Wheels of Fortune: The Fortuner vs the Alterra

So you’ve just come from your Toyota dealership feeling like you’ve been sucker punched in the stomach. Apparently, you’re not the only one who thinks the Fortuner is nice. And there you were, thinking you had uncovered the most stylish bargain of the decade only to find ten month’s worth of people feeling exactly the same way. There, there. So now you scour the papers and magazines for alternatives. Its your way of getting back at Toyota for building your hopes up only to take the wind right back out of your sails. Surely, you must be thinking, there’s gotta be someone out there with big enough balls to take on Toyota. Ticky, ticky, ticky, tick....along comes this mutant D-MAX with scoliosis idling up to the plate to take on the challenge.

The Alterra is Isuzu’s first stab at the seven seater, pick up based segment. This was a segment started by the Montero sport, but later made popular by the Ford Everest. When Toyota unleashed its bombshell with the launch of the Fortuner, Isuzu reacted and brought in the D-MAX-based, Alterra. The timing couldn’t have been better. Not because the Alterra believed that it could go the full ten rounds with the Fortuner, but I believe it was strategically launched to capitalize on the over popularity of the Fortuner by serving as the next best thing to a lengthy waiting list.

And there’s absolutely no shame in that. Sometimes, that’s the fastest way in. Why spend all your budget making noise about yourself when you can get some big, fat, giant to shake up the market for you and then collect whatever falls off his table. The Fortuner did just that — it really took the market by surprise, Toyota folk included. What gets me is that, for a company as vain as Toyota, how could they have not perceived this success? Its got all the markings of a best seller. Its a Toyota, for crying out loud. But as smug as that sounds, it just means that Toyota is under even more pressure to perform. They know full well that the public and their own competitors are just waiting for the split second they screw up before they pounce on them. In other words, there’s more pressure to keep their lead than to snatch it away, which means they cannot afford to make any mistakes.

I’ll admit, approaching this test, even I found myself looking for the Fortuner’s flaws before features. The "too good to be true" syndrome. I wanted to bring it down, to uncover a flaw of "Gloria-gate" proportions that would make everyone who didn’t own one sleep better at night. I eventually found one. But more on that later.

The coolest part about driving the Fortuner was seeing the faces of other motorists looking on with that look, like, "Hey, isn’t that the car with the long waiting list? Who’s the lucky bastard driving it?" It’s only like the hottest selling vehicle in recent history, and you really begin to feel that weight in people’s stares. It’s the light commercial equivalent of the Mazda 3. It’s kinda cool to have what everyone wants for a change. But it’s not in a spiteful, "who’s-the-prick-in-the-Ferrari" sort of way. It’s more like, "do-I-have-a-friend-that-works-in-Toyota-that-might-be-able-to-help-me-jump-the-queue" sort of way. All of a sudden everyone around you has developed car-envy.

The Isuzu is not like that. For one, it isn’t as pretty as the Toyota. I always reverse parked it in to the slot so that I didn’t have to approach it from that rear angle. I’ve always thought the D-MAX was the best looking pick up of the bunch, but somehow, in this guise, something got lost in translation. I guess it’s that rear end. It doesn’t look as well integrated as the Fortuner, or even the Everest for that matter. But then again, that is somewhat subjective.

Inside, the Alterra is very pleasant but dated by comparison. Don’t let that put you off entirely because there is still a vast appeal left for this utilitarian, sharp-edged, straight-line look. And once you twist the key, it all begins to make sense. From the idle alone you already know you’re driving something that could plough a field without breaking a sweat. Shove it into first gear and it doesn’t so much leap forward as much as "claw" its way out of the road and it feels like it will climb a brick wall. I thought it was just me, but my wife loved it, too. It has that secure feeling of a truck — a feeling that modern manufacturers seem to be engineering out of their SUVs to make them more civilized, yet if you think about it, wasn’t it precisely that invincible feeling that made the segment popular to begin with?

But that damn Fortuner, with its swanky styling and gorgeous wheel and tire package, sets a new benchmark in SUVs. It’s a CD when everyone else is using cassette. Pound for pound it will kick anyone’s @$$. It is so refined, so well designed, so integrated and fluid in its concept that it ends up punching above its weight and rattling the cages of its’ foes and poking its’ tongue out at even the big boys like the Nissan Patrol. I’m sure the others will catch up eventually, but history will always credit Toyota for raising the bar. And rightfully so. It’s roomy, comfortable, powerful and it feels as reliable as the moon.

And, as much as I rave about the Alterra’s engine, both the 2.7 gas and the 3.0 diesel plants of Toyota kick it square in the (place expletive here)... The Alterra may have the edge in torque when compared to Toyota’s gas engine, but the Fortuner wins the horsepower race on both counts. The Toyota also delivers the power more subtly and evenly, never leaving you wanting. It sounds like game, set, match for Toyota, doesn’t it? Well, yes, pretty much, unless you’re an audiophile.

Here’s the earth shattering discovery I promised you. The Fortuner’s stereo sucks. There, that’s the best I could come up with. The Alterra, on the other hand, capitalized on this weakness and came out with a killer, 5.1 channel, digital surround sound, ten speaker with detachable sub-woofer, DVD entertainment system with two LCD screens on the rear of the front headrests. Enough to shut even the wildest kids up on a long drive.

The only other area where the Alterra can shine is that it offers the choice of a five speed manual. The Fortuner only comes in automatic. For now. Big deal you might be saying. But to some, it really is. But to be honest, these are only tiny little jabs at Toyota, something it swats away as trivial. (Besides there is strong talk of a 2.5-liter, diesel, manual soon) Toyota knows that it has a winner in its hands. It doesn’t need to put home theaters inside because as far as Toyota is concerned, it is a Toyota — like, hello? What more do you want? Also, not to rub any salt in the wound, but, considering the price of the Alterra, which matches the top of the line diesel Fortuner, Isuzu really should have offered a 4X4 variant.

The Fortuner has only been released in Thailand and the Philippines so far. I suspect that Toyota has delayed the initial launch dates in other markets until it can actually meet the market}s demand. And so far, that’s its weakest link. That, plus there are still some dealers out there that are taking advantage of its’ popularity by forcing uncompetitive financing and insurance schemes on buyers as a way of cutting down the wait list. You know who you are, and trust me, when the bubble eventually bursts — which is inevitable — your customers will remember you too.

Even with all of that, I know it still must sound fairly one sided by now. But one thing I’ll say for Isuzu is that the company builds very good diesel engines and that it has earned for itself a cult following from loyalists — especially in Davao, Isuzu’s largest market. And, considering its limited model line up, Isuzu has still managed to keep its vehicles fresh by keeping tabs on local trends and responding quickly through clever product planning. Isuzu has also really supported their local community over the years and that will have an effect. If you’re an Isuzu fan because of Isuzu engines, here’s a fact — this is the best one yet. I also like the fact that it tackles the segment differently. It feels far more utilitarian than sport, relying on pure muscle rather than fitness to get the job done.

The Fortuner is the best thing to happen to the segment since the introduction of the CRV in 1998 — remember? It delivers bucket loads of style, practicality and comfort, all within a sensible price tag. It feels solid but yet still quite agile and has very sharp steering responses for an SUV with such big, fat tires. It deserves all its praise, I’m afraid. It’s not often that a new model comes in and rewrites the rules of upscale family motoring. So, as much as I would have liked to make Toyota wait ten months for this verdict, it would only be postponing the painfully obvious — the Fortuner wins this battle by a margin that not even Garci could make up. But in the end, only you can decide if it is worth its’ wait for your gold.