Toyota Fortuner vs Toyota Granvia

What's the difference?

The Toyota Fortuner has been around since 2015 with very few significant changes in the years between then and now.

And that’s telling because the HiLux-based Fortuner has never managed to make the mark in its market segment that Toyota would so dearly like it to.

With a new Fortuner possibly due in the not-too-distant future – with Toyota’s mild-hybrid 48V V-Active system onboard perhaps? – it’s worth revisiting the seven-seat Fortuner to see how the current ageing 4WD wagon stands up against its fresher rivals.

Read on.

Never talk to strangers. That's (hopefully) what your parents taught you. Luckily some people ignored that good advice when it came to the Toyota Granvia VX people mover and me.

As you'll see in the video above, I tested it on the public – people I didn't know from a cake of soap or whatever the saying is. Seriously, I drove a bus route and somehow talked people into not getting on their regular bus and letting me give them a lift to wherever they were going instead.

I don't often conduct social experiments like this, but I figured the Granvia VX was different. First, here was a new-generation people mover based on the Toyota HiAce that effectively replaces the long-serving Toyota Tarago. Second, it's different from the Tarago and rivals such as the Kia Carnival and Hyundai iMax in that it seems like it's purpose in life could be more of a hire car 'shuttle bus' as it is for a Mercedes-Benz Valente.

So, either way its job is to carry more than one person nearly all the time and that's what I did. You can watch the video above and below is the full review taking into account how I found the Granvia VX to drive, along with its practicality when it comes to cargo capacity, fuel economy and passenger comfort.