Toyota India launched the new generation Fortuner in India recently. Here we take a look at how the new Fortuner stacks against rivals in the segment.
Making headway in this segment depends a lot on how butch the SUVs look, so naturally, the designers have been generous with dimensions. The new Ford Endeavour is the longest car in the segment at 4,892 mm while the Chevrolet Trailblazer finishes second at 4,878 mm. The Toyota Fortuner is 4,705 mm in length, followed by SsangYong Rexton at 4,755 mm, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport at 4,695 mm and Hyundai Santa Fe at 4,690 mm.
Coming to the wheelbase, the Ford seals the top place again at 2,850 mm but the Chevy finishes closely at 2,845 mm. The SsangYong, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Hyundai SUVs have wheelbases of 2,845 mm, 2,800 mm, 2,745 mm and 2,700 mm respectively.
The Trailblazer is the only other SUV which breaches the 2 tonne market (2068 kg) in kerb weight. The Rexton is the second heaviest car in this comparo at 1,986 kg followed by Fortuner at 1,985 kg, Pajero Sport at 1,935 kg and Ford Endeavour at 1,930 kg. The monocoque bodied Santa Fe is the lightest SUV of the lot at 1,785 kg.
Except for Fortuner, all these SUVs are powered only by diesel motors in India (Fortuner comes with both petrol and diesel engine option). The upcoming Endeavour’s range-topping 3.2-litre five-cylinder motor is the largest in the class which is followed by the Fortuner’s top-end 2.8-litre four-cylinder unit. The Trailblazer is also powered by a 2.8-litre four-cylinder mill, the Rexton settles for a Mercedes derived 2.7-litre five-cylinder motor, and Pajero Sport are powered by 2.5-litre engines. The base Endeavour, and Santa Fe have the smallest engines in the segment, displacing 2.2-litre.
The new Fortuner, Endeavour and Sante Fe come with 6-speed manual and automatic transmission options while the Rexton and Pajero Sport come with 5-speed manual and automatic gearboxes. The Trailblazer is available only with a 6-speed AT.
The Endeavour 3.2 and Trailblazer emerge as the most powerful cars of the lot at 197 hp while the Santa Fe finishes closely at 194 hp. The Rexton is available in two states of tune 184 hp and 162 hp. The Pajero Sport puts out 176 hp, Fortuner 2.8-litre has 177 hp and the Endeavour 2.2 manages 158 PS.
Save for the Chevy which is available only in RWD configuration, all the other SUVs in this comparo can be had with RWD as well as 4×4 systems. It’s to be noted that Santa Fe is the only car with FWD configuration for the base variant.
The approximate mileage figures puts all these SUVs within the narrow 11 to 12.5 km range so none of them have a marked advantage over the other.
Here are the model wise feature highlights of the premium SUVs (top-end variants).
Toyota Fortuner: 7 airbags, ABS with EBD, vehicle stability Control, reverse parking camera, leather seats, touchscreen infotainment system with DVD, Bluetooth and navigation, automatic climate control, projector headlamps, LED taillights, foglamps, alloy wheels, keyless entry, cruise control, and so on.
Ford Endeavour (tentative list): 7 airbags, ABS with EBD, VSC, Hill Start Assist, Hill Descent Control, projector headlamps, foglights, alloy wheels, SYNC 2.0 touchscreen multimedia infotainment system with Bluetooth and navigation, reverse parking camera, automatic climate control, keyless entry with start/stop button, cruise control, etc.
Chevrolet Trailblazer: Projector headlamps, LED taillights, MyLink touchscreen multimedia infotainment system with Bluetooth, navigation and reverse parking carmera, alloy wheels, foglights, six airbags, ABS with EBD, Hill Start Assist, Hill Descent Control, keyless entry with start/stop button, cruise control, leather seats, automatic climate control and so on.
Hyundai Santa Fe: Six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC, vehicle stability management control, Hill Start Assist and downhill break control, rear view camera, auto headlamps and wipers, dual zone auto AC, touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth and navigation, leather seats, electrically adjustable driver seat, projector headlamps, alloy wheels, foglights and so on.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport: Dual airbags, ABS with EBD, infotainment system with Bluetooth and navigation, leather seats, keyless entry, reverse parking camera, automatic climate control, paddle shifters, projector headlamps, foglights, alloy wheels, foglights, etc.
