Too big for the city -- INNOVA ?

[Rayden]

Hi Guys,

Ive seen a lot of Innovas in Chennai and almost all of them have a dent in the back or on the side.

1 . Is the Innova big or long for a city like Chennai of Bangalore?
2 . Dont you think even small dents look bad on the Innova? Maybe Toyota should get a grey cladding on the Innova like the Scorp or Safari. Ive seen 4 year old Scorpios and Safaris looking good for thier age simply because of the cladding.

Rayden

[speedzak]

C'mon Guyz!!
1. You can't expect a car to be small outside and Bigger inside! The car takes some time getting used to in city.

2. Toyota should make the car look more interesting rather than adding Plastic muscles to the car which in my opinion will look far out of place for this type of cars.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by Rayden

Hi Guys,

Ive seen a lot of Innovas in Chennai and almost all of them have a dent in the back or on the side.

1 . Is the Innova big or long for a city like Chennai of Bangalore?
2 . Dont you think even small dents look bad on the Innova? Maybe Toyota should get a grey cladding on the Innova like the Scorp or Safari. Ive seen 4 year old Scorpios and Safaris looking good for thier age simply because of the cladding.

Rayden

Adding cladding wud help if there were bulges on which they could be attached too (hint safari, scorpio). In Innova's case, the body is smooth and rounded, so really cant be done i suppose. The problem with Innova is, body gets scratched every time a moron 2 wheeler/auto walla brushes past at the signal. These pests feel comfortable getting close to cars which dont seem monster like or are so high off the ground that they might go under.
Ravi

[islero]

Cladding would defenitely not look good in my opinion.

Innova is more MPV than SUV. The wheels look small compared to the bodywork. Body cladding occasionally owrks on SUV's. defenitely will not on the Innova.

[BUSA]

i have seen Innovas with dual crash guards. One in the front and one in th rear to avoid rear collisions.

[revharder]

to avoid dents while reversing the Innova, get 'Reverse-Sensors' fitted at the back of vehicle.
it'll warn you of any object behind the vehicle while reversing.

very practical and doesn't costs much.

try using RVMs to maintain a distance from others in your sides.

[WhiteKnight]

Well, I don't think Innova is that big. I happened to see the top view of an innova parked alongside a Lancer, and both looks limilar in dimensions (Innova is bigger, obviously!!)

Here is the dimentional comparison between Innova NHC and Lancer
Innova
Overall L x W x H

4555 mm x 1770 mm x 1750 mm

NHC

Overall L x W x H

4390 mm x 1695 mm x 1495 mm

Lancer

Overall L x W x H

4290 mm x 1690 mm x 1430 mm

* Source- From official websites
Eventually it boils down to your driving skills. In Bangalore I do see lot of Santros with dents.

[Iknowthisguy]

We have Innova in our family & believe me guys that Vehicle requires some extra effort to move around in city...i mean one cannot drive it like a B or C segment car. Though it handles very well but have to take care for unruly traffic allaround.

People fit protective crash guards coz driver is unable to see front & back side while driving ( bonnet is too low & back mirror is too small) & in crunchy parking situations it helps saving innova but might give a little nudge to other vehicles...you know that attitude...Who cares!!!!

Revs's suggestion is right, one can go for reverse parking sensors which is Genuine Accessory from Toyota for 5k & RVM are big enough to take care for traffic.

[Rayden]

Yeah but some how 1 out of every 3 Innovas have a dent on their backside and this dent, although small looks obvious even from far off.

Agreed, the Innova is a great car ........ but for India, dont you think it is a bit impractical because even on good roads, cyclists and autos seem to compete with each other to see who will be the first to scratch a new car?


Anyways, Im seriously considering the Innova and the Safari because Ive decided to wait for a couple of months to increase my budget to the 8.5-9 lac category where both these fit in.

[Iknowthisguy]

Rayden...you have shortlisted vehicles which both have size disadvantage in the city...Safari is also too big for the city.

Actually it should depend on your requirement...Innova is a big family van & I should recommend it over all other vehicles if you have a big family & would like to move together whereas Safari is pure SUV, with its butch looks it commands respect from all other road users.

Dents are always dependent on the kind of traffic in your commuting area & one's driving pattern

Hope it helps...

[Steeroid]

The Innova is NOT too big a vehicle to be driven around in the city. The only issue you may have initially is parking, but this is something that you will get used to after a few days with the vehicle.

Scratches and minor dents are part of life in our cities regardless of the size of the vehicle.

I have no problems driving my Safari around either, but my friend who keeps the vehicle is not comfortable with it around the city - he's too scared of scratches and minor dents, plus he finds the length of the vehicle (including the spare wheel protruding from the back) difficult to handle.

However, the Innova is definite much more car-like and easier to handle around the city than the Safari or other SUVs. I was quite surprised at the number of people who think its too big - you need to spend time in every vehicle to give it time to shrink around you.

[Rayden]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

The Innova is NOT too big a vehicle to be driven around in the city. The only issue you may have initially is parking, but this is something that you will get used to after a few days with the vehicle.

Scratches and minor dents are part of life in our cities regardless of the size of the vehicle.

I have no problems driving my Safari around either, but my friend who keeps the vehicle is not comfortable with it around the city - he's too scared of scratches and minor dents, plus he finds the length of the vehicle (including the spare wheel protruding from the back) difficult to handle.

However, the Innova is definite much more car-like and easier to handle around the city than the Safari or other SUVs. I was quite surprised at the number of people who think its too big - you need to spend time in every vehicle to give it time to shrink around you.

Exactly what I said Steer.

Safaris, Scorpios and Sumos dont show minor scratches/dents whearas even a small dent looks bad on the Innova. I believe it is because of the cladding. Whats your take?

What is your Dicor's mileage in the city?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Rayden

Safaris, Scorpios and Sumos dont show minor scratches/dents whearas even a small dent looks bad on the Innova. I believe it is because of the cladding. Whats your take?

I agree, because the plastic cladding does take a lot of punishment which would otherwise have dented the steel. However, this purpose is defeated if you paint your plastic cladding in body colour as I have done. Nitin on the other hand preferred to keep his cladding GREY for the very reason you mentioned.

Originally Posted by Rayden

What is your Dicor's mileage in the city?

I dont keep track of city and highway separately. I get around 10-11 kmpl overall with some aggressive driving - I guess others should be able to get more out it.

On my last Cochin-Trivandrum trip I got just about 10kmpl, but we covered the distance in less than 3 hours. I think thats very good (the average, not the speed)

[caliper]

Originally Posted by speedzak

C'mon Guyz!!
1. You can't expect a car to be small outside and Bigger inside! The car takes some time getting used to in city.

Well, actually maybe you can.

See, the Innova has a smaller bonnet than Safari/Scorpio.

Consequently, more of the length can be used as interior space. (Or you get the same interior space for less exterior length).

[LLL]

well i have seen a few innovas with cladding in delhi and they look good!!

saw 1 private black E model, had a cladding of black color...looked awesome and didnt look cheap and black bumpers gelled well.

saw another dark blue model, with gold colored cladding and roof rack...looked really nice.

so maybe consider cladding, if u can find a good color combination and its going to be vfm for you.