Ford India began operations more than two decades ago and through its history the Endeavour premium SUV has been a success product. The original version introduced in 2003 became an instant hit and has rivalled the Toyota Fortuner throughout. Ford launched the third-generation Endeavour SUV in January earlier this year and the arrival of an all-new Fortuner had been anticipated ever since.
Known as Everest in global markets, the Endeavour completed the first month of January with 480 units of sales while Toyota Fortuner started dipping when the new Ford started to gain momentum. The seven-seater is currently being imported as CKD kits from Thailand and assembled at Ford’s Chennai manufacturing facility and recently endured a price slash of nearly three lakh rupees.
The new generation Fortuner, with new exterior, engine lineup and features, is expected to bring back the craze and be at the top of its game. As both potent premium SUVs are now available in the market, it will be interesting to see how the fare in terms of sales in the coming months. Can the new Fortuner mimic the success of its predecessor and topple the recent dominance of Endeavour is yet to be found out but before that here’s how they stacks up against each other in our specs comparison:
Toyota Fortuner vs Ford Endeavour Exterior
The latest-gen Ford Endeavour is being built on a new ladder frame chassis which also underpins the Ford Ranger pick-up truck. The SUV has been thoroughly redesigned to render a bossy road presence with a rugged looking front fascia and substantial bonnet lines. The inclined roofline is quite appealing as well and there’s plastic cladding everywhere to hamper the off-roader from any sort of damages.
Based on the ‘Edge’ design philosophy, the evolved third-gen Endeavour comes with a revised bumpers at front and rear, prominent trapezoidal four-slat chrome grille up front, sweptback projector headlamps with LED Daytime Running Lights, redesigned fog lamps sheltered in the body coloured bumper with silver inserts, bigger aluminium scuff plate, etc.
The side profile has a bolder stance, flared wheel arches, newly designed 18-inch alloy wheels, raked windows and subtle roofline while sunroof is provided in the top-end model. At the rear, horizontally wrapped-around tail lamps enhance the sturdiness. It measures 4,892 mm long, 1860 mm wide, 1,837 mm tall and features a wheelbase of 2,850 mm.
The fuel tank capacity is rated at 80 litres whilst a 225 mm ground clearance will be of great help in off-roading scenarios. The six different colour options offered are Smoke Grey, Diamond White, Moondust Silver, Panther Black, Sunset Red and Golden Bronze.
The chunky SUV will ride on 265/60 R18 alloy wheels with disc brakes at front and back. The suspension systems incorporated are independent coil spring with anti-roll bar up front and coil spring with Watts linkage type with anti-roll bar at the rear to tackle difficult off-road conditions.
Just like the Endeavour, the new Fortuner has plenty of global standards to go with it. It is built on the Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle (IMV) platform underpinning the Innova Crysta and Hilux Revo pickup truck. The new architecture will aid in improving off-road credentials of the SUV and the exterior largely mimics the styling of Australian-spec SUV with quirky raked pillar and sloped roof.
The sleek front fascia features 18-inch alloy wheels, powered back lift gate, V-shaped triple-slat grille with chrome touches, integrated turn indicators on electrically adjustable ORVMs, shark fin antenna, redesigned fog lamps, bi-Beam LED projector headlamps with Daytime Running Lights, muscular wheel arches, rear spoiler and sloping roofline. The new model will add more premium-ness over the outgoing Fortuner as it has sharper design cues and appears quite menacing.
It measures about 4,795 mm in length which is 90 mm longer than the existing and aging model. It will be 1,855 mm wide (15 mm wider than the existing Fortuner) and 1,835 mm tall (15 mm shorter than the present model) with 2,750 mm wheelbase as similar to the outgoing Fortuner SUV.
The fuel tank capacity stands at 80 litres while the SUV features a ground clearance of 225 mm. The relaxing ride is assured by double wishbone with stabiliser bar up front and five-link, coil springs with stabiliser bar at the rear. The all-new Toyota Fortuner will come with six colour options: White Pearl, Silver, Gray, Attitude Black, Nebula Blue and Phantom Brown. As for the outside, both the big SUVs have unique presence and perhaps for some the shape of Endeavour will be more attractive and macho.
Interior and Features
As for the interiors, the revised dashboard has plenty of equipment offered in the Endeavour. The standard list contains Ford’s newly updated SYNC3 multimedia system with eight-inch infotainment touchscreen system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, voice control, CD/MP3 player, Bluetooth and AUX connectivity, sporty three-spoke steering wheel with mounted controls, sliding and reclining second row seat, cruise control, power adjustable third row seats (50:50), Remote keyless entry and central locking, eight-way power adjustable front seats, double-zone climate control system, powered tail-gate and rear parking sensors. The SYNC3 system, which allows for automatic upgrade to new system software via WiFi, came about just a few days before Toyota entered the new Endeavour.
The instrument cluster features analogue speedometer with two TFT screens. One displays the touchscreen display and the other mileage, fuel consumption, range and temperature. The high-end versions get leather seats, Terrain Management System with adjustments depending on the surfaces like Snow, Mud, Grass, Sand and Rock alongside leather trimmed dashboard and leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob.
