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On the recent (and far too short) Christmas break, I was invited away on a ‘boys’ trip’ with a bunch of old workmates. This was the perfect opportunity to see how the Fortuner would fare tackling both a decent amount of camping gear as well as some tougher tracks around the Blue Mountains. Packing was no problem at all… even though I think I’ll be removing those third-row seats as they do take up a fair bit of space and I don’t have five children (not even one).
Off-road, I was blown away at how good the traction control is. It just works, which is a good thing as in stock form the Fortuner doesn’t have the most wheel travel – with a rear wheel popping up a few times in a fun and controlled manner. This never looked like worrying the Fortuner though; it has a think about things and makes forward progress. Genuinely impressive.
Anywho, the plan was quite loose. Head to the Lidsdale State Forest out of Lithgow, drive some medium-grade tracks and find a place to swim and have a fish at the end of the day. Not only did we get to go for a swim, but the Fortuner did too – driving my favourite river crossings in NSW on the Cox’s River. It’s not deep (well it can be) or gnarly (again, a bit of rain changes everything) but it is simply beautiful. I didn’t record fuel economy… sorry, I was having too much fun.
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