Hilux GD6 alternator and large LiFePO4 battery bank — will it cause damage?
Running the Toyota Fortuner for 11 months now, 46306km on the clock including 10 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the off-road capability straight from factory surprised me. I have done Sani Pass, Richtersveld and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 2.8L turbodiesel is 9L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: the dealer experience left something to be desired. Also the dealer here in Durban could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: Rhino 4x4 bar (R8k fitted), OME BP51 shocks (R13k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a National Luna 40L fridge. Total spend on mods: around R59k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my Durban dealer was R680,000 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
4 Replies
Good honest review. My experience with the GR Sport has been similar — the factory setup is better off-road than the road testers give it credit for. The tyres are always the first thing that needs changing regardless of which bakkie you buy.
Good honest review. My experience with the GR Sport has been similar — the factory setup is better off-road than the road testers give it credit for. The tyres are always the first thing that needs changing regardless of which bakkie you buy.
— tayla_ferreira
The fuel consumption figures you mention match what I see. The AT35 diesel is better than the official spec suggests in real conditions. The issue for me is long-range touring — I fitted a Brown Davis 115L long-range tank to solve the range anxiety completely.
Have you tried it in high-speed gravel? That is where these bakkies differ most. The GR Sport with the revised calibration is a different vehicle at 100km/h on corrugated gravel compared to the base model.
On the mod budget — R94k sounds like a lot but if you are amortising it over 10 years of serious use, it works out to less than R1,000 per month. And the safety improvement in a real recovery situation is not something you can put a price on.