After facing a major labour unrest at its manufacturing plant, Toyota, it seems, is getting back to business as usual. After the lunch of Etios Cross, they intend to launch the new Corolla Altis soon, and what shall follow is what has caught our attention.
As per a report published on Autocar India, Toyota is reportedly working to expand the existing Fortuner range.
Currently the Fortuner is sold with a sole 3.0L D-4D engine in three variants – a 4×4 with 5-speed manual transmission and 4×2 with a 5-speed automatic as well as a manual model. They have 2 more TRD Sportivo variants which are nothing but the same SUV with different badges and graphics.
Now, the news is that Toyota is planning to add two new variants to their Fortuner SUV in India:
- Fortuner with 4X4 Automatic Transmission
- Fortuner with Smaller 2.5L diesel engine
A new flagship Fortuner variant which will be an all-wheel drive with automatic transmission. This new top of the line variant is expected to be priced nearly a lac costlier than the current 4×4 MT (which costs 23 lacs ex-showroom Delhi).
The other new introduction will be a new smaller engine, a 2.5L diesel which will get manual transmission and will be a two-wheel drive variant. This engine option is already sold in Thailand and would definitely pave the way for more people to own the Fortuner.
This engine produces 144PS of power and 343Nm of torque which would make it an ideal rival for the new Ford Endeavour and others. If Toyota can somehow pull the price tag below the 20 lac barrier, it will surely be an interesting preposition. Currently, Fortuner starts at Rs 21.81 Lacs (ex-showroom Delhi) for the 4×2 manual variant.
The 2.5L Fortuner has been in the news for long but it seems, with the increasing competition, Toyota will finally launch it up! According to Autocar, launch is expected sometime this year before the festive season. Toyota shipped just 911 units of the Fortuner last month which is an all-time low for 2014!
Related: Presenting the 2015 Toyota Camry: Quitest Ever, Looks Young, Finally! [Gallery]
