New Toyota Fortuner GR-Sport – South African pricing and specifications revealed

The new Toyota Fortuner GR-Sport will hit South African showrooms in March from a starting price of R999,000.

This makes it the new headlining model for the Fortuner family, being R37,200 pricier than the previous flagship VX model.

The souped-up seven-seater forms part of a host of introductions Toyota has in store for the country this year, with the updated GR Yaris, Hilux Legend 55, and Lexus GX still to arrive over the coming months.

What you get

The new GR-Sport benefits from a range of choice upgrades that makes it a unique offering in the Fortuner range.

Among the enhancements are a GR-specific grille and bumpers as well as unique 18-inch alloy wheels for the exterior.

On the inside, it gets suede leather seats with red stitching, a GR-specific steering wheel with a red 12 o’clock marker and paddle shifters, and aluminium sports pedals.

A host of GR badging can be found around the SUV as well, such as on the front bumper, doors, tailgate, steering wheel, start button, and centre console, so that onlookers won’t be confused with what they’re looking at.

Only two colour options are available on the sporty Fortuner – Attitude Black and Platinum White Pearl – as opposed to the six hues for the normal variants.

Standard amenities on the Fortuner GR-Sport take the form of automatic LED lights with daytime running lights, keyless entry and start, dual-zone climate control with rear-seat vents, electric front seats, a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a JBL stereo.

The Toyota Safety Sense package is furthermore included, bringing a panoramic view camera system, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure alert, and adaptive cruise control.

This is on top of safety-oriented fitments like front and rear parking sensors, ABS with brake assist, hill assist, downhill assist control, trailer sway control, and seven airbags.

Under the skin, the more athletic Fortuner sees unique monotube shock absorbers for improved off-road agility as well as an uprated version of the 2.8-litre, turbo-diesel block found in its siblings.

The power unit delivers 165kW and 550Nm in GR-Sport guise, a 15kW and 50Nm improvement over the standard models.

Drive is fed to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox and limited-slip differential, with fuel usage coming in at 8.4l/100km versus the 7.9l/100km of the lesser powerful derivatives.

Maximum towing capacity is limited at 3,300kg, the same as the rest of the 2.8-litre entries.

While it doesn’t have the Multi-Terrain Select programme of the mild-hybrid variants, the GR-Sport still offers drivers a choice of Standard, Eco, and Sport drive modes.

Despite the cosmetic enhancements, the GR-Sport’s dimensions remain identical to the standard Fortuner, coming in at 4,795mm long, 1,855mm wide, and 1,835mm tall.

Ground clearance remains pegged at 279mm, too, as does the approach and departure angles of 29 and 25 degrees, respectively.

As with its siblings, the new Fortuner GR-Sport is sold with a 3-year/100,000km warranty and 9-services/90,000km service plan.