2016 Toyota Fotuner launched

By Seth J. Bokpe, ACCRA 
THE applause was spontaneous and took time to die out when Toyota Ghana, authorised distributors of Toyota vehicles in Ghana, launched the all new Toyota Fortuner in Accra, last Friday.
With the Japanese automakers putting their heavy duty SUV engineering experience to use, the end product is a razor-sharp styling inside and out, tough but sporty feel to the vehicle it calls “the true SUV with style and confidence.”
Speaking at the launch of the vehicle at the company’s showroom in Accra, its Managing Director, Mr Tetsuya Suematsu, was full of praise for his latest merchandise.
“The Fortuner has been made more attractive with enhanced stylish interior and exterior features to meet global trends.
“Globally the Fortuner has experienced a lot of sales success. In Ghana, we can also confirm the increase in patronage as it is loved for its versatility, fitness for all purpose, low maintenance and fuel consumption with a higher resale value.
“Since its introduction, the Fortuner has earned admiration around the globe for its impressive quality, durability, reliability and all-terrain capability,” he said.
For those who want a compact SUV—to haul the family, shopping and climb up that steep gravel and conquer the most impassable road— the Fortuner is certainly a good task executor to consider.
The competition in its segment comes from the Ford Everest, the Isuzu MU-X and the Mitsubishi Challenger.
The power behind the new Fortuner is a 3.0-litre and 2.5 turbo diesel engines. A six-speed manual transmission and a part-time four-wheel drive system both are standard, and buyers thinking of going ‘clutch-less’ can order a six-speed automatic gearbox.
Beneath its sophistication, is its robust frame and advanced off-road driving technologies, which form the core of its outstanding rough terrain capabilities.
An extra score for the Fortuner is the enhanced sound absorbing chassis making it impressively quiet on the inside.
Interior
The Fortuner has an impressive interior. It shows off an interior that matches the needs of today's demanding market - modern and ergonomic to match the needs of the demanding driver, yet luxurious and well-appointed to give comfort with a dash of style.
The fit and finish have been kept simple but with rather too many buttons to press—a source of easy distraction for drivers.
The front seat, a driver’s wet dream as the tall seating position gives as good a view over surrounding traffic.
The flexible seating will appeal to families. The third row, rather than folding flat into the floor, splits to lift up sideways, which doesn’t remove especially easily, but it allows for a lower and more useable floor space.
There are bottle holders and pockets in the doors, a chilled cubby under the centre arm-rest.
Exterior
The exterior is certainly a head turner with its sharp lines and more sculptured features, other noticeable outer features  include: High beam headlamps, chrome grille, foglamps, large alloy rims, and a high ground clearance.
Safety
Standard dynamic and passive safety features for the new Fortuner include: vehicle stability control, active traction control, trailer sway control, ABS brakes, hill descent control, seat-belt warning, reversing camera and seven air-bags among a longer list of safety features.
Its safety features has been improved to include an additional driver air bag for the knee, assuring the driver of maximum protection.
Given the terrain the Fortuner is made to travel, its suspension has also been reinforced to soak in the vibrations borne from driving on rough and bumpy terrains. 
Warranty
 TheFortuner comes with three years warranty and 100,000 kilometres, whichever comes first.