It seems that it is only a matter of time before Toyota Kirloskar Motors launches the facelifted version of the best selling Toyota Fortuner SUV in the Indian market. The butch SUV, a hot favorite in India amongst all those who desire a well built and reliable SUV that is built and looks like a tank on wheels, could be launched sometime in 2012, although a confirmed timeline hasn’t been made public by Toyota just as yet.
A big change in the facelifted Fortuner SUV is widely anticipated to be the addition of a five speed automatic gearbox into the equation, as this is one area where the Fortuner has been found lacking in with competitors like the Ford Endeavour SUV and the Chevrolet Captiva filling the void created by the lack of an automatic gearbox in the Fortuner. So, Toyota might aim to gain marketshare by offering an automatic gearbox in the facelifted Fortuner.
Currently, the Toyota Fortuner comes with the full time all wheel drive option. With the facelifted model. Toyota could also offer a cut price two wheel drive option that can be positioned as a budget entry level variant to spur sales as most Fortuner owners in India might not be using the full functionality of the four wheel drive system. The same 3 liter D-4D common rail, turbocharged and intercooled diesel engine producing 170 Bhp of peak power and 343 Nm of peak torque will do duty on the facelifted Fortuner.
Coming to the other aspects of the facelift, the Fortuner gets a restyled headlamp that is more flared than before and is larger. The tail lamp too gets a redesign and is now much larger than before. The redesigning continues to the grille, which now follows the more expensive Toyota Land Cruiser and Prado models by being flatter, larger and with much more chrome. The front bumper also is another new item in the Fortuner’s list of exterior updates. For now, here’s the video of the facelifted Fortuner caught testing in Bangalore.
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