Toyota has been leading the Indian SUV market riding on the Fortuner. Known for quality combined with unmatched macho looks and the company’s legendary after-sales service, the Fortuner has left the competition pretty far behind. But the cut throat competition offered by the rising rivals have compelled Toyota to take the same route which the Mahindra did for its XUV500 i.e, launching a entry level variant to woo more customers. The new Toyota Fortuner entry level variant will get a 4×2 drivetrain and will be the most affordable variant in the range.
The new variant will be powered by a 2.5-litre engine instead of the standard 3.0-litre engine powering the other variants of the Fortuner. This will be the first time that Toyota will offer this engine in the Fortuner in India, the model sold in Thailand has been offered with the same for some time now. It is expected that the new variant will be launched sometime in October, most probably in the first week.
The current 3.0L Fortuner carries a minimum possible price tag of Rs 22.25 lakhs in Delhi and the new cheaper version will definitely attract a wider consumer base if the price is kept somwhere below the 20 lakhs mark. The 2.5L engine is expected to produce a maximum power of 142 BHP and will be mated to a manual transmission.
The next-gen Fortuner has already been spotted in Thailand under testing but it will be at least a year before Toyota launches it in India. The new variant and more ‘limited edition’ variants will be launched to keep the buzz around the SUV from dying. There are also reports suggesting that a 4WD automatic variant of the Fortuner powered by the 3.0-litre engine is also on the anvil, the company has not announced when it will be launched but we are pretty sure it will be launched in India.
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News Courtesy: Autocar India
