Toyota Fortuner GX 2020 Review

A seven-seat 4x4 wagon, the Toyota Fortuner GX is priced at $45,965 plus on-road costs. It is the cheapest model in a line-up that also comprises the $50,790 GXL and $58,290 Crusade.

On sale since 2015, the second-generation Fortuner (the first was never sold here) had a $5500 price chop in 2017 because of slow sales. It hasn’t become a hot ticket since then, but does undercut the likes of the LandCruiser and Prado as Toyota’s cheapest go-anywhere SUV.

Based on the top-selling HiLux utility and also built in Thailand, all Fortuners come with a 130kW/450Nm 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, a six-speed automatic transmission and a dial-operated part-time 4x4 system that runs in rear-, four-wheel drive and low-range.

Off-road traction control aids grip, as does hill descent control, while a button-activated locking rear differential helps negotiate the really tough stuff.

Standard Fortuner GX equipment includes 17-inch alloy wheels and a full-size spare tyre mounted on a steel wheel, side steps, air-conditioning with rear outlets, a cooler box, cloth seat trim, a seven-inch touch screen, Bluetooth and voice recognition.

Fortuner does not have a digital speedo, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The GX misses out on embedded satellite navigation and a powered tailgate. It also starts with a key rather than a push button (remember when they were rare?).

Logical rivals for the Fortuner include the Ford Ranger-based Everest, the Mitsubishi Triton-based Pajero Sport and the soon-to-be overhauled Isuzu D-MAX-based MU-X.

We’ll throw another vehicle in here to consider and that’s the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Yep, it’s based on a car-like monocoque platform, but it has excellent off-road capability and a higher (3500kg) braked towing capacity than any of the wagons mentioned above. The Fortuner’s capacity is the lowest of this lot at 2800kg.

The Fortuner comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty. Service intervals are every six months or 10,000km, which is very short these days. Toyota’s standard quote for each of the first six services (three years or 60,000km) is $250. It starts climbing after that; for instance, the four year/80,000km service is $738.40.

The big news in safety terms is the October 2019 update in which the Toyota Fortuner GX – and the other Fortuners – added autonomous emergency braking (AEB), along with adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and assistance and road sign assist.

This laudable update helped ensure the Fortuner range received a five-star rating (2019) from ANCAP.

The AEB system will apply the brakes in an attempt to avoid a collision with another vehicle between 10 and 180km/h. The range is between 10km/h and 80km/h when it comes to pedestrians and cyclists daylight detection.

Other notable safety features include seven airbags, lap-sash seatbelts and head restraints for all passengers, three top-tether and two ISOFIX mounts for row two, a reversing camera, reverse parking sensors and trailer sway control.

The 1GD-FTV engine powering the Fortuner has received plenty of attention since it first arrived here in the eighth-generation HiLux in the 2015. Not all of it good.

A double overhead cam 16-valve unit with chain drive, common-rail direct-injection and a variable-nozzle turbocharger, it also powers the Fortuner and Prado. There are hundreds of thousands of examples in service in Australia.

While it’s a workmanlike performer (more on that below), it’s sadly got into trouble for issues with both its diesel particulate filter (DPF) and with dust leakage past the air filter.

Toyota says it has fixed the DPF problem – which causes excessive smoke and impacts performance – with a manual activation switch, but that’s not stopped a class action representing disgruntled Toyota owners.

Toyota has played down the ‘dusting’ issue, which forces the engine into limp home mode and switches off safety features like stability control without warning. It says the fault impacts only a tiny percentage of vehicles used consistently in dusty environments such as mine sites.

While the Fortuner and HiLux share drivetrains and fundamentally similar ladder-frame chassis, the wagon swaps leaf springs for five-link coils at the rear in the interest of better ride control. It also does away with the ute’s rear drum brakes and replaces them with discs.

At its 2015 launch Toyota pitched the Fortuner as the import with the most Australian development input ever. Local influence extended to the upper body engineering, wiring harness, dynamics and underbody protection.

The Toyota Fortuner GX is a thoroughly competent drive experience. It doesn’t shine in any particular way, but nor does it have an aspect that obviously lets it down.

The engine is the bit that gets closest to doing that. It makes its modest peak power at 3400rpm while peak torque is more flexible, coming in between 1400rpm and 2600rpm.

While it’s refined enough for a working diesel engine, it doesn’t have the energy or refinement of the Everest’s new biturbo 2.0-litre. The Ford’s old-school 3.2-litre five-cylinder option also feels stronger.

With a load onboard and hills to climb the Fortuner’s 2.8 does the job, but without any brio. Avoid the ‘Eco’ mode as it tends to dull response. Conversely, the ‘Power’ mode holds lower gears longer under acceleration which helps a bit. Remember, the Fortuner weighs in at 2120kg before you add people or stuff so a lot is being asked of this engine.

The 8.6L/100km fuel consumption claim is relatively accurate based on our test. Combined with an 80-litre fuel tank an 800km range would seem comfortably feasible unless towing. That’s something we didn’t do this time round but have investigated in the past.

The engine and the six-speed auto are a good enough combination to support the Fortuner’s undoubted off-road skills. It has plentiful ground clearance, good articulation and more than adequate underbody protection.

There are few obstacles this side of the ridiculous that would halt the Fortuner GX. Muddy surfaces that clogged up its Yokohama Geolandar tyres were the main impediment to getting where we wanted to go.

Back on the blacktop the Fortuner proved a relatively comfortable conveyance. It manages to soften the blows of corrugated and dented roads and handles and steers with an encouraging degree of certainty on the open road.

Around town its hydraulically-assisted steering is not too heavy. It’s also aided by a relatively high and open viewing platform (bar the very rear three-quarter head-check) and a relatively modest 11.6 turning circle.

The Toyota Fortuner can fit 200 litres worth of luggage behind row three, 1080 litres when those seats are removed and 1702 litres with row two folded. Incidental storage is good up front, but suffers in the middle row where there are no door pockets.

Adults can comfortably fit in the first two rows in all bar the middle rear seat, which lacks headroom. In typical ladder-frame fashion, it is a bit knees-up in row two, but the seat base slides and the back angle can be adjusted. Row three is kids-only, but access is good via the tumble forward seat-function.

Driver comfort is aided by a reach and rake adjustable steering column, which is a rarity for these types of vehicles. The front seats lack support but are at least sizable.

Far less impressive is the operation of the infotainment touch-screen. Apart from missing functions like CarPlay and sat-nav it’s also clunky in its operation and very easy to muck up when on the run.

This part of the Fortuner is in urgent need of update and overhaul.

The best thing about the Toyota Fortuner GX is it offers real off-road ability in a package that’s affordable as you can get in a Toyota SUV.

The weakest aspect of the Fortuner is its engine. It’s nothing special when it’s running properly and it hasn’t always done that.

So all that pretty much explains why the Fortuner is on the sidelines. There are better vehicles in the class. It’s that simple.

How much does the 2020 Toyota Fortuner GX cost?
Price: $45,965 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 130kW/450Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 228g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)