The Fortuner is probably one of the best, if not the best, best value 4x4s any carmaker makes, let alone Toyota. I live in Karratha WA - Toyota and Toyota Hilux Country, where anything other than a Toyota falls apart. FYI. the Fortuner is an upgraded Hilux with a body kit - i.e., all its mechanicals are Toyota Hilux - Australia's best-selling car for years - upgraded with rear discs and rear springs (i.e., the Hilux comes with drums and leaf-springs). I've had my Fortuner for 3 years and 55 000 kms, and it is still as solid as new despite me taking it to some of the toughest offroad conditions in the country. When I bought the Fortuner it replaced an 80 Series Land Cruiser (still one of the best-regarded 4x4s ever made) and a Nissan Dualis, and it does the jobs of both cars better than either of those cars! Eg, the traction control system and factory rear locker means that I have taken the Fortuner to places that even the 80 Series would have struggled to go and to places where most Fortuner owners can only dream of driving. Eg, there is a track up telegraph hill just outside Karratha which is ~45 degrees and full of loose rocks, gravel and holes, and the Fortuner made it up no trouble at all with no wheel spin at all. The track to Gregory's Gorge is like a Sunday family drive for the family in the Fortuner despite being 30+km long rough track and its 2 water crossings - one always deep and the other always rocky. The Fortuner has been incredibly tough - as tough as the 80 Series. I have also driven it at 180km/h on a gravel road with complete stability and traction, 150km/h for 2 hours on a highway to get home before sunset, and it handles sand like a beast - the best sand driver I have ever driven including 80 series and a 2012 Hilux. I.e., it handles sand amazing well with all traction control systems off - i.e., as a raw basic 4x4. I have also done ~2000 km road trips with my kids with the Fortuner packed to the gills and the kids in the rear seats, and the Fortuner did the trip with ease and in comfort even after 20+ hours driving. And it is perfect for the school run and putting around town too. It also only cost me ~$50 000, which is amazing value for Toyota that can do anything and go virtually anywhere. I could take the Fortuner anywhere that a 300 Series owner would take their car - more places, because a 300 Series owner wouldn't take their $100 000+ car half the places I will take the Fortuner because I'm not worried about damaging a very expensive vehicle. I have also made no mechanical changes to the Fortuner because it comes out of the factory good enough for me to take it anywhere. I've improved the all-terrains and I’ve put on 32-inch all-terrains, but a suspension lift would be pointless because it goes everywhere I need to go with the factory suspension. And the factory suspension is solid around town, but also good for rough tracks too. And I bought it using Toyota's Access finance with a 6% interest rate and which gives multiple choices to refinance or sell it. The Fortuner is severely underrated because most reviewers ignore it and/or do not even try to push it anywhere to its full capabilities. I suggest reviewers actually try to push the Fortuner to its limits to discover its limits - they probably will not find it before their fear or their insurance makes them back off. My suggestion - GET A FORTUNER WHILE YOU CAN! When I bought my 2021 Fortuner they were rare around Karratha, but they are now everywhere as the locals are finally waking up to how good and capable they are.
After just over a year, I'm glad I went with the Safari and not stainless - there's just the right amount of noise without being annoying when the window is down. And once it's up, you can't hear it. Wasn't an easy choice at the time!
Great to see you back mate, looking great. I do really like my OME Toyota snorkel for aesthetics, warranty cover and function. The dealer even sealed it up properly for me as they knew it would happen otherwise. Same price as a Safari.
Been a bit of a lull with winter and all - always tricky! Cheers - pretty stoked with how it's come out! That's awesome that they sealed it all up for you - not sure why they don't just do it for everyone eh. I personally prefer the look of the Safari, but looks are always a personal thing. The sound is the best part of it - nice to have some non-engine noise going on
Got to be careful drilling holes in the pillar . Some warrant places will fail it because it’s altered the structure of the roof, an alternative would be a 3m stick on mount, I drilled mine ind it’s starting to rust even with silicone and priming, , looking mint though :)
Thankfully NZTA clarified that after the uh, mess, they made there. Dual skin vehicles are all good as long as you only drill through the outer layer and fully seal it. Might pull it off yearly though and just check everything is going smoothly - would rather not fix rust there 😅
Cheers man! Stoked with it eh - working super well. They're an awesome bunch - have known Ash for ~4 years now, has done a heap of work for me over the years and it's always been top notch
Lift looks good mate. Mine looked a lot better with a lift. First thing I had to do though was get some black paint on the inner guards. Looked better still after that.
