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Cars > Peek

Toyota Thailand reveals better-looking, more powerful Fortuner

With a new name for its top variants called Legender

The Fortuner Legender is admittedly a beauty. PHOTO FROM TOYOTA

Yesterday, we told you that Toyota Motor Philippines was preparing to launch the minor-change Wigo this month. Turns out there’s much bigger news from the Japanese automaker—at least within the Southeast Asian region. We’re talking about the much-improved Fortuner, which has just been unveiled in Thailand. A source from Toyota’s dealer network here expects this model upgrade to reach our market in the third quarter of this year.

So, what are the changes?

First, there’s the exterior tweaks. The body features a new front design, new LED headlamps, new LED taillights and new 18-inch alloy wheels (20-inch rims for the high-end variants). Said high-end variants now have a fancy moniker: Legender. Here are images of both the standard Fortuner (blue) and the Fortuner Legender (white):

Which version do you prefer: the regular Fortuner or the higher-end Fortuner Legender? PHOTOS FROM TOYOTA

Inside, there are new Optitron gauges that look cooler to stare at. The top variants also get ambient illumination for the cabin. The whole list of standard equipment is shown in a table at the bottom of this article.

Top photo shows the regular Fortuner’s cockpit, while the bottom one is that of the Legender. PHOTOS FROM TOYOTA

But the real story here is the power boost that Toyota has given the Fortuner’s 2.8-liter turbodiesel engine. From its current ratings of 172hp and 450Nm, the powerplant now produces 201hp and 500Nm—enough muscle to match those of the Chevrolet Trailblazer and the Ford Everest.

We think Toyota has another winner here. See the new Fortuner’s technical specifications and standard features below. Just note that these are figures and equipment for the Thai market (hence the baht pricing as well). Tell us if you’re impressed.



Vernon B. Sarne

Vernon is the founder and editor-in-chief of VISOR. He has been an automotive journalist since July 1995. He became one by serendipity, walking into the office of a small publishing company and applying for a position he had no idea was for a local car magazine. God has watched over him throughout his humble journey. He writes the ‘Spoiler’ column.



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