Toyota Fortuner - taming the beast, and cool off-roading tips for beginners!
As a traveler there are things which you are comfortable doing, and then there are things which are not quite sure about. I love driving and going on long road trips, but the one thing that I could never quite try out was off-roading. I always knew of the adrenaline rush that would come with such a trip, but somehow an opportunity eluded me. However, this changed recently when Toyota invited me to try out their brand new Fortuner in Mumbai, and try it out in the roughest possible way! Was I up for the challenge? Of course I was, in fact I had trouble sleeping well out of excitement of doing something new and exciting!
Toyota has designed Fortuner to give the rider unparalleled off-roading experience, whether you are on the uneven terrain on the roads in the hinterland, or on the racing circuit of the Himalayas. As a novice, everything I did was new for me, but I did come back more aware about with a handful of new features which be super useful for one and all! Let’s check them out:
Downhill Assist Control (DAC) & Hill Assist Control (HAC): HAC (Hill-start Assist Control) supports drivers on steep hills, while DAC (Downhill Assist Control) supports drivers when descending slopes. There may be unexpected cases for the driver where the vehicles may slide when starting on sudden hills or slippery surfaces. HAC minimizes vehicle roll-back by controlling brake fluid pressure as the driver's foot is removed from the brake to the accelerator on such steep incline.
Furthermore, DAC maintains vehicle speed at 5km/h to help ensure vehicle stability when descending sharp slopes or slippery surfaces.
Active Traction Control (A-TRC): Whether it be travelling over loose rock or towing a boat off a wet boat ramp, Active Traction Control (A-TRC) optimally delivers the drive force to the wheels with the best grip to provide outstanding ground covering capability on slippery or uneven surfaces.
Read more about other features: Toyota Fortuner
Now that we know about the cool new features in Toyota Fortuner, it’s time to give you a bit of an overview of what I did in a few hours with the SUV which left me so impressed with the SUV and it’s capabilities.
However, it’s Zone 2 where things are most fun! There are sharp decent and ascents, along with water pits and slimy and slippery paths. All of these allow the features of the Fortuner to be explored in the best possible way. You may actually never drive into such extreme places, but it’s certainly nice to know that if you ever do get stuck in a place like this, your car will effortlessly pull you through. Check out this video to get an overview of this part of the experience :)
Zone 3 was more of a racing track and Visit gave us an example of thrill that comes with it! With our seat-belts tightened, we went on a ride which was nothing less than a full shot of adrenaline. The last bit was the most complicated climb, which at seventy degrees was simply impossible for the car to go up. Here’s a short video of what it looked like :)
I was not going to let go of Vidit before asking him for some suggestions on where I could do some off-roading in Maharashtra itself. Here are the two places he suggested near Ambey Valley between Mumbai and Pune - Nineteen Degrees North and the off-road trail around Adlabs Imagica. Maybe someday I will go back to my home-state, Uttarakhand, and do some off-roading there as well, but for now on my to-do list :)
Safety: Safety is most important when you do off-roading, especially so when you are starting out. Make sure your vehicle is properly prepped before you start on the journey and always take someone along, preferably somehow who has experience in off-roading.
Pick the right trail: It’s easy to get carried away with thrill and you might want try out something which you may not be skilled enough to try. So start with simpler trails and then move on to more challenging ones in progression.
Drive correct: Drive slow, focus on the road, know your car really well and learn to identify any distress signs in advance, drive in low RPM, if you don’t know the obstacles ahead you can get down and check on it.
Be prepared: We always hope that nothing will go wrong, but it’s good to be prepared in advance about things that can go wrong. Let people know about your plans as well as the track you plan to tackle, so that if you don’t return on time help can reach you.
Stack up your car: A additional tyre is a necessity as well as the skills to change tyres. Apart from this have a full tank, a strong enough rope to tow, water for radiators (and drinking too), radio set if possible and whatever else you think you might need. Be prepared.
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Disclaimer: I was invited by Toyota Fortuner to try out the car at the Experiential Drive Camp and share my experiences on the blog. The pictures used here have also been provided by Toyota for use in the article. All views presented are unbiased and based on my personal experiences.
