The Toyota Fortuner remains one of the best selling premium SUVs and commands a big fan following but going forward, diesels also have to embrace electrification of some sort with mild hybrids being the answer. Global markets already have the Fortuner mild hybrid but the question is whether India will get this.
The current generation Fortuner has been around for a long time but the latest round of updates brings it up to speed with latest changes that are being seen in the SUV segment. The new Fortuner MHEV for example gets a 48v mild hybrid system which is paired to the tried and tested 2.8l diesel engine.
Hence, there is a new idle start stop function plus this system brings in an additional 16hp and 42Nm. Other than that, this system would have smoother driving manners as well and better refinement. We think this makes sense for our market as this will boost fuel efficiency and also make the driving experience more seamless.
Other than that, the other big feature changes include a new 360 degree camera and ADAS- something seen on much smaller SUVs too. These features are very much necessary as well. For the Indian market, the mild hybrid Fortuner will mean a price hike but the changes do justify it. That said, Toyota could bring a mild hybrid version in the new generation Fortuner altogether and skip the current one which is already doing so well with the current set of engines.
The new generation Fortuner will most likely come next year with a new interior plus more features much like the new Innova Hycross which brings in more features in comparison to its predecessor. Going forward we will see more mild hybrid versions of the diesel SUVs as they result in better efficiency along with being taking a small leap into electrification.
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