Foton Tornado M2.6C

For a commercial vehicle, the Foton Tornado M2.6C hugely impresses with its fit and finish as well as equipment levels, which is quite comparable to that of a modern passenger car. The overall layout looks quite youthful for commercial vehicle standards.

The Foton Tornado M2.6C is one of the very few trucks in the market right now to get modern features like a multi-functional steering wheel and a touchscreen infotainment system, making it look much more modern than other trucks available out there. The instrument console looks conventional, but the chrome surrounds for the dials add a premium touch to it.

The center console looks nice with its wide wing-like layout, which houses the infotainment system as well as dials for manual AC and closed small storage space. The vertical AC vents on the sides of the center console look premium with their silver surrounds.

The Foton Tornado M2.6C might look small as compared to the rest of the range of medium and heavy-duty commercial trucks. However, the bold styling of the Foton Tornado M2.6C makes it look bigger and bulkier when you see it against its direct rivals.

The Foton Tornado M2.6C looks big when viewed from the front, with a slightly inclined large windshield with rounded edges and a thick black rubber bordering around it covering half of the front profile. 

The front apron of the Foton Tornado M2.6C looks a bit busy, which actually makes the truck look bold and large. A majority of this front apron has been covered by a large grille, which includes three thick trapezoidal slats positioned one over the another, with their sizes decreasing in descending order. The lower edges of the front grille come fixed with large trapezoidal headlamps, which are clear lens halogen units devoid of any kind of LEDs.

The front bumper of the Foton Tornado M2.6C looks a bit slim when compared to that of the other trucks in its segment. However, its corners do come equipped with small squared halogen fog lamps, with the inner part of it having triangular air inserts, making it look complete. The side profile of the passenger cabin looks quite simple with large rearview mirrors there – one hinged on the side door and one on the A-pillar.

The small size of the wheels and the absence of steps to climb in the cabin make it look small, which it actually is. It is beyond the passenger cabin that the variants of the Foton Tornado M2.6C start looking different – while the Dropside has a flatbed, the MPV 25 Seater has a squared passenger cabin with side-facing seats and windows. The F-Van on the other hand has a properly covered cabin to carry an ample amount of load.

The Foton Tornado M2.6C has a body length of 12 ft as well as a payload capacity of 2,600 kg for all the three variants it is available in. With a sufficient use of high-strength steel for its chassis, the Foton Tornado M2.6C feels quite solid in its driving dynamics and load-carrying capacity. 

A 2,800cc Cummins ISF 2.8 four-cylinder, water-cooled, turbo intercooler diesel engine has been employed in the Foton Tornado M2.6C. While the engine might not look large for a truck, the engine is powerful enough for a truck of the size of the Foton Tornado M2.6C. The engine puts up 129 PS of maximum power and 310 Nm of peak torque.

For an entry-level truck, the Foton Tornado M2.6C is not too heavily equipped with safety features. However, the presence of ABS and auto-adjusting braking slack makes things quite easy.

For a small light-duty commercial truck, the overall styling, modern interior cabin layout, and performance of the engine of the Foton Tornado M2.6C seem very promising and make it a product to watch out for.