Cheers mate! Makes a huge difference eh - more than I was expecting. Looks a lot more "in-proportion" now or something. I've seen people paint those online - I can't say that it's jumped out at when looking at it - not sure if I'll end up doing it or not
@@OverlandNZTV I took a picture of it before and after the lift and I noticed the body coloured inner guard on the photos. Once seen it couldn't been unseen. So off I went for paint. Wife said it was a waste of $60!
I thought about that + new upper control arms - but the extra cost and complexity of going through the certification process isn't worth the slight improvement in my eye. If the lift was bigger than it'd be a no brainer
Should of got Ash to make you a flash Harry aluminium snorkel and raptor coat it. Pretty sure his old man’s one has one. Oh and what is that old hilux in the background he’s working on?
I wanted a plastic one - it makes enough noise without being annoying. Not sure what the current plan is with that old Hilux - it's pretty mint though eh!
@Overland NZ. Great video and love the enthusiasm and being an Aussie Kiwi love the accent. Coming from a personally highly modified Wrangler it's hard to good Fortuner content like yours. The Fortuner won't replicate the Wrangler in extremes but that not what it is for but love what you are doing without making it crazy and keeping it a balanced. I have followed your lead and just stuck on Maxxis Razr and am also looking at EFS suspension over OME or Tough Dog (maybe you should look at sponsorship ;-)). I am really interested in the longer shock you put in the rear and how that is still performing. Can you provide the model no of the Rear EFS shock please. Cheers
Cheers mate! There's not a heap of content out there on them eh, guess they're not super popular compared to some other models. Don't get why... The longer shock is just a 40mm lift one, nothing too special - they're a decent chunk longer than the factory ones though (which isn't hard) - part no is 37-6014
Sure is - don't want to go down the certification path, so have to stick with the stock ones. It drives fine - though I've never had aftermarket arms to compare to. Have put ~200,000kms on various cars with this exact setup with no issues
It’s been a while since I’ve been in a current Gen Hilux - so can’t say. The Fortuner defo’ has a better ride then my old previous generation Hilux though
Hey how you find the efs suspension for ride quality? Have you had any issues with it? I’m looking to do a lift in my hilux but so many options out there though
Heya - for the price it does the trick pretty well. Third vehicle I’ve used it on - never given me any issues. Rides better than factory in my opinion - hard to know how it compares to other brands though as I haven’t run many others - I just keep going back to it as it works well for me
I explained it pretty poorly - basically if I can, I'd prefer to use flex and save the locker for those times when I need it - basically not needing to flip it on and off all the time
Ummm that's a good question - it was one of those very last minute jobs I did before heading south. From memory I sealed them all up - but I'd have to check. Goal was to avoid water getting in anywhere
Cheers! I didn’t - in New Zealand you have to get new arms certified, costs a lot of money and restricts what I can do in the future, so while it’d be nice, the factory ones are good enough
Looks mint mate. I may have missed it, but are you eventually going to be fitting a bullbar? I’m looking at EFS 70-100kg front coils for my HiLux with the view of one day fitting a bullbar…..just wondering whether the 0-60kg springs may be the better option?
Cheers! Pretty stoked with how it all came out - performs well too. Yep, at some point a bar will he going on. Will swap the springs out when I do. Did the same on my old Hilux, I don’t imagine it’d ride super well with 70-100s and no weight on the front. The 0-60s with my bash plates (~30kg) seems to work well
Honestly - way better. With the extra weight, the stock suspension wasn't coping well. Drives much nicer now. Cost varies heaps depending on what you choose - and I installed it myself, but budget for around 2k for a decent kit + install if you're paying someone
