Toyota Australia has confirmed that it will add to its current SUV line-up with the HiLux-based Fortuner wagon that will take on Ford’s forthcoming Australian-developed Everest.
The Australian executive director of sales and marketing Tony Cramb for Toyota Australia confirmed that the Toyota Technical Centre in Melbourne was “heavily involved” in the design of the current Fortuner, and that the new-generation seven-seater Fortuner will be marketed in Australia.
New Toyota Fortuner.
Cramb continued, “It’s now been made available to us. What we now need to do is work out the details, but we want it, they’re prepared to give it to us, now we just have to work out when. We haven’t secured or announced anything, but it’s going to come.”
“We’ve been keen to get something like that for some time,” he said. “The next-generation Fortuner, which is coming shortly, is very, very well suited to this market.”
The still yet to be revealed Fortuner would most likely be positioned above the petrol-only Kluger and below the Prado in Toyota’s six-SUV line-up.
Given it will be based on the just unveiled in Bangkok eighth generation HiLux, however, the Fortuner will likely inherit Toyota’s all-new 2.8 liter four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, code-named 1GD-FTV, that produces 130 kW and 450 Nm of torque between 1600–2400 rpm when coupled to the HiLux’ s new six-speed automatic transmission.
Fortuner will compete in Australia against the likes of Ford’s incoming Ranger-based Everest, the Holden Colorado7, Isuzu’s MU-X and the Mitsubishi Challenger, itself scheduled for a revamp off the back of its donor Triton’s recent makeover.
