features like active cruise control and lane-keep assist.
The SUV is offered in six colour options in the Thai market - Black, Red, White, Dark Grey Metallic, Silver Metallic and Black Mica.
Under the hood, a new and more powerful 2.8-litre diesel engine is on offer. This engine is capable of a maximum power output of 204 ho and has 500 Nm of torque. It is being suspected that the more powerful engine could have been necessitated by the popularity that pickup trucks are finding in the Thai market and that power output of 200 Nm and above is a key buying factor for buyers here. Interestingly, Toyota has claimed that the mileage in the more powerful diesel variant continues to be the same as before and the figure stands at 13.9 kmpl.
In India, the only diesel engine available inside the Fortuner currently is the 2.4-litre motor which belts out 150 hp of power and has 400 Nm of torque. This was recently upgraded to meet BS 6 norms.
Toyota is unlikely to bring the Fortuner facelift to India anytime before 2021. Indications are that the upgraded diesel engine too could make its way here which would bump up the price range of the vehicle which competes against Ford Endeavour and Mahindra Alturas G4.
