2016 Toyota Fortuner GX Manual Review – Tow, Tow, Tow Your Boat
TOYOTA DESCRIBES ITS 2016 HiLUX-BASED FORTUNER AS THE "AFFORDABLE" TURBO-DIESEL ALTERNATIVE TO THE KLUGER "FOR THOSE WHO ASPIRE TO OWN A LANDCRUISER".
Landcruiser attributes it certainly has. Whereas the V6 petrol-only Toyota Kluger is little more than a large wagon (with an optional on-demand AWD drivetrain), the Fortuner, like the Landcruiser - Prado and 200 Series - is designed and built to tackle any road, track, riverbed or desert crossing.
The Fortuner is also a seven-seat SUV. One that can take you and your family up any of those tracks or riverbeds, and with a trailer or caravan hitched behind.
Much cheaper than the Prado, but sharing the same 2.8 litre turbo-diesel engine and capability, and cheaper than Ford's Everest (which is priced against the Prado), we've driven the Fortuner range off-road and been impressed.
But this time around we're taking the entry-level Fortuner GX manual for an extended, mainly urban, spin. Is it really, we want to know, a diesel alternative to the Kluger?