Toyota has revealed in a press release that its recently launched Fortuner SUV has met with an unexpected response in India. The promising SUV has received over 5000 confirmed (i guess that means paid) bookings in just over a month of being in the market. This goes on to show the pent up demand which existed in the Indian market for a premium SUV priced at an afforable point. As of date buyers had to either opt for one of the soft-roaders comprising of Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander, Chevrolet Captiva and Grand Vitara or the brute-ish Ford Endeavour.

The Fortuner offers the ruggedness of a true blue SUV with the comfort of a sedan and the reliability of a Toyota. To meet with the high demand the company is ramping up production from 500 to 600 units/month with a sales target of 2500 units in 2009. The demand is so strong that when i visited their Gurgaon dealership i was told that the brochures had depleted and that they did not even offer test drives since no test drive car was available. Moreover the dealership sales staff were almost silent, not selling the Fortuner at all. I think the vehicle speaks for itself but Toyota, you should offer test drives and brochures atleast.