Toyota Fortuner Legender is the Japanese carmaker’s answer to increasing customer preference for a bolder, more premium edition of their core models.
Touted as the range-topping variant of Toyota’s hugely popular Fortuner SUV, the Legender not only brings styling improvements and feature enhancements but also ups the game in terms of interior enhancements, while preserving the tough mechanical underpinnings that has made the Fortuner known for its durability and capability.
Toyota Fortuner Legender: Design Evolution: Identity All Its Own
The Legender immediately sets itself apart with a completely redesigned front fascia design that boasts a more aggressive, angular bumper design with integrated LED fog lamps and a more streamlined treatment of the grille area.
The LED headlamps are split type with sequential turn indicators that give them a unique light signature, while the lower air dam takes a more contemporary and sharper appearance than the one on the regular Fortuner.
Side-on, the Legender shares the Fortuner base forms but with unique model-specific 18- to 20 –inch alloy wheel designs depending on market.
There’s also a two-tone exterior treatment that includes a contrasting black roof, along with black rings around the A-pillars, giving the impression of a floating roofline when seen from certain angles.
The new tail lights are LED items too, meaning the Legender has a distinctive after-dark appearance, and the new bumper and understated Legender badging leave you in no doubt you’re looking at something a bit special compared with the regular Fortuner range.
This united aesthetic strategy raises perceoption of quality radically, without sacrificing vehicle’s well-earned rough character at all.
Interior Refinement
The Legender’s interior meanwhile enhances the Fortuner’s cabin experience thanks to clever material and feature upgrades.
The dashboard still retains its basic layout but features better materials and a tighter fit and finish.
The upholstery gets unique stitching patterns and could also be offered in two-tone color combination in certain markets, suggesting a slightly more premium environment.
The instrument panel utilizes a mix of analog gauges paired with a larger multi-information color screen, offering more information to the driver, and the center console is now home to a new infotainment system which offers a larger screen size and more connectivity features, such as wireless smartphone integration.
Ambient lighting details improve the premium after-dark feel, and there’s muted Legender branding on the door sills and seat embossing to remind you (or your passengers) of the model’s unique position.
Powertrain Options
The Legender generally share tends its range of powertrains with the top-spec Fortuner and is propelled Toyota’s polished 2.8-litre turbodiesel engine which offers a good mix of performance and sensible fuel economy.
This four-cylinder engine has a good 204 bhp and around 500 Nm of torque – large numbers that will give you an assured feeling when it comes to both acceleration and towing.
Gearbox options are expected to include a six-speed automatic transmission with sequential shift, for which models in some markets, based on applications, may receive a manual transmission.
Four-wheel drive with low-range transfer is on the selection list on most models, via an electronic control dial in all cases, concentrating that go-anywhere ability which has been a major factor in the Fortuner’s global success.
Chassis and Capability
But for all its ‘premium’ positioning, the Legender still hasn’t lost the Fortuner-ness from its soulful character, with its body-on-frame shell and righteous 4WD system giving it some true off-road cred to the roads less travelled.
On pulling back from that utter lunacy, ground clearance is still up high at about 225mm, and approach and departure angles are very good for rock crawls as needed.
Its suspension set-up – front double wishbone with a rear four-link design with coil springs – is calibrated for on-road comfort and sufficient off-road articulation, but the basic design shares a lot in common with the regular Fortuner.
This engineering philosophy promises that, the Legender will never compromise the all terrain reliability and robustness that the model has well known for all these years worldwide.
Feature Integration
The premium positioning of the Legender is expressed through its exhaustive feature list that includes high-end driving assistance system such as adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and pre-collision safety in some variants.
Convenience items are power tailgate with hands-free, wireless charging pad, ventilated seats, and an improved ambient lighting system.
The audio system gets an upgrade to premium positioning, using higher-quality speakers and potentially branded audio partners, wherever you’re driving.
All of these new features combine to unlock a whole new level of ownership experience without compromising the practical usability which characterises the appeal of the Fortuner.
Market Position
The Fortuner Legender takes a valuable place in Toyota’s line-up across the globe, meeting the need that has been evident over time for more stylish, premium-quality but affordable SUVs that stand apart from the average but doesn’t mean customers have to fork out for a whole lot more expensive Land Cruiser models.
This positioning also reflects the increasing sophistication of mid-size SUV customers in emerging markets, with the Fortuner having established a strong advocacy in these markets.
Toyota Fortuner Legender
The Fortuner Legender, for sure, is one that manages to take the tried-and-true Fortuner to new heights with stylish updates throughout and new features, but without losing focus on the basic utility and reliability that the model is known for.
With a richer and more eye-catching look to differentiate it from its lesser siblings, while still retaining the traits that made the Fortuner a global phenomenon, the BR-V creates a model that consumes that space where value conscious buyers would want their 7-seater sport utility vehicle to come with the backing of Toyota’s renowned dependability.