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| Off-roading with Toyota Fortuner |
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| Getting deep into waters! What fun :) |
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| Foturner comes out a winner, yet again |
Cool New features of Toyota Fortuner
Before I go into my own experience with the SUV, let me give a quick round up about the car itself.Toyota has designed Fortuner to give the rider unparalleled off-roading experience, whether you are on the uneven terrain on the roads in the hinterland, or on the racing circuit of the Himalayas. As a novice, everything I did was new for me, but I did come back more aware about with a handful of new features which be super useful for one and all! Let’s check them out:
Downhill Assist Control (DAC) & Hill Assist Control (HAC): HAC (Hill-start Assist Control) supports drivers on steep hills, while DAC (Downhill Assist Control) supports drivers when descending slopes. There may be unexpected cases for the driver where the vehicles may slide when starting on sudden hills or slippery surfaces. HAC minimizes vehicle roll-back by controlling brake fluid pressure as the driver's foot is removed from the brake to the accelerator on such steep incline.
Furthermore, DAC maintains vehicle speed at 5km/h to help ensure vehicle stability when descending sharp slopes or slippery surfaces.
 |
| With DAC, coming down is so much easier now! |
Active Traction Control (A-TRC): Whether it be travelling over loose rock or towing a boat off a wet boat ramp, Active Traction Control (A-TRC) optimally delivers the drive force to the wheels with the best grip to provide outstanding ground covering capability on slippery or uneven surfaces.
Read more about other features: Toyota Fortuner
Now that we know about the cool new features in Toyota Fortuner, it’s time to give you a bit of an overview of what I did in a few hours with the SUV which left me so impressed with the SUV and it’s capabilities.
My experience with Toyota Fortuner
The Experiential Drive Camp for Toyota Fortuner was set up at the picturesque Film City which is located right on the edge of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and makes for the prefect natural setting for adventures. The camp was divided in three zones - 1, 2 and 3. I had Vidit with me, who was not only a professional racer but also a super cool guy. We hit it off pretty well right in the beginning and ge ensured that I could learn as much as possible about the car, even if I took some time to pick a few thing sup! Coming back to the zones, Zone 1 was simple, but gave a perfect overview of car’s stability even in challenging surroundings. Here are a few videos I made there using Facebook live, so the quality is a bit low! |
| At Zone 1 |
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| Off to Zone 2 |
However, it’s Zone 2 where things are most fun! There are sharp decent and ascents, along with water pits and slimy and slippery paths. All of these allow the features of the Fortuner to be explored in the best possible way. You may actually never drive into such extreme places, but it’s certainly nice to know that if you ever do get stuck in a place like this, your car will effortlessly pull you through. Check out this video to get an overview of this part of the experience :)
Zone 3 was more of a racing track and Visit gave us an example of thrill that comes with it! With our seat-belts tightened, we went on a ride which was nothing less than a full shot of adrenaline. The last bit was the most complicated climb, which at seventy degrees was simply impossible for the car to go up. Here’s a short video of what it looked like :)
I was not going to let go of Vidit before asking him for some suggestions on where I could do some off-roading in Maharashtra itself. Here are the two places he suggested near Ambey Valley between Mumbai and Pune - Nineteen Degrees North and the off-road trail around Adlabs Imagica. Maybe someday I will go back to my home-state, Uttarakhand, and do some off-roading there as well, but for now on my to-do list :)
Off-roading tips for beginners
But all of this conversation about off-roading would be incomplete if I don’t share some off-roading tips for people like me, who are yet to start on this adventurous journey. Here are five great off-roading tips for beginners!Safety: Safety is most important when you do off-roading, especially so when you are starting out. Make sure your vehicle is properly prepped before you start on the journey and always take someone along, preferably somehow who has experience in off-roading.
Pick the right trail: It’s easy to get carried away with thrill and you might want try out something which you may not be skilled enough to try. So start with simpler trails and then move on to more challenging ones in progression.
 |
| Picking the right rail is important |
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| So is knowing your call really well! |
Drive correct: Drive slow, focus on the road, know your car really well and learn to identify any distress signs in advance, drive in low RPM, if you don’t know the obstacles ahead you can get down and check on it.
Be prepared: We always hope that nothing will go wrong, but it’s good to be prepared in advance about things that can go wrong. Let people know about your plans as well as the track you plan to tackle, so that if you don’t return on time help can reach you.
Stack up your car: A additional tyre is a necessity as well as the skills to change tyres. Apart from this have a full tank, a strong enough rope to tow, water for radiators (and drinking too), radio set if possible and whatever else you think you might need. Be prepared.
—————
Disclaimer: I was invited by Toyota Fortuner to try out the car at the Experiential Drive Camp and share my experiences on the blog. The pictures used here have also been provided by Toyota for use in the article. All views presented are unbiased and based on my personal experiences.
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