The safety features include ESP(Electronic Stability Program), TCS(Traction Control System), Engine immoblizer, Electronically locking rear differential, seven airbags (in top-end model), Seatbelt pre-tensioner, ABS(Anti-lock Braking System) with EBD, Hill Launch Assist, Tyre pressure monitoring system, Emergency Assistance system, Ford MyKey, Semi-auto parallel parking assist and Hill Descent Control among several others.
The new Fortuner’s interiors has T-Connect eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with satellite navigation, new instrument cluster with large colour TFT LCD display, automatic climate control, cabin lamps, three-spoke steering wheel with mounted controls, rear automatic AC, different off-road modes, engine start/stop button, wooden cabin trims on higher variants, multi-adjustable electric driver seat, cruise control, etc.
The high-reliability Toyota is known for is ensured courtesy of the large SUV passing through the stringent Latin NCAP crash tests rated with five stars. The safety features list has engine immobilizer, seven airbags, ABS with EBD, Brake Assist, Emergency Brake Signal, Hill Assist Control, Reverse parking camera and sensors, Stability Control and Active Traction Control system among others. Both the Endeavour and Fortuner are so much equal in terms of the interiors and equipment provided but the updated infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will give the Ford a decisive edge.
Engine, Specification and Mileage
As for the Endeavour, the 2.2-litre four-cylinder TDCi diesel unit with VGT makes 160 PS of maximum power at 3,200 rpm and 385 Nm of peak torque between 1,600 rpm and 2,500 rpm. It’s mated to either a six-speed manual for 2WD and AWD versions or a six-speed automatic for AWD variants. The range-topping powerful 3.2-litre five-cylinder TDCi engine with VGT puts out a potent 200 PS maximum power output at 3,000 rpm and 470 Nm of peak torque delivered between 1,750 rpm and 2,500 rpm.
This engine will have a six-speed automatic transmission and 4×4 drive system only. The 2.2L engine with MT is claimed to deliver a class-leading fuel economy of 14.12 kmpl whilst the Automatic transmission will return 12.62 kmpl. The mileage of the bigger 3.2-litre diesel engine is rated at 10.91 kmpl.
The GD series 2.8 litre diesel engine replaces the existing KD series line-up. These diesel engine returns mileage of 14.24 kmpl (MT) & 12.9 kmpl (AT) as the GD series unit is said to be 10% more frugal courtesy of Superior Thermal Efficient Combustion (ESTEC) and variable geometric turbocharger techs. The 2.8L motor also power the recently launched Innova Crysta MPV. The Innova Crysta derived 2.7-litre four-cylinder Dual VVTi petrol develops 166 bhp at 5,200 rpm of maximum power and 245 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. Mileage: 10.01kmpl (MT) & 10.26kmpl (AT)
The 2.8-litre diesel mill has the capacity to churn out 177 PS of power at 3,400 rpm and 450 Nm of torque between 1,600 and 2,400 rpm whereas the manual versions will have 30 Nm less torque with the same power output. A six-speed automatic gearbox will be employed in the top-spec models. In a bid to reduce costs, the diesel engines are to be assembled at the company’s facility in Karnataka and it could take the localisation level beyond 80 per cent.
2016 Toyota Fortuner vs 2016 Ford Endeavour Price
The entry-level Trend variant of the Ford Endeavour has been priced at Rs. 23.78 lakh and it goes up to Rs. 29.77 lakh for the range-topping Titanium model (both ex-showroom prices, Delhi). Ford India importing it into the country as CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kits from Thailand and assembled at the company’s production unit in Chennai. Of the six variants, three are manual and other three are automatic trims.
There are two different variants namely Trend and Titanium. Trend has four trim levels with 2.2-litre diesel engine equipped manual 4×2, manual 4×4, auto 4×2 and 3.2-litre diesel engine equipped automatic 4×4. The Titanium variant comes in two level of trims: 2.2-litre diesel engine equipped auto 4×2 and 3.2-litre diesel engine equipped auto 4×4 – both with added accessories to the basic Trend trim levels.
The 2016 Toyota Fortuner has been launched in India and it has already started arriving at dealerships for demo and training purposes. The base 3.0 4×2 MT variant of the current Fortuner is priced at Rs. 24.17 lakh and the top-of-the-range 3.0 4×4 AT is sold for Rs. 27.02 lakh (all ex-showroom prices, Delhi).
The new Fortuner is more likely to come with an entry-level price of Rs. 28 lakh and it could go as high as Rs. 34 lakh for the range-topping model. The new Fortuner could be offered in six variants – 4×2 MT, 4×2 AT, 4×2 MT, 4×2 AT, 4×4 MT and 4×4 AT – with three two-wheel drive and three four-wheel drive variants.
Toyota Fortuner vs Ford Endeavour Comparison Verdict
As a matter of fact, it is hard to reach a conclusion considering these highly potent premium SUVs. Over the years, the Fortuner has been the king of the jungle while the Endeavour always played second-fiddle. It can be argued that the lack of updates for Endeavour have made it less customer friendly than the Fortuner but as the American auto giant understood its importance and a whole new model was released.
Due to the modern styling, updated interiors and equipment the Endeavour caught up with the Fortuner and is now leading the way. But similar to what happened with the Innova Crysta, Toyota knows the knack to garner customers as the new Fortuner is predicted to get back up and stand on top of its game. With that being purely speculated, let’s see how it pans out in the real world as the Endeavour is ever stronger than before!