[DirtyDan]

Many Innovas are sold as Taxis. This is why they are "bare bones". Many of the drivers are not the owners. The owners do not care if their drivers get their sleeves wet manually adjusting a mirror.

Also, Toyota does it because they feel these extras do not sell vehicles, their top rated quality and service do that, not stereos, mudflaps, mats.

[spetnaz]

May be being 'stingy' is one of the reasons they are not scurrying around for a bail-out when their prime 'competitors' - GM/Ford do. cheers:

I'd say - as long as they give rock-solid cars that don't let you down [as they currently do] - OVRMs and flaps and stuffs are perfectly alright!

[raj_5004]

yes, i do agree that they give us the most reliable cars, but is that an excuse for depriving us of the most basic features we expect in a 10 lakh car.
i am sorry, but if this is the attitude that let them rob us because their cars are reliable and service is the best, then toyota is not the one to be blamed. i would rather say they know the indian mentality well!

[Sowmya]

Originally Posted by spetnaz

May be being 'stingy' is one of the reasons they are not scurrying around for a bail-out when their prime 'competitors' - GM/Ford do. cheers:

Why should you worry about the Bail Out Package of a Company. Do you know GM CEO travel in his own helicopter while he went for asking Bail Out package from US GOVT. Will you get some benefit if you are loyal to your company. If time comes they will not see any thing.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

i am sorry, but if this is the attitude that let them rob us because their cars are reliable and service is the best, then toyota is not the one to be blamed. i would rather say they know the indian mentality well!

Yes we need to change our own mentality. We have changed our daily life in many ways but still we follow some old typical attitude. I believe Indian Customer should demand more than rather than just keeping quite.

[spetnaz]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

yes, i do agree that they give us the most reliable cars, but is that an excuse for depriving us of the most basic features we expect in a 10 lakh car.
i am sorry, but if this is the attitude that let them rob us because their cars are reliable and service is the best, then toyota is not the one to be blamed. i would rather say they know the indian mentality well!

Well, the real question is not whether they provide these small items, but whether they provide VFM cars. Told otherwise, do they provide as much value as they charge? I'd say yes - in comparison to some brands - the 'H' - they provide certainly more value. Look at the goodies in Altis..

But then, I admit I might be a little biased for Toyota... hope to God [on whom I don't believe ] that my next one is a Toyota.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

and do you notice the front and rear bumper quality. i bet it will break if given a punch! a swift's bumper is tougher. last week a motorcycle rear ended into my innova and i was shocked to see that my bumper had a huge crack! yes, a crack with visible cavity, not a dent! and the hero honda stood proudly!

thats funny. my innova got rear ended a couple days ago by an octy in traffic at about 10-15kmph. no dents, no scratches nothing. i was surprised.

Originally Posted by bhp1

I completely agree! Toyota does a lot of cost cutting in every possible sphere, this is very evident in almost all their vehicles. Though Altis is a slight exception because it did not have the looks to go head to head against the mighty Civic, so Toyota instead filled up the features kitty.
Even I own an Innova(G1) Variant & must say the car is almost bare/barren of features!
I'll narrate a very interesting fact about the Innova, rather a mini survey of sorts, if may call it! Whenever I used to take my car for servicing, I would make a visit to the bodyshop/accidental inventory & one peculiar thing always used to strike me, there used to many Innova's standing there with nose/head on shunts! Naturally I became very inquisitive & talked to agency guys, most of them on condition of annoymity, confessed that most of the accidental cars were either E, or G models & V were rare.
On further poking, they said that the absence of ABS on Innova costs dear as the vehicle is heavier than a normal saloon, so better braking is required. I cross checked & was astonished to see that most were really G models! This proved beyond doubt that Innova needs ABS for sure. So, Toyota should give them as an option atleast on the lower models too, if not standard.
Btw, my Innova too underwent a front end shunt due to lack of ABS! & cost me ~1L to repair!

tell me about it. had to emergency brake once at about 70 to avoid a cyclist who swerved into my lane. wheels locked and ended up sending the cyclist for a little flight, though no one was hurt. braking seems much better after upgrading tyres (not that it was bad ever). the locking up could also have been due to the road surface i.e. paver blocks.

