Pre-purchase research

[Dtuner65]

Hi
Looking a buying a New or very late GX. I am looking for mainly 4WD capability and this seems the best of this type of car around (ute based). What are they like off road? They have more clearance and better approach, departure and break-over angles than a Prado. Am I missing something?
Dan

[White One]

No , you are right , they work well off road , and there are plenty of aftermarket mods you can do to make them better. They weigh 200kg less than a Prado so some attributes can be related to that factor alone.

[Dtuner65]

Thanks for the reply. I would like to do a few mods trying keeping costs down. I would probably put a spring spacers on rear & strut spacers on the front to give a bit of a lift and to assist keeping level when towing a camper trailer (750Kg) and for better clearance. I have done this before on another car and it is cheap and works very well keeping the original ride qualities of the vehicle. Probably a Bull bar & Tow bar and maybe a snorkel . ( I will have a look at air cleaner setup first) .
Dan

[White One]

front strut spacers are not recommended for the Hilux / Fortuner / Prado suspension - they end up causing bent struts on full compression . Join the Facebook page for the N80 Hilux and there are plenty of photographic examples of this occuring.

[Dtuner65]

Thanks, they must be designed right on the limit, good to know. How are the new model Fortuner's with the 150KW motor on fuel. approximate range per tank - real world.

[Pumpkineater]

Thanks, they must be designed right on the limit, good to know. How are the new model Fortuner's with the 150KW motor on fuel. approximate range per tank - real world.

I picked up my new GXL in November. Since then we have done a few clicks on the road approx 8,000kms. So far, fuel consumption is between 9-10 litres normal driving. I have a genuine Toyota roof tray on top which has a high front wall/lip and I had stacks on camping gear on it so there was wind drag I believe. We also did some off roading as well. The engine is punchy, strong and in Sports mode throttle response is great. Quite nimble compared to the Prado. I normally filled up after every 600kms. The tank is 80L but I could never squeeze in more than 60Litres when filling up. Even with 10% fuel expansion in hot weather there was at least another 10L in the tank or more which is interesting because the trip metre showed only30-50kms left. I guess the gauge is not highly accurate or it is set by toyota in a way to give you a generous result to prevent driver stupidity and run out of fuel. Kinda like preventive. I removed the third row seats and chucked a fridge in. The Tuna was full with gear and family yet pulled like a beast. Very happy with our choice.

[jstorm3010]

I personally think you can't go wrong with a Fortuner. They are very good off road and inmo better then a Prado regarding size as it is just that little be narrow it make for better remote 4x4ing down narrow tracks. I have a 2018 GXL and done 60000k's and it has not missed a beat. I love it so much I am about to spend some serious coin on mods for it as decided to keep it instead of trading.

[Bussa]

Dtuner65 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yVHoxui8Q4

Excellent video comparing Prado and Fortuner.

We have had ours 5 years and love it. It's excellent off road, on road is on par with any ute based ladder frame wagon. You won't be disappointed. The only downside and this is with all Toyota's, you are not getting the latest and greatest tech or features. If you want that, go to Ford, but be prepared to have reliability issues, the forums are awash with issues. That's not to say the Fortuner doesn't have any issues, it does, but they are not major IMO and Toyota support has for us been second to none.