A South African Legend: the Toyota Fortuner

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South Africans are a loyal bunch of people. Like potatoes, they are rooted in the earth, and follow tradition, although not the entire nation. A good example of those who chop and change their minds would be the Millennial Generation (born between 1981 and 1995). They suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder, due to a never-ending selection of information and choices within their lives. These highly distracting forms of content go whizzing passed their eyes in a thumbs push while on their smart devices. Like bottle tops spinning - the differentiator between what's hot and what’s not is but momentary. Thankfully, this Millennial consumer is sandwiched between the older Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) and the X-Generation (from 1965 to 1980), and now the younger iGeneration (born from 1995 onwards).

Good heavens then that Toyota's top-selling Fortuner appeals to the Boomers and the X's - the potatoes, if you will: salt of the earth and soaked in what they believe. They know that Toyota stands for Quality, Durability and Reliability, or as Toyota abbreviates, QDR.

These generations, who form part of the Fortuner club, enjoy adventure. Weekends and holidays are times when going off the beaten track are par for the course. A Fortuner is seen as part of the family - a workhorse and everlasting friend.

The latest Fortuner, launched in March this year, is selling like hot cakes. In fact, a recent Cars.co.za report listed it as the 2nd best-selling SUV in the country.

Now better than ever, its rugged edges have been neatly manicured and polished to a high-gloss finish. Sharp, bold and modern, its lines sit proudly on its bakkie-based frame. Open it up; hoist yourself into the tall cabin and you'll find a dark chocolate, man-made leather clad suit that's laden with the latest electronic gadgets - all touchscreen.

Being your reliable go-anywhere-anytime car, no journey would be any fun without the gang. Therefore, not satisfied with generous seating for five, the Fortuner offers an additional two seats that fold down into the large boot. A strange arrangement for storage, but a perfect one for fitting everyone.

The Fortuner is available in eight variations. The model on test I reviewed was the 2.8GD-6 4X4. A turbo diesel variant, which is the third for range-topping 4.0 V6 4X4 petrol. I'd reckon the smaller 2.4GD-6, also turbo diesel that should be the most popular choice in the range, albeit not available in 4X4 guise. There's also the entry-level 2.7 auto petrol unit at R429 400, which is great value for your money.

The new 2.8-liter engine is smaller than the 3.0-liter it replaces, but better - it's more powerful, yet frugal. It pushes out a lovely 130kW of power and booting, kicking 450N.m of torque, or shove, as I like to refer to it as. This engine offers frugal fuel economy - I averaged a figure of 7.8l per/100km. Acceleration is more than adequate with easy overtaking, and darts from zero to 100km/h taking a brisk 10 seconds, although it does feel faster with all that torque on hand.

Handling, along with ride comfort, are good by bakkie standards, in fact, I'd say they are great. If measured by large, luxury SUV standards, they aren't great. But remember, this is a real 4X4, in bundu bashing scenes, not a pretty pavement hopper. It's been designed to tackle the rougher routes in life.

Steering, along with the operation of the manual gearbox, is fair - light and relatively easy to use. If you’re going to use your Fortuner in the city, I'd opt for an automatic over the manual gear. Both automatic and manual gearboxes are 6-speed.

Pro's

Modern looks.

Powerful engine.

Entry-level models represent great value for money.

The Swiss Army knife of cars.

Con's

Strange storage design when the third row of seats are stored away.

Competition

Ford Everest, Chevrolet Trailblazer and Land Rover Discovery Sport.

Pricing

Fortuner 2.7 Auto - R429 400

Fortuner 2.4GD-6 R436 400