Toyota Fortuner 3.0 4WD automatic review, test drive

What's it like to drive?

Take off from rest in the automatic 4X4 Fortuner and you can feel the slurring torque converter working hard against all that mass. As a result, the automatic feels a bit more sluggish off the line than the manual gearbox-equipped car, the auto 'box sapping a bit of the power here. Acceleration doesn't feel particularly slow, its 0-100kph time of 12.32seconds is actually quite okay.

The 3.0-litre unit is a gruff, gravelly diesel. It does feel much more relaxed when cruising at between 2000 and 3000rpm and the gearbox is reasonably quick to downshift too. What makes the Fortuner nice to drive is that there isn't any discernable turbo lag, so it is quick to respond and snaps up overtaking opportunities nicely.

Low speed ride, as on earlier Fortuners, is a bit lumpy. And there's also a bit of shuddering from all the unsprung mass being thrown around. The ride, however, improves as you go faster and the suspension does a good job over really bad patches of road. Stability is also decent and the weighty steering has a good amount of feel as well. The brakes, however, aren't up to scratch. They work fine for regular driving, but don't quite deliver the stopping power needed when you need to stop in a hurry.

When driven off road, the Fortuner is its capable self even with the automatic. Locking the differentials in high is good enough for most situations, and if conditions become even more arduous you can always drop the gearbox down into low. Control is easy to maintain as the gearbox can be held in each gear manually via the slotted gear selector. Unfortunately, there is no tip-tronic function and there are no paddles behind the steering wheel either.