The Forturner’s performance figures only tell part of the story. Our figure of 12.7sec 0-100kph time is quite striking in a vehicle that weighs nearly two tonnes. Still, it doesn’t feel as quick as the figures suggest and that’s mainly because this engine delivers power in an incredibly smooth and linear way to the point of it masking how quick it can be.  It starts tugging at 1500rpm and there’s power all the way to 4000rpm.

The gear ratios are well matched to the engine’s torque and though there’s a gap between second and third gear ratios, the engine is tractable and the powerband wide enough to minimise gearshifts.The strong engine makes the Fortuner a great highway cruiser and even when fully loaded there’s always a surplus of grunt to make overtaking effortless. At its top speed of 174kph, the engine is spinning at 3600rpm and at a more real-world 120kph, it’s spinning at a slightly audible audible 2500rpm.

The engine displaces 2982cc. It’s a second-generation D-4D engine which is Toyota’s way of saying it’s a common-rail direct injection turbo-diesel. Aided by the variable geometry turbocharger, it makes a claimed 168bhp at 3600rpm and 35kgm of torque all the way from 1400-3400rpm. This long-stroke motor has a four-valve, twin-cam head and three-injections per cycle controlled by a 32-bit processor.

The D4-D engine is quite a low-stressed unit with the accent on fuel economy and reliability; so we weren’t surprised when it returned 9.3kpl in the city and 12.9kpl on the highway respectively, impressive figures for such a big and heavy car. The tall fifth gear aids economy on the highway while in the city, the good drivability allows you to get by with fewer fuel-sapping gearshifts.