Mu7 Or Fortuner?

[apetley]

Hi, will be moving to Thailand probably next April so will need some wheels.

I was looking to go the pickup route but maybe persuaded to go a little more upmarket so am considering the Mu7 from Isuzu or Toyotas Fortuner.

Anyone who has experience of these I would be interested to hear from you about possible pros and cons.

Thanks, Andy.

[terdsak_12]

Tuner, Tuner, Tuner. Nuff Said, as old Berny would say. The Mu is a big bus, with leaf springs on the back, and it's price wil drop like a stone.

[Emilio]

I've always been a loyal customer to Isuzu. But when I went to check out the MU 7, I was disappointed! The interior nothing great, cant beat the Fotuner. I guess the only good part is that the MU 7 is more economical on fuel and its looks are not as nice as the Fotuner.

One last thing, if you do go check both cars there is one main difference. The Fotuner rear suspension is same as any SUV or the Prado (Toyota), while the MU 7 has the same system as anyother Isuzu truck like the D-Max Highlander. Im not sure what you call them in English....but if you bend down and check the MU , you will see the bent steel bars like the trucks.

The MU 7 has been a failure to Isuzu, they didnt sell much. I got the Fotuner, and Im happy!

[terdsak_12]

Leaf Springs mate!!!

[Thaiboxer]

A family friend told us the Fortuners are now on the firing squad for faulty break systems. This is possibly due to the all wheel drive design of the vehicle. Some customers have reported losing control while driving. The fuel mileage isn't good but it's understandable for a vehicle that big/heavy. If the break system wasn't in top working condition, I would be upset after spending 1 million+ baht on a Fortuner.

Has anybody had this experience with them?

[terdsak_12]

A family friend told us the Fortuners are now on the firing squad for faulty break systems. This is possibly due to the all wheel drive design of the vehicle. Some customers have reported losing control while driving. The fuel mileage isn't good but it's understandable for a vehicle that big/heavy. If the break system wasn't in top working condition, I would be upset after spending 1 million+ baht on a Fortuner.

Has anybody had this experience with them?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you put 20" rims on your Tuner you'll screw up the brakes. Simple.

[Emilio]

The brakes on the Fortuner are not faulty as long as you have the standard wheels. You may even change a bigger size but not too big. If you start putting on 20-22 inch wheels, dont expect that the standard brakes can take all that pressure. I will post pictures of my Fortuner today or tomorrow with 20inch wheels with 8 piston Brembo calipers!

You should try the Test car at Toyota dealers, the standard brakes are good!!!

[dutch]

I am very happy with my Fortuner.(benzine version 2,7)

My average speed is 49 km

My usage is 10,9 km/lit

Never exceed 100 km/hr

Rather many short drives of about 45 km (to the golf course) with no heavy drive conditions

Brakes: After 16.000 km am still living.Keep to the standards and absolutely NO problems

Edited December 20, 2005 by dutch

[apetley]

Thanks for all of the replies guys.

Not many votes for the Mu7 eh?

Call me old fashioned but I prefer the style of the Isuzu over the Toyota but my head is telling me to go for the Fortuner.

Decisions, decisions!

Maybe it will come down to who is doing the best deal at the time.

What do you reckon on the chances of getting one near to 1 million Bht new next year?

[Rinrada]

Go for it.....looks great and negotiate.

We had a look at them about a month ago on show in Secon Square and I must admit to finding them very appealing.

K.W had a go a one of the salemen/people and with her usual almost threating business skills (one of her mates has got something to do with the Toy Co..) got a quote for a tad under 990,000.Bt.

Now that shes come back down to earth and settled down a bit she/we realise that if and when we eventually move to C.M.a pick up would be better..again a Toy. 4 door prob VIGO pre runner at less than half the price of the Fortee.

[LoveDaBlues]

I've got a new Fortuner with only 950 on the clock. Diesel with automatic. I have driven (in Thailand) a Honda City, Toyota Vios, Isuzu pick-up and the Fortuner. In my opinion the perfect ride for Thailand. I've been down dirt roads, badly patched paved roads, and really good roads (Udon Thani to Nong Khai and back). My fuel mileage is 10.1 and I drive fairly hard. This thing goes like stink for a Thai vehicle!

