Foton Tunland Review Australia | Features, Specification, Price

• Car Reviews,
• Apr 09, 2020

 

Founded on August 28, 1996, Foton manufactures light and heavy-duty trucks, agricultural tractors, and various other machinery. In addition to these heavier trucks, Foton also builds a version of the Toyota Hiace H100, called the "Foton Alpha".

 

Foton has its headquarters in Changping District, Beijing. Its business units are seen in cities and provinces such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Hebei, Hunan, Hubei, Liaoning, and Guangdong. Foton is China’s largest truck manufacturer, with 40,000 workers and more than 300,000 domestic sales. It also has a further 60,000 exports to 110 countries including Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Thailand and Indonesia. Its research and development branches are distributed in Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and the Philippines. It has assets exceeding 50 billion Yuan and 300,000 employees.

 

The Tunland was launched by Foton Motors in China in 2011. It came to Australia in late 2013-14 and has been growing in its market share ever since.  It is commonly referred to as a ‘ute’ in the Australasian market. The term ‘ute’ is usually associated with any vehicle with an open cargo area at the rear, i.e. pick-up truck. Australia has developed a culture around utes. It is common, particularly in rural areas, to customize utes with bull bars, spotlights, oversized mud flaps, exhaust pipe flaps, and UHF aerials. Since 1998, the "Deni Ute Muster" has been held in the town of Deniliquin, which has become a major attraction for the area.

 

Tunlands are practical and high utility vehicles. Their streamlined design and top-notch assembling makes them extremely durable. They can serve multiple purposes, from being a family car to serving as a delivery vehicle or cargo vehicle. Whether you’re a family man, a businessman or even a farmer, Tunland can provide exemplary service to you.

 

Price:

It may not be a name on many buyers’ minds, but the 2020 truck can be had for as little as $34,990 drive-away. That’s only $4000 more than the price Foton was asking when it launched the vehicle back in 2014. And it has been updated with a new safety kit since, including electronic stability control and a lap-sash center seatbelt.

 ✓ New Price: $34,990 MRLP

 ✓ Private Sale: $29,920 - $34,000

 ✓ Dealer Retail: $30,340 - $36,080

 ✓ Dealer Trade: $23,300 - $27,200

 

Specifications:

It’s teamed to a Cummins truck engine. Yes, that’s right: a 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel by Cummins lies beneath the bonnet of the Tunland. It also has an ISF turbo-diesel, ZF six-speed automatic transmission, alongside a Borg Warner dual-range transfer case and Dana axles and limited-slip rear differential.

 

 ✓ Engine: Cummins Turbo CDI. 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel. 130kW Power at 3600 rpm and 365 Nm of torque at 1600 Rpm.

 ✓ Transmission: ZF six-speed automatic

 ✓ Body Type: Dual Cab Utility. Ute Tray, 4 doors, 5 seats.

 ✓ Fuel Type: Diesel

 ✓ Fuel Capacity & Consumption: 76 Litres at 8.9L/ 100km

 ✓ Steering Type: Rack & Pinion power-assisted.

 ✓ Front Suspension: Double wishbone, coil spring.

 ✓ Rear Suspension: Leaf spring, live beam axle.

 ✓ CO2 Emission: 219 grams/km

 ✓ Service Interval: 12 months /  20,000 kms

 ✓ Warranty: 36 months /  100,000 kms

 ✓ Fuel cost per 1000km: $130.00

 ✓ Fuel cost per fill: $110.00

 ✓ Colours: Black, Grey, Red, Silver, White and Yellow

 

It also comes equipped with other features and interior accessories such as:

 ✓ 12 Volt Power Outlet

 ✓ Dual Front Airbags Package

 ✓ Anti-lock Braking

 ✓ Air Conditioning

 ✓ Antenna - Roof-mounted Bee-sting type

 ✓ Bluetooth Connectivity

 ✓ Cruise Control

 ✓ Chrome Exterior Mirrors

 ✓ Cup Holders - Front and Rear

 ✓ Cargo Tie-Down Hooks/Rings

 ✓ Child Seat - ISOFIX Anchorage System

 ✓ Dusk Sensing Headlights

 ✓ Electronic Brake Force Distribution

 ✓ Engine Immobiliser

 ✓ Fog Lights - Rear

 ✓ Parking Distance Control Rear

 ✓ Reversing Camera

 ✓ Seatbelts - Height Adjustable Front Seats

 ✓ Seatbelts - Lap/Sash for All Seats

 ✓ Sound System with 4 Speakers

 ✓ Towing Hook - Front

 ✓ Tyre Pressure Monitoring System

 ✓ USB Input Socket

 

Interior:

Adopting the function over form approach to design, the interior of the Foton Tunland is built to withstand staining. Leather can be found on the steering wheel and shifter, but the rest of the dashboard is covered in hard plastics making it very durable. The seats are trimmed in the fabric while a touchscreen multimedia system is also included.

 

Both front and rear doors are fitted with bottle holders and storage pockets, plus there are flexible storage pockets on the rear of each front seat.  The additional fitting options include a snorkel, bullbar, winch, towbar, canopy, and aftermarket wheels and tyres all fitted, as well as RidePro, raised suspension front and rear (50mm). Inside there are all-weather floor mats to protect the carpet, too. The entire kit costs nearly $15000.

 

Reviews:

 “I purchased my first Tunland new, in Oct 2014 after doing my homework and test driving just about every other brand of ute offered in NZ. Personally I find the Tunlands exterior lines more appealing than most other brands. It’s a big truck with a spacious cab and large rear well. The motor performed well enough, it was an acceptable truck to drive and all the basic tricks like bluetooth, cruisecontrol etc seemed to be on board.” – Scotto

 

“We are running 5 Foton Tunlands in NZ. Bought from Car Town Palmerston North. We are delivering milk powder to farms. We have put flat decks on them all and regularly carry a tonne on back and tow 2.5 tonne behind them all over NZ. Deliver 3.5 tonne. Been 100 % reliable and we have traded 2 in on new models and got excellent trade in deal. Very happy with whole experience.” – Brytec Stockfeed

 

“Purchased a brand new Tunland in Adelaide 4 weeks ago. Drove it home to Sydney over 2 days. Has 5000k on the clock now. Blown away at what I have acquired with this ute. I have nothing but praise for the overall quality of this car. The engine feels strong and robust. No lack in power compared to any of the other dual cabs out there. It has a real truck sound under load, which I like. Cabin is huge for a dual cab. I have owned plenty of others over the years and none come close to this for size and comfort.” – John MacPherson

 

“I purchased my Tunland 4x4 single cab in October and have traveled just over 4 thousand kilometers in it. It has a big roomy cab and comfortable driving position with standard features on par with utes worth thousands more. I did have some problems with the electronic accelerator having flat spots and hesitation until the service department got it sorted.it does suffer some turbo lag initially but what new turbodiesel doesn't.” – Jason