WeeklySA_AdminGR-SPORT TREATMENT: New era for Toyota Fortuner with more power, racy looks and handling enhancements
By Ali Mphaki
Recently attended a meeting of the City of Joburg and was pleasantly surprised to see most of them servants of the people’s choice of wheels to be the Toyota Fortuner.
Not that there’s anything wrong, after all the Toyota Fortuner is a serious seven-seater off-roader 4×4 with, among others, the ability to run roughshod over those gaping potholes in our Jozi roads, and enables the hard-working councillors move from one crisis meeting to another in their quest to offer world-class service.
Again, the overworked councillors could be forgiven for not engaging in wasteful and fruitless expenditure, seeing that a Toyota Fortuner new will likely to set you back at R809,998 (used from R359,900), all within their grossly exaggerated stipulated perks and allowances.
But with my curiosity stirred, a little investigation would reveal that it was an intrepid Toyota salesperson who came with an offer the councilors could not refuse, hence so many of them bought in to the Japanese stable.
I have also not been spared the allure of the Toyota Fortuner. My local councilor also drives one in a grey hue. Estimates say out of the 220 or so Jozi councillors, more than 100 are happily driven or driving around in a Toyota Fortuner – an emphatic vote of confidence on the people-oriented Toyota brand albeit a bit out or reach for ordinary folk of late.
Estimates say out of the 270 or so Jozi councilors, nearly a half of them are happily cruise in a Toyota Fortuner – an emphatic vote of confidence on the people-oriented Toyota brand albeit some of its products of late a bit out of reach for ordinary folk.
As someone who also happens to be living near a taxi rank, noticeable is how most of the taxi bosses are enamoured by the Toyota Fortuner. They call it Inkunz’malanga – raging bull for the uninitiated.
Colleague Len Maseko, he of endless speed violations, also recently had a stint with a Toyota Fortuner, his bulgy taxi-owner-like body fitting smugly into the medium-sized SUV.
And just as the taxi bosses (same Whatsap group) was complimentary to its virtues and charms. As news filtered about the launch of the new Toyota Fortuner GR-Sport on South African soil this week, no doubt a lump should have formed in the throats of many an enthusiasts wanting to know what the newcomer has to offer, especially since GR is the abbreviation for Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s motorsport division.
This as Toyota has confirmed that its performance division is developing a new series of engines and that these engines will also make their way into conventional Toyotas, too.
That means an engine designed, developed and engineered by Gazoo Racing, could end up in a next-generation Corolla or RAV4 – just as much as a WRC car or GR performance vehicle.GR denotes performance models, such as the GR Yaris and –Corolla hot hatches, plus the GR86 and GR Supra sportscars, while GR-Sport is applied to variants that have cosmetic enhancements (Corolla Cross GR-S, Land Cruiser 300 GR-S) and, more recently, technical enhancements (Hilux GR-S and the Fortuner GR-S newcomer).
The newcomer is easily distinguishable by its subtle badging on the front, rear and flanks.
The Toyota Fortuner GR-Sport gets a reshaped front bumper with a newly styled lower grille, newly designed fog lamp bezels, a black front spoiler, and a rear diffuser.
The are also several exterior improvements which include a reshaped front bumper with a newly styled lower grille, newly designed fog lamp bezels, a black front spoiler, and a rear diffuser with an aerodynamic design,which some think may limit towing ability.
The striking black 18-inch GR alloy wheels are wrapped in Dunlop all-terrain rubber.
Toyota has spiced up the powertrain. The 2.8-litre GD-6 turbodiesel motor produces 165 kW and 550 Nm, which is 15 kW and 50 Nm more than the standard 2.8GD-6. Toyota says this is the most potent series-produced Fortuner and, like the rest of the range, the GR-Sport uses a 6-speed automatic transmission that drives all 4 wheels.
The sporty theme continues inside, with no fewer than 5 GR Sport badges dotted around the cabin. The steering wheel, handbrake lever and seat upholstery (plus trim) feature red stitching. Also, the seats have been upgraded to sportier and more supportive GR items, replete with perforated leather and suede.
Being a flagship, the standard specification list is lengthy, with most comfort, convenience and assisted-driving boxes ticked. There are 7 airbags, front/rear parking sensors, stability control, rear cross-traffic alert, a blind-spot monitor, adaptive cruise control and auto emergency braking, to name a few features.
For those who are colour conscious, only two exterior colours are on offer for the Fortuner GR-Sport: attitude black and platinum white pearl.
The Toyota Fortuner GR-Sport will set you back R999 000, a R49 000 premium over the Fortuner 2.8GD-6 4×4 VX derivative.
It is sold with a 3-year/100 000 km warranty and a 9-service/90 000 km service plan. Service intervals are set at 12-months/10 000 km, whichever occurs first.
If it means anything to ease your pain, it is built locally here at Toyota’s Prospecton plant in KZN.
Motoring: Briefs
FERRARI BUYERS GETTING YOUNGER
Buying a Ferrari takes money. Lots of money. Typically, people with lots of money have worked many decades to acquire such funds, which puts them in a higher age group. That’s true of most high-end brands. But more recently, Ferrari has seen a shift in the age of its buyers—and the numbers are skewing downward.
In an interview with CNBC, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said that “40 percent of [Ferrari’s] new clients are below 40 years.” That’s a jump of 10 percent from 2023 when Ferrari buyers under 40 made up just 30 percent of the Italian supercar maker’s clientele.
“I don’t know for other brands,” Vigna continues, “but for us, it is an achievement that is thanks to our team.”
Those figures are surprising given the brand’s history of exclusivity. In 2024 alone, approximately 81 percent of new Ferraris sold went to existing customers, according to Fortune. And 48 percent of those buyers already owned more than one Ferrari. So even with the median age decreasing, not many new buyers are getting in the door.
MINI ACEMAN DEBUTS
This week, the Mini Aceman will make its South African debut – the British marque’s first-ever all-electric crossover.
At launch, the local Mini Aceman line-up will comprise two derivatives, the E and the SE, both of which equipped with a front-mounted single electric motor. The opening gambit to the range, the E model is endowed with 135 kW and 290 N.m of torque, allowing for a claimed 0-100 km/h sprint time of 7.9 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h. The E has a claimed all-electric operating range of up to 310 km (WLTP) on a single full charge and an average energy consumption of 14.1 kWh/100 km.
The SE derivative produces 160 kW and 330 N.m, which, Mini claims, is good for a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 7.1 seconds and a maximum speed of 170 km/h. The Aceman SE’s 54.2 kWh battery pack offers a claimed emissions-free driving range of up to 406 km when fully charged. The SE’s average energy consumption is rated at 13.9 kWh/100 km.
Mini Aceman E — R800 000
Mini Aceman SE — R892 000
TOYOTA VITZ SWEET DEAL
The Toyota Vitz is a popular contender in South Africa’s budget hatch market and now the company is sweetening the deal further with a price reduction and additional safety features.
Toyota has quietly implemented these changes, as first reported by Cars.co.za, with the base model is now listed at R178,800, representing a reduction of R11,100 from its previous official retail price.
We say officially because technically, Toyota did offer a long-running promotion that saw it offered at R169,900 since August 2023, as IOL previously reported.
The more generously appointed Vitz 1.0 XR manual now retails for R209,900, which is R10,000 less than before, while the AMT version is yours for R224,900, which represents a saving of R15,000. The previous ‘X-Cite’ variant, which featured in the middle of the price range, falls away with this latest upgrade.
