The 2016 Toyota Fortuner is said to be a full rework of the car which is now going to use the new modular platform of the Hilux which was developed by Toyota for the International market. Unlike the previous generation, they said that the new chassis for the Hilux is going to be modular so it will allow Toyota to build a few other cars on it such as the Tacoma or even the Fortuner. Further upgrades of the Fortuner are going to include new engines which are going to be a lot more fuel efficient than before as well as a new styling which is going to better fit the current range of cars Toyota has in these markets.
The 2016 Toyota Fortuner is expected to get a massive improvement under the hood. While some of the engines like the 2.5L diesel with 105 HP or the 2.7L inline 7 with 160 HP are going to be kept as base engines, the older 3.0L diesel or 4.0L V6 engines are going to be discontinued.
In their place we might see a brand new 2.5L turbocharged diesel with around 180 HP and 500 Nm of torque and also a new 2.7L inline 4 petrol engine with 200 HP and 250 Nm of torque.
Both of these will offer similar performance to their old counterparts but with a 10 to 30% better fuel efficiency. There is also a slim possibility that it will get Toyota’s new 2L turbocharged inline 4 engine but it is still early to know that for sure.
Another upgrade over the previous car is going to be its transmission. The old 4 speed automatic is going to be replaced with a 5 speed unit which is going to be smoother and faster while the 5 speed manual will get an upgrade to a 6 speed gearbox.
New Toyota brings small changes and improvements. On the interior, the 2016 Toyota Fortuner is going to be very similar in design to the new Innova, meaning that the materials will get a small bump in terms of quality while the equipment level will increase by a big margin. As standard the car will now feature satellite navigation, climate control or even electric front seats.
The outside of the truck will be changed but the general shape is going to be kept. This is because it will use some of the older panels of the car while changing the look. The front end will get a new grille while at the back there is going to be a big change of the hatch door because this will now open in two segments.
The actual release date is unknown at this point but we expect it to come in the early or the mid of 2016.
As you can imagine, the main competitors are: Hyundai Santa Fe, Ford Everest and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. More details about this model will be available in spring this year.
Pricing is yet to be confirmed.