Adventurer
Debuting the newest models of one of SA’s best-loved SUVs
When the Fortuner made its local debut a decade-and-a-half ago, it shot to the top of the sales charts and has remained there ever since, transporting thousands of families, fun-seekers, and school soccer teams on their daily drives. Ironically named as it may be, the Toyota Fortuner Epic is, as the badge suggests, more than just another SUV, as we discovered during a somewhat localised leisure drive in Gauteng.
Its distinctive two-tone colour scheme – with high-gloss black roof and matt black 18” alloy rims – set the Epic Black apart from other models.
Ican all but hear the sniggers and jeers from the Toyota South Africa marketing team, as the final result of the brand’s model naming committee convention on the special edition Fortuner was announced. It must have been quite the epic meeting to coin a phrase.
But jokes aside, Toyota has every reason to heap praise on its segment pulverising family SUV, even if that praise comes in the form of a slightly abused adjective. Crosscountry, or around the corner, the Fortuner, a Hilux-based sports-utility, deserves a round of hearty South African applause, and in its latest guise will undoubtedly create a whole new set of fans.
IT’S KINDA EPIC, BRUH!
Toyota’s marketing team deserves a round of applause of its own, being so adept at keeping vehicles like the Fortuner relevant despite the massive onslaught it faces from competitors such as Ford’s Everest – the Fortuner’s main locally-produced rival.
By slimming down the Fortuner range, and adding a handful of accessories, the Fortuner is once again the top of mind choice for SUV buyers, even at the somewhat costly price point of R753,900 of our full-fat 4x4 Epic Black test unit.
Fans of Toyota’s thirsty 4.0-litre V6 petrol engine will mourn its demise in the new Fortuner line-up, although few are likely to miss the manual gearbox option which has been wholly excised from the Fortuner range. If you, like me, absolutely still see value in Toyota’s workhorse 2.4 GD-6 engine or the petrol 2.7 VVT-i, fear not, as these remain available in the range, albeit not in Epic or Epic Black trim.
WHERE DO YOU GO TO MY LOCKDOWN?
Sadly lockdown-encumbered as we were during the Epic Black 4x4’s test week, we still managed a respectable 270 km of localised leisure travel, using the opportunity to take the Fortuner for a stroll around Gauteng, to some of the region’s natural highlights.
Beginning at the Rietvlei Dam Nature reserve in the east of Pretoria, one of the Fortuner’s best features were put to great use. With its elevated ride height, the Fortuner is an ideal game viewing vehicle for up to seven occupants. However, a maximum of four – including the driver (for social distancing purposes, and all that) – enjoyed the drive through one of the capital city’s most underrated nature experiences.
Covering 4,000 hectares of Highveld grassland, the Rietvlei Nature Reserve is home to the 20-hectare expanse of the Rietvlei Dam and about 1,600 individual animals that include cheetah, red hartebeest, eland, zebra, waterbuck, reedbuck, springbuck, leopard, buffalo, and hippopotamus. Two male lions and four lionesses are also kept in a separate enclosure on the reserve.
Our next stop was another of Pretoria’s proclaimed reserves, the Groenkloof Nature Reserve, located adjacent to the Fountains
Valley at the southern entrance to the capital.
Covering over 600 hectares, the reserve is flanked by the Voortrekker Monument and Klapperkop Nature Reserves, where some 1,400 hectares of endangered bankenveld is conserved.
The reserve is popular with cyclists, and mountain bikers can follow a 20 km route. Hikers can reserve an overnight hut, and while we did not have the opportunity to experience the Fortuner’s legendary 4x4 capabilities on some 14 kilometres of 4x4 tracks in the reserve, we took in more game viewing on the short 5-km route.
COVID-19 restrictions despite our epic drive included a brief stop for some muchneeded refreshment at one of Pretoria’s favourite coffee shops – Aroma Coffee Roastery (www.aromacoffee.co.za) – in the bohemian-inspired Hazelwood culinary precinct. Our Fortuner, naturally performing its urban people-carrying task with predictable ease, and in dependable style. Although all Fortuner models are adorned with full leather interiors, and the level of specification – both on the luxury and the technology front – is high, Epic models also get metallic scuff plates and an Epic-branded carpet set. Additional Epic-only equipment comes in the form of a branded nudge bar up front, and an official Toyota towbar at the rear.
EPIC BLACK
Adding additional exclusivity, the Epic Black derivative is the new range pinnacle and is available in either rear-wheel-drive or 4x4. Its distinctive two-tone colour scheme – with high-gloss black roof and matt black 18” alloy rims – set the Epic Black apart from other models.
In recent years I’ve come around to the idea of two-tone colour schemes, and I quite like the application on the Epic Black Fortuner. How the high-gloss black roof will hold up in real off-road conditions remains to be seen – branches en trenches don’t care much for your car’s brilliant paint job.
The Fortuner Epic is more than an SUV, it is a South African motoring icon, and its new nomenclature suits it well. Marketing ploys and a relatively steep price tag for the Epic Black 4x4 aside, there is a lot of value in the Fortuner range, with standard specifications across the board respectably high.
Finally, there is an optional aesthetic in the range that matches the Fortuner’s rock star status, and we’ll drive one any day of the week.