SsangYong Rexton: Six airbags, ABS, ARP, ASR, Hill Descent Control, infotainment system with Bluetooth and navigation, cruise control, electrically adjustable driver seats, keyless entry, automatic climate control, leather seats, alloy wheels, projector headlamps, foglights, etc.
The SsangYong Rexton has the least base price of INR 21.24 lakhs, followed by the Ford Endeavour at 24.61 lakhs, Chevrolet Traliblazer at INR 24.9 lakhs, Toyota Fortuner at INR 25.92 lakhs for petrol and INR 27.52 lakh for diesel, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport at INR 27.36 lakh and Hyundai Santa Fe at INR 28.85 lakhs. Please note that all prices are ex-showroom, Delhi.
Below is a brief tech-spec comparo of the said SUVs.
| Toyota Fortuner | Ford Endeavour | Chevrolet Trailblazer | |
| Engine | 2.7 L (P) / 2.8 L (D) | 2.2 L (D) / 3.2 L (D) | 2.8 L (D) |
| Power (HP) | 166 / 177 | 158 / 197 | 197 |
| Torque (Nm) | 245 / 420 | 385 / 470 | 500 |
| Transmission | 5 MT / 6 MT / 6 AT | 6 MT / 6 AT | 6 AT |
| Drivetrain | RWD / AWD | RWD / AWD | RWD |
| Mileage estd. (kmpl) | 12 | 11.76 | 12 |
| Length (mm) | 4795 | 4892 | 4878 |
| Width (mm) | 1855 | 2180 | 2132 |
| Height (mm) | 1835 | 1837 | 1851 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 2745 | 2850 | 2845 |
| Ground Clearance (mm) | 225 | 225 | 253 |
| Kerb Weight (Kgs) | 1985 | 1930 | 2068 |
| Tyres | 265 / 60 R18 | 265 / 50 R20 | 265 / 60 R18 |
| Brakes | Disc | Disc | Disc |
| Price (INR lakhs) ex-Delhi | 25.92 – 27.61 (P) / 27.52 – 31.12 (D) | 24.61 – 30.29 | 24.9 |
| Toyota Fortuner | Hyundai Santa Fe | Mitsubishi Pajero Sport | SsangYong Rexton | |
| Engine | 2.7 L (P) / 2.8 L (D) | 2.2 L (D) | 2.5 L (D) | 2.7 L (D) |
| Power (HP) | 166 / 177 | 194 | 176 | 162 / 184 |
| Torque (Nm) | 245 / 420 | 421 | 350 | 340 / 402 |
| Transmission | 5 MT / 6 MT / 6 AT | 6 MT / 6 AT | 5 MT / 5 AT | 5 MT / 5 AT |
| Drivetrain | RWD / AWD | FWD / AWD | RWD / AWD | RWD / AWD |
| Mileage estd. (kmpl) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12.4 |
| Length (mm) | 4795 | 4690 | 4695 | 4755 |
| Width (mm) | 1855 | 1880 | 1815 | 1900 |
| Height (mm) | 185 | 1690 | 1840 | 1785 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 2745 | 2700 | 2800 | 2835 |
| Ground Clearance (mm) | 225 | 185 | 215 | 208 |
| Kerb Weight (Kgs) | 1985 | 1785 | 1935 | 1986 |
| Tyres | 265 / 60 R18 | 235 / 60 R18 | 265 / 65 R17 | 235 / 75 R16 |
| Brakes | Disc | Disc | Disc | Disc |
| Price (INR lakhs) ex-Delhi | 25.92 – 27.61 (P) / 27.52 – 31.12 (D) | 28.85 – 32.31 | 27.36 – 27.77 | 21.24 – 25.06 |
Read more on –
New Toyota Fortuner
New Ford Endeavour
New Chevrolet Trailblazer
New Hyundai Santa Fe
New Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
New Ssangyong Rexton
This post was last modified on November 14, 2019 5:48 pm