New Toyota Fortuner Makes its Middle East Debut In Bahrain

The Toyota Fortuner has been the go-to SUV for those scouting a butch seven-seater that has the ability to smother everything in its path. Being present in the Middle-East region since 2006, the Fortuner has struck a connect with its audience through its bulletproof reliability. 5 years after the current generation’s debut, Toyota has introduced a facelift which brings with it some much required features, tech and design expiation to keep it contemporary and relevant in the current scheme of things. 

Exterior 

To perceive the overhauls, it’s better to park the current and the pre-facelift generations side-by-side as only then will the changes be noticed. Though its styling adage of Lexus-inspired design cues remains a major takeaway, revamps such as a new mesh pattern for the grille, a stubby skid plate on the bumper, LED lights at the bottom, slightly tweaked headlamps featuring LEDs and honeycomb pattern for the air intakes justify it for a facelift and gives it the freshness it required. 

Differences are even minimal on the side with just the wheels receiving a different design. That being said however, it continues to display a great road presence with its tall stature, high shoulder line, a kink near the C-pillar to augment its mammoth proportions and roof-rails which are an essential characteristic for any SUV.

The only update given to the car’s already handsome rear is tweaked taillamps which feature a different pattern for the red inserts on the LED lights. 

Interior

The cockpit of the Fortuner was always a nice place to be as it had tons of space on offer, came with a decent amount of features and that commanding view of the road which it loaned its buyers made it a great rounded proposition. So why fix what’s not broken, isn’t it? Hence, the facelift only brings with it an updated infotainment system which supports new-age features such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to speak of the major updates. The screen has grown in size as well for better visibility. A tweaked speedometer is found in the instrument binnacle to enhance its novelty factor. 

Features

There are a slew of driver assistance and convenience features such as 6 speakers, vehicle stability control, ABS with EBD and tyre pressure monitoring system. To enliven its safety, it gets airbags for front passenger and driver’s knee airbag as well. 

Performance

The eminent choices of the 2.7-litre and the 4.0-litre gasoline options continue to serve under the hood as powerplants for the facelift. The former is available with  164 hp and 245 Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed automatic ratchet while the latter is for the petrolheads as it produces 235 hp and 376 Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. While the less powerful powertrain does the 0-100 Km/h sprint in over 12 seconds, the latter easily clinches it in around 9 seconds. As many will be using it for off-roading excursions such as dune bashing, it is available in a 4-wheel drive syntax too. 

Despite the facelift, the competition has moved on quite a bit with the recent introduction of the X-Terra in our region. Will it be able to flex itself to give its Japanese competitors sleepless nights and a run for their money?