Toyota’s Australian arm has announced details of the facelifted Fortuner, which will make its debut Down Under on August 27 – a couple of months after its global unveiling in Thailand. The Hilux-based 4×4 boasts improved performance and an increased level of equipment to go with the freshened design. The Fortuner gains a revised front fascia, replete with a larger black grille and thicker chrome surrounds that now go over the redesigned bi-LED headlights. The rest of the bumper sports larger corner “air intakes” and a slimmer downturned centre inlet.

There’s also a bigger skid plate in a silver finish, while the range-topping Crusade model gains upgraded headlights, new three-dimensional LED tail lights and a new split-spoke design for the 18-inch alloy wheels. It looks like the sportier variant, called the Legender in Thailand, won’t be offered in Australia. Inside, the changes are relatively minor and include a revamped instrument cluster, with new fonts, a satin finish and a multi-info display that now shows the steering angle and the status of the particulate filter. The seat upholstery has also changed to a dark grey fabric, while the Crusade has either black or beige leather.


Standard fit is an infotainment system that has a nine-inch touchscreen, which is an inch larger than before; it also has physical buttons rather than touch-sensitive controls. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility as well as an improved voice control system also come as standard. Australia gets just one engine option, the upgraded 2.8 litre 1GD-FTV four-cylinder turbodiesel that now makes 204 PS and 500 Nm of torque, up 27 PS and 50 Nm respectively. The increased outputs come courtesy of a larger water-cooled ball-bearing turbocharger and a new variable nozzle vane mechanism, along with improvements to engine rigidity, cooling and efficiency.

Not only is the engine more powerful, but Toyota also claims that it uses less fuel. Consumption has dropped by 11.6% to 7.6 litres per 100 km on the combined cycle, an advantage that extends to 17.3% on the urban cycle with a figure of 9.1 litres per 100 km. All models get a six-speed automatic gearbox and an increased braked towing capacity of 3,100 kg, up 300 kg from before. Safety-wise, the Fortuner now comes with front parking sensors to complement the rear sensors. Introduced to the lineup last year, the Toyota Safety Sense suite of driver assists, which include autonomous emergency braking with nighttime pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist, continues to be fitted as standard in Australia.


Standard equipment on the base AU$ 49,080 GX includes an interior cooler box, a multi-function steering wheel, a soft-touch dashboard, a 60:40 tumble-and-slide second-row bench, tilt and telescopic steering column adjustment and powered front seats with six-way adjustment for the driver and four-way adjustment for the passenger. The AU$ 54,350 GXL throws in LED fog lights, roof rails, keyless entry, push-button start, privacy glass tint, navigation, DAB digital radio, automatic climate control and hill descent control. As the range-topper, the AU$ 61,410 Crusade adds eight-way front seat adjustment, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, darker faux wood trim, an 11-speaker JBL sound system and a powered tailgate.