Finding fault with a winner

It sat there at the office parking lot, a plain silver Toyota Fortuner of the 4x4 diesel kind, muddy from a week’s worth of rain, smelling strongly of fish inside. Whoever drove the test unit before me must have had something to do with this. Well, at least I had the keys to one already. After months of waiting, and waiting, and waiting, until I finally began to relate with real-world buyers who had to put up with the better part of a year waiting for their purchased unit to arrive, I was beginning to wonder if the thing was really as good as it seemed to be if you judge something by its waiting list.

Oh well, at least it was finally here for a few day’s worth of testing. Now, here is where first impressions do make a difference, and for me the overpowering smell of daing was just a little too much to digest after two hours stuck in traffic getting to the unit. Turn on the aircon (it’s one of those fully automatic systems) and the smell goes away after a while. Whew. Or maybe my nose just learned to block it out. After reading in other publications how good the Fortuner was, then being assaulted by an invisible barrage of daing (or it could be tinapa for all I know…) I set out on a mission: find out what’s not so good about it. Yes, that’s right. Find fault with something from the get-go. What a concept!

Driving it in traffic, trying to make it fit in your standard cramped parking lot in Christmas season traffic, I immediately disliked the view out the windows. Like being in a bunker. The high sills and beefy fenders look cool outside, but darn if they don’t hide what’s lurking there at the corners to dent that handsome sheetmetal. And with the 3rd row seats folded up, you’ve got blind spots aplenty.

Now for the ride: standard truck, albeit less juddery than the usual thanks to those coil springs. But a rigid rear axle is a rigid rear axle, and over uneven pavement, whatever’s happening on one side will still affect the behavior of the other side. At high speed, it’s a busy ride that’s not as confidence inspiring as Toyota’s own RAV4, which unfortunately will never be as manly as the Fortuner, what with its being branded by hard cores as something for the third sex. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, they’re everywhere now and they can really crack up a party sometimes but… where was I?

Aha, what else don’t I like about the Fortuner? Let’s see... spongy brake pedal feel, dead steering feel, and that warning beep whenever you put it in Reverse. At first I thought it was part of a backup sensor until I’d backed it up against a wall with our poor security guard stuck in between. I don’t know if his health insurance will cover that. And aren’t seats supposed to support the skeletal frame? The Fortuner doesn’t have a lumbar support, it has, well, I’d call it a lumbar un-support, because it’s scooped out right where the lower back tends to slump on a straight-back seat. I was tempted to visit a therapist for this, but thankfully my back straightened out once I got back to my car.

Then a friend drove the Fortuner for a while. Unlike me, she earns enough to buy her own Fortuner (sigh). One spin around the block and she was complaining already about the sight-lines, and she’s pretty tall at 5’11, so she’s not exactly peering out over the steering wheel like most chi… err, women. "And why is it cramped?" she whined. Well, that’s what you’ll feel when you’re 5’11.

And yet, it’s not hard at all to understand why the Fortuner is such a success. The things I’ve been ranting about are almost all standard fare with your usual crop of truck-based SUVs. I’m really just a car guy at heart, so I guess it’s unfair to expect something that weighs like two Galants to drive like my single Super Saloon.

Despite the Fortuner’s Old School formula, which buyers must find so reassuring and sulit, there’s enough New Tech built in to make it overtake the competition by leaps and bounds. The diesel’s common-rail technology is really impressive, the transmission is okay, the throttle response is immediate, and all of the Fortuner’s Old School ladder-frame chassis and rigid axle are packaged in a contemporary looking package that is so pogi.

Compare with the competition, pare. The Mitsubishi Montero Sport is old, the blocky Ford Everest looks even older, and the Isuzu Alterra just drives and rides a little too hard-core for something that (initially) started out as a 4x2. Well, maybe the 2006 4x4 model will fix that.

Then there are the smaller, better-driving compact SUVs, any one of which give a commanding view of the road while (for us guys) simultaneously hinting that a) your wife influenced your buying decision or b) you’re comfortable with your feminine side, for better and worse. Trucks like the Fortuner are masculine as hell with their truck tires and truck chassis and truck ride. Fortunately for Toyota (and unfortunately for the rest), the designers did a very good job on the Fortuner.

Who cares if you’ll get dizzy driving it? Pogi pa rin, pare. And that cockpit really works. It’s got enough edges and curves and visual mass to look high-end, but it’s also got enough pockets and shelves and cupholders to organize your mobile life in a way your wife never can. "Hey, it’s got a cupholder!", my friend says, pointing to the one built into the right-rear door. "I like it already." she concludes. I tell her the Innova, which is basically a 4x2 Fortuner in practical clothes, is a more sensible purchase. She gives me a look that seems to say "Do I look pregnant to you?" If you’ve fallen in line for one already, keep waiting then. Merry Christmas!

Lester Dizon’s argument for motorcycles in last week’s Backseat Driver column garnered varying reactions from our readers. Some expressed their agreement…

Amen. We rest our case. — 09179026367

Others sat in between the fence…

Your article on motorcycling is very interesting. My opinion is that motorcycles should be banned on major thoroughfares as they weave in and out and overtake between cars. — 09189069822

And others disagreed…

We would have more patience with motorcycle riders if they’d stop cutting in and out of lanes then blame us car drivers when they crash into our cars. — 09178920725

Speak out, be heard and keep those text messages coming in. To say your piece and become a "Backseat Driver", text PHILSTAR<space>FB<space>MOTORING<space>YOUR MESSAGE and send to 2840 if you’re a Globe or Touch Mobile subscriber or 334 if you’re a Smart or Talk ’n Text subscriber or 2840 if you’re a Sun Cellular subscriber. Please keep your messages down to a manageable 160 characters. You may send a series of comments using the same parameters.