The square root of 144 is 12. Iceland has the highest number of per-capita Nobel Prize winners, at just one recipient. I could continue with vaguely irrelevant facts because let’s be honest, you already know everything about this Toyota Fortuner.
You should know: Nothing, as we just discovered. Everyone knows that a Fortuner is the best SUV in southern Africa because it does everything the general public desires, needs only minor maintenance and will either hold or increase its value over time.
How perfect does that sound? Buy it, use it, abuse it, flog it!
More info: This grey press vehicle featured the latest visual updates and boasted with the highest “VX” level of standard specifications. And although it looked and felt pretty fresh, the poor critter had plainly fallen victim to the usual Fortuner fortune by having already covered tens of thousands of kays by the time we got our turn.
What else? That is, of course, because the fairly rev-shy 150kW turbo-diesel will move this wallowing beast along at a semi-decent pace (performance figures lower down) while sipping a pleasantly small amount of 50ppm diesel from its beeeg 80L tank. The only time this one got even slightly thirsty was in early start-stop traffic of our hilly suburbs.
Why you shouldn’t: Its handling is obviously compromised when compared to the very modern SUV’s (like X5 & Co.) but the flipside is its rugged off-road ability; with rear- or four-wheel drive, plus low-range four-wheel drive. And although early versions had trouble dealing with unpaved roads, this example felt sure-footed and easy to control on a dirt road.
Why you should: Now add a very spacious cabin, five plus two seats, plenty of luxurious pleather, touch-screen media with modern connectivity, plus a banging JBL sound system to the mix to end up with the obvious king of road trips. You also get a choice of eight paint colours including dark olive or blue.
This VX model costs around 950,000 bucks and comes with a 3-year/100,000km warranty and limited 90,000km service plan.
FULL SPECLIST
| Engine: | 2,755cc in-line 4-cylinder turbo-diesel |
| Transmission: | 6-speed Auto, RWD/AWD |
| Max. Power: | 150kW @ 3,000rpm |
| Max. Torque: | 500Nm @ 1,600rpm |
| Avg. cons.: | Claimed 7.9L/100km |
| 0-100km/h: | 10.51 seconds (no claim) |
| Top Speed: | 180.22km/h (claimed 180km/h) |
| List Price: | R944,900 |
