Toyota Fortuner review: the Prado's tougher, cheaper cousin
3.8/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the 2.7-litre Fortuner if you want a genuinely capable, high-clearance family SUV for meaningfully less than a Prado, and you can live with a firmer ride and a less hushed cabin on the highway. The 4.0-litre V6 GR-S is worth the step up only if the extra pace and the sportier suspension tune matter to you personally — it does not change what the car is fundamentally good at.
Pros
- 279 mm ground clearance genuinely embarrasses most crossovers in its price range
- 2.7-litre grade costs noticeably less than a Prado to buy, insure and fuel
- Ladder frame and part-time 4WD with low range are the real thing off-road
- Seven seats and a boot big enough for a family's camping gear
- Strong resale demand among Bahrain's weekend off-road community
Cons
- Firmer ride and more road/wind noise on the highway than a Prado
- Third-row seating is tight and best kept for children
- Cabin materials on lower grades feel their price point
- High step-in height makes entry harder for older passengers
The Fortuner is what happens when Toyota puts an SUV body on the Hilux's chassis, and it is a much more honest proposition for it. Where the Prado has grown steadily more car-like and expensive across generations, the Fortuner has stayed closer to its pickup roots — ladder frame, part-time four-wheel drive, and a ground clearance figure that genuinely embarrasses most crossovers in its price range.
The engine question
The 2.7-litre four is adequate rather than quick, but it is the one that makes financial sense for most Bahraini families: cheaper across the board than the 4.0-litre V6, and perfectly capable of carrying seven people and a boot full of camping gear to Sakhir on a Friday morning. The V6 GR-S adds genuine pace and a firmer, more planted suspension tune, at a real cost premium in every running expense.
On the road
This is the honest trade-off: the Fortuner rides firmer than a Prado over Bahrain's expansion joints, and wind and road noise are more present at highway speed. What you get in return is a noticeably lower purchase price for a genuinely similar amount of off-road hardware, and running costs that undercut the Prado on nearly every line.
Living with it
Seven seats are standard, though the third row is best reserved for children on anything but a short trip. The high ground clearance that makes it capable off-road also means a proper step up into the cabin, which matters for anyone helping older relatives in and out of the car. Cabin materials are a clear notch below the Prado's, particularly on lower grades, but everything is durable and easy to keep clean after a dune run.
Who should buy one
Choose the Fortuner over a Prado if the price difference genuinely matters and you are comfortable with a firmer, noisier highway ride in exchange for it. Families who spend more weekends on tarmac than sand are usually better served by the extra refinement of a Prado or a Highlander.