GET THE DIESEL! Louder than gas engine.....yes of course. But the engine is NOT LOUD. At 120 wind/road noise is louder....the diesel is just a low purr and only turning over around 2100 rpm. I didn't even want to test drive the diesel version....but my wife talked me into it.....and I love it!

Guess what.....my main concern before the purchase was driving in downtown Udon Thani. The Fortuner is much bigger than a Honda City, etc......but the Fortuner is EASIER TO DRIVE ON CROWDED STREETS....because you sit up higher and can see so much better. Get the 60% tint.....really cuts down on the sun/heat.

Thanks Terdsak_12......your advice put me 'over the top' and I bought the Fortuner at Udon Thani Toyota.....

[Plus+]

Today I had another look at Fortuner's interior and I was satisfied. Not impressed, but satisfied. There's climate control intstead of air-con knobs -from my Altis experience I know it works really well, no comparison to manual air-con controls.

Lots of little spaces everywhere to put whatever you have in, even umbrellas. Ladder gearshift looks cool, too. Fortuner 's a little crumbled in the back but , considering it will be Thais riding there it's ok. Seven little Thais will be ok.

I couldn't find ECT button - a life saver in underpowered cars. It's a little button that messes with your auto transmission settings and gives you better performance - longer time in one particular gear and more sensible shift points. Perhaps with 160 hp Fortuner simply does not need it.

I do. It's the next best thing to manual gear, or gear shift paddles in Hondas.

Fortuner has D2 (or is it D3?) instead - that's the button that messes up with your tranny as well but in a different way - in real life it simply forces your engine to rev up. In gasoline cars it could make sense because you'd get better torque and acceleration from higher revs, but in diesel cars it makes no difference 'cos their torque delivery is falt across the whole rpm range.

I think suspension is ok, I had Innova for a test ride, from the same stable as Fortuner, and its suspension is very much ok. It isn't stiff in any sense of a word but I should admit I've never driven CRV. Fortuner should have the same set up as Innova and it's soft on bumps for sure. How does it hold in cornering I don't know yet.

We, as in our family, will consider replacing my current ride, Sportrider, when Toyota comes up with two wheel drive model for better fuel economy and lower maintanance costs.

[LoveDaBlues]

I couldn't find ECT button - a life saver in underpowered cars. It's a little button that messes with your auto transmission settings and gives you better performance - longer time in one particular gear and more sensible  shift points. Perhaps with 160 hp Fortuner simply does not need it.

I do. It's the next best thing to manual gear, or gear shift paddles in Hondas.

I drove an automatic Isuzu pick-up (2.5 liter I think) and it had the button on the shift lever. An absolute must when passing. The Fortuner does not need this....they did a great job with the automatic tranny. I don't even need to floor this sucker and still I pass with plenty of power.....between the turbo power and well-designed tranny no problems. This vehicle is not underpowered.....it has close to 400 pds. torque.

I've owned some nice and fairly fast cars including a 2000 C5 Corvette Ragtop and a 2002 Chrysler Prowler. I love my Fortuner!

[pichai]

The power of my Fortuner 2.7 is just amazing, I drove uphill with full laod of 7 pax, when overtaking and negotiating sharp bend the power is just fantastic.

[Plus+]

I think the button on Isuzu's gear shift is equivalent of Toyota's "Overdrive" button - not quite the same as ECT. "OD" messes with gear ratios, while ECT messes with gear shift points.

In Toyotas "OD", overdrive, is by default ON - the idea is that the wheels are allowed to rotate faster than the engine-gear ratio so that the car goes faster than theoretically possible. It saves fuel 'cos the same speed can be achieved at lower engine revolutions.

ECT Power - electronically controlled transmission - on the other hand, deals with gear shifts - it lets you stay longer in one particular gear, almost until the engine redlines, and so gives you better perdormance but lower fuel economy, especially in the city. But on highways it's reverse -it keeps you in your gear when you brake whithout downshifting so that the engine doesn't need to rev up to shift again. By default ECT is off.