The wild countryside is perhaps not where the Fortuner and Endeavour typically do their roving. No, it’s usually a highway or even a Monday morning gridlock in a big city. But what makes them so special is that they can climb every mountain and ford every stream if you wanted them to. So, of course, we had to take them off the tarmac, then off the beaten path, then off the un-beaten path, until there was no path at all.

These are big – no, huge – SUVs with pick-up-truck-derived chassis and ferociously robust four-wheel-drive systems, yet, the toughest terrain most of their owners will subject them to is probably a poorly made speed breaker on the way to a hill station outside town. So perhaps it’s best to focus less on the locking differentials, the Terrain Management traction software and the low range gearbox, meatily exciting as those things are, and focus on what’s really important to buyers.

MUSCLE BEACH

If you want subtle, you’ve come to the wrong place. A huge part of these SUVs’ appeal is how imposing and in-your-face they are, and both cars have taken that basic trait from their predecessors and magnified it. The Toyota has gone from dull and basic to downright edgy and extravagant, in line with the brand’s mission to make its cars more ‘emotional’. The headlamps are thin, pointy slits, sitting on either side of a sharp V-shaped grille. The chin is sunken in to make the nose stick out, but it too has huge metallic surrounds for its fog lamps. There’s no shortage of drama on the sides too, where the window line kinks up sharply at the C-pillar, culminating in a wraparound rear glass. The tail-lights too are slim and aggressive, and there’s the de rigueur chrome strip connecting the two. In fact, there’s even a chrome band running around the base of the entire window line. What also stands out is the Fortuner’s stance. It looks seriously jacked up, partly down to its relatively short wheelbase and big overhangs, and of course, the immense wheel travel. This gives the impression of proper invincibility; you and your passengers will never find out what the wheels roll over when they do.

The Endeavour is, in comparison, not as outlandish, but that’s not to say it isn’t imposing. It just goes about scaring you out of its way in a more traditional way – with chunky, squared-off proportions. The huge, bluff chrome grille is almost at chest height, and the small headlamps make it look larger still. At the front and rear are matte silver bumper inserts that add a lot of character, while the hugely bulged wheel arches just add to the muscle. At the back, there’s an even bigger chrome strip that cuts into the tail-lamps really neatly. Look closer and you’ll see smaller lines and details in the metalwork that you might not at first. Overall, the Endeavour is a more mature design that hits you with its huge size and chunky shape, while the Fortuner is all about grabbing eyeballs with its striking details and lots of chrome wherever possible. What matters is that both appeal strongly to the Indian buyer.