Fortune favours the brave

Can the second-gen Fortuner’s second facelift keep it at the top of the tree?

- Braam Peens

Price: R915 400 Engine: 2,8-litre, 4-cylinder, turbodiesel Transmission: 6-speed automatic Power: 150 kW@ 3 000 r/min Torque: 500 N.m @ 1 600 r/min 0–100 km/h: 11,31 seconds* Top speed: 180 km/h Fuel consumption: 9,5 L/100 km* CO2 emissions: 209 g/km* Rivals: Ford Everest, Mahindra Scorpio-N, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Isuzu MU-X

+ Winning formula continues
- Hardly earth-shattering upgrades; foes feel fresher

Since launching in 2006, the Toyota Fortuner has become a household name - and more. A staple of the South African suburban upper-middle-class existence, it has become every bit the metropolitan must-have, much as the latest iPhone or Eskombusting battery backup has.

A number of successive facelifts extended the Fortuner's tenure till an all-new second-generation model followed in 2016, itself earning a noteworthy upgrade in 2020, when the flagship 2,8-litre GD-6 engine was boosted by a welcome 20 kW/50 N.m.

In reaching another milestone in its ten-year life cycle, in 2023, the Fortuner has been treated to another - albeit relatively minor - reimagining.