Faults:

New aircon at 165,000km.

New gearbox at 180,000km.

New starter motor at 203,000km.

New torque converter 205,000km.

New battery x2 over 60,000km.

Two punctures on big (265R15) tyres over 60,000km.

General Comments:

Big car. 11 years old - yet still big with good road presence.

You get respect - that is needed in city state cut and thrust driving.

White. Looks cleaner - even when not.

Nice big wheels - good for climbing car park kerbs and big grass verges near the pre-school.

Seven seats - good for extra kids.

A bit high... need to use shoulder to push the grandparents' botttoms into the high rear seats.

Ice cold aircon. Rear aircon cool too!

Can fill the car full of IKEA stuff - no problem with 225cm tall wardrobes and 2.4m planks of wood. A complete dining set gets swallowed whole.

Drives fast up to 110kph. The legal limit in Malaysia. Wobbly steering after 110kph. OK with me.

Faults:

- Air conditioner creates a headache.

- Plastic quality is too dry and scratchy.

General Comments:

This is not my car, it's my cousin's car, but I want to share with you my experiences.

I took a long trip with my cousin with my cousin's Fortuner. First of all, accessing the car is pretty hard, it seems that the roof is too short for a SUV in my opinion. But I don't really mind about that. Getting inside the third row seats is okay for me. But I don't think old men would find it easy to get out from the third row.

Engine is pretty smooth. I don't really like the interior quality. The plastics make me want to scratch it. I also don't really like the dashboard design. It looks ugly in my opinion. I like the wood panels though, it looks antique.

The cabin feels private due to the great noise isolation. The tall ride might also be one of the factors.

The seats are somehow too small, lack support. However, compared to Ford Everest, the seating position is much higher. Legroom at the front is okay, and so is at the second row. Third row legroom is kinda tight compared to, let's say, Ford Everest. Not recommended for a long trip. Although the third row space is tight, somehow there's this unique feeling when sitting in the third row. I don't know, it feels adventurous. The side pillars next to the third row seats have a unique design, which I think makes it feel like a spaceship.

Headroom is my biggest complaint; sometimes when the car goes on rough roads, my head hit the roof. A SUV should have tall legroom.

Air conditioner sometimes creates a headache. I think it has too much wind pressure, but I don't know.

Overall, it's not as comfortable as I thought, and I've tried the Ford Everest before, and I think the Everest is a much more comfortable car. And I prefer Ford's dashboard, it's more solid looking and looks more adventurous. I also prefer the plastic quality of the Everest, it's much softer to touch. But this one comes with better resale value, and it's easier to fix this car, because the Toyota community is very huge in Indonesia, while Ford is still rare.

I also checked up the specifications, and it seems that the features offered by Fortuner are pretty amazing. You get lots of electronics at the lowest trim. I also noticed that the ground clearance in Fortuner is taller than the Everest. But my heart would still choose the Everest.

Faults:

Nothing major, high beams were slightly off-centre, driver's side power window starting to show some hesitation, squeaky rear brakes, all repaired and / or replaced at no cost by dealer.

Oh and a wacky name for an SUV...

General Comments:

This SUV has serious road presence and looks bigger than it really is, due to its high ride height, tall bonnet and wrap-around rear window.

Ride is stiff especially over corrugations, but smooth-road ride and balance are surprisingly good for a ladder-framed SUV.

Rear drum brakes are a major turn-off, though. The lack of an intermittent rear wiper (rear wiper is either on or off) is also a nuisance.

2.7 inline 4 engine is okay, good torque but does not like high revs. The transmission is also average, 4-speed auto with no tiptronic. Does the job, but with little excitement.

The thing feels very solid and could take quite a beating (it should be, being based on a Hilux). Goes over potholes and speed humps very well too.

Hats off to the Toyota dealer for their service: prompt, reasonably priced, they also offer on-site service.