By PINKY CONCHA-COLMENARES
Nothing I say – or write – can change the fortune of the Fortuner. Neither can anything that car experts say to dissect its driving and riding qualities.
I drove my son and his friends a few weeks ago, and I repeatedly heard from the back seat: "Wow, this is a Fortuner!" Before the night was over, I could swear some of those young boys thought I was such a cool mom to be driving a Fortuner around. I even got proposals – not the romantic kind - but the ones that asked if they could drive the Fortuner with me sometime. Nice try.
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| TOYOTA FORTUNER | | A bunch of 18-year-old’s having an opinion like that about an SUV states the obvious. This SUV comes with a reputation, and a waiting line to boost the image.
That’s why the newest Toyota SUV is a bestseller, cornering 41.3 percent of the market (year-to-date share
as of Feb. 6). Nearly a year
after it was introduced
in the Philippine market, waiting time to acquire the Fortuner is an average of six to eight months, according to Elijah Marcial, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. public relations specialist.
The reason is simple: Toyota created a demand for the Fortuner, even before the first unit was unveiled in Manila. It did that by not saying anything to confirm or deny rumors that it would soon bring in a new SUV that would cost cheaper than the others in the market.
In May last year, Toyota finally launched the Fortuner in Manila – but had only 200 units to sell. Those units got sold out even before one could request for a test drive!
With SUVs of that size being priced at more than P1.6 million, the Fortuner’s introductory prices were considered "cheap" – P1.498 million for the 3-liter 4x4 variant; and P1.193 million for the 2.7-liter.
Today, 11 months after it was
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