Which Toyota Fortuner model retains its value best?

Toyota’s Fortuner is a phenomenon, the large SUV selling more units each month than all but two of our top-selling cars in South Africa. Here we report on which model is likely to retain its re-sale value best.

The current generation of the Toyota Fortuner has been with us here in South Africa since March 2016. And this revised and more refined version has continued where the previous Fortuner left off  as the country’s top-selling seven-seat SUV by far!

The Fortuner model range is straight-forward

So many manufacturers have huge model ranges these days that end up being totlally confusing. It comes as something of a relief to check out a Fortuner price list and realise that there are just eight models, with three engine choices, three transmission choices, and two basic trim levels

Engine and transmission choices

There are two diesel engines and one petrol engine available in the Toyota Fortuner range. The entry level model is the Fortuner 2.7 Automatic, the only petrol model in the current range. The engine is a 2,7-litre 4-cylinder non-turbo petrol engine. Power is 122kw and torque is 245 Nm, and this engine option only comes with a 6-speed automatic gearbox.

The mid-range Fortuner engine is the 2.4GD-6. This is a 2,4-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel producing 110 kW and 400 Nm of torque. It is available with a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic gearbox in rear-wheel-drive models. There is also a 4X4 version of the 2.4GD-6, and this comes only with a 6-speed automatic transmission.

The top engine option is the 2.8GD-6. This is a 2,8-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing 130 kW and 450 Nm of torque.  The 2.8GD-6 engine is only available with automatic transmission. However, it is available as a rear-wheel-drive or 4X4 model.

Trim levels

The Toyota Fortuner currently  comes with a standard trim level or in so-called Epic trim, which has more features than the standard trim model. There is also a special Epic Black trim.

Complete range and pricing as of late September 2020

Which Fortuner model will retain its value best?

The most popular Toyota Fortuner model in terms of new-car sales is the 2.4 GD-6 Automatic and this is the model that will retain its re-sale value best. Next up is the 2.8 GD-6 Epic,  followed by the 2.8 GD-6 4X4 Epic. The fourth best-seller is the 2.4 GD-6 4X4 Automatic.

We have picked up that the trend is very much away from manual models in the Fortuner range, and demand for the sole petrol variant is very much on the wane.

It should be noted, however, that mileage and condition are also very large factors when it comes to retaining value in a motor vehicle. AutoTrader currently lists over 1 100 New and used Toyota Fortuner models for sale, so another cool thing about the Fortuner is that there is a huge stock of pre-owned vehicles for sale.

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