[SYJ]

The innova base variants came with only a pointless cassette player, Which most owners replace, But more importantly, the cars they offer are built to strict quality levels, and offer much more refinement and safety than the others in that class. which IMHO is more important than a Head Unit!

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

thats funny. my innova got rear ended a couple days ago by an octy in traffic at about 10-15kmph. no dents, no scratches nothing. i was surprised.

now i am really really suprised.

[kuttapan]

Originally Posted by bhp1

I'll narrate a very interesting fact about the Innova, rather a mini survey of sorts, if may call it! Whenever I used to take my car for servicing, I would make a visit to the bodyshop/accidental inventory & one peculiar thing always used to strike me, there used to many Innova's standing there with nose/head on shunts! Naturally I became very inquisitive & talked to agency guys, most of them on condition of annoymity, confessed that most of the accidental cars were either E, or G models & V were rare.
On further poking, they said that the absence of ABS on Innova costs dear as the vehicle is heavier than a normal saloon, so better braking is required. I cross checked & was astonished to see that most were really G models! This proved beyond doubt that Innova needs ABS for sure. So, Toyota should give them as an option atleast on the lower models too, if not standard.
Btw, my Innova too underwent a front end shunt due to lack of ABS! & cost me ~1L to repair!

Funny you should mention that. One of my chaddi buddies bought an Innova couple of months back, I had asked him to get V version, but he got G because of budget issues. When I asked him how the Innova is doing , all he had to say was that this car needed ABS badly, otherwise it's great ! So many G versions with front smashed are proof for that.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by SYJ

The innova base variants came with only a pointless cassette player, Which most owners replace, But more importantly, the cars they offer are built to strict quality levels, and offer much more refinement and safety than the others in that class. which IMHO is more important than a Head Unit!

SYJ, the point is not about the HU itself, its the overall stinginess shown by them, HU was just an example. now, in the base versions (E, G1 and G4), they dont even offer a casette player.
i am very happy with the overall quality of the vehicle, the interiors are best in segment. but if they add Rs. 800 to the cost of the vehicle and provide mud flaps as standard, will it deter buyers who are spending 10-12 lakhs on the car? again, this is an example.

[Anupam]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

SYJ, the point is not about the HU itself, its the overall stinginess shown by them, HU was just an example. now, in the base versions (E, G1 and G4), they dont even offer a casette player.
i am very happy with the overall quality of the vehicle, the interiors are best in segment. but if they add Rs. 800 to the cost of the vehicle and provide mud flaps as standard, will it deter buyers who are spending 10-12 lakhs on the car? again, this is an example.

I have been working for a japanese company for quite sometime and in japan, Toyota also happens to be one of our clients

A Japanese collegue of mine here in my office says that most of the vendors dont find supplying to Toyota a very attractive offer, except that volumes are large and steady through all seasons

Toyota is considered to be the toughest task master of all the auto companies in japan, they squeeze the juice out of the vendors, the margins are very very thin and they are very stringent on quality, defects result into hue penalty, delayed shipments is causes penalty

however, they invest huge amount in R&D and like all Japanese company are pretty ethical

[ravibhat]

Very much TRUE Anupam, Toyota maintains quality and very touch ones to deal with. Thats why they come up with best product.

Regards,

Ravi.

PS Search entire web, we hardly find any issues in Toyota product. If Toyota buys TATA then I would buy Safari

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

Very much TRUE Anupam, Toyota maintains quality and very touch ones to deal with. Thats why they come up with best product.


PS Search entire web, we hardly find any issues in Toyota product. If Toyota buys TATA then I would buy Safari

even i vouch for toyota's quality, they follow the 6 sigma policy, that is out of 1 lakh parts, only 3 can be defective! which is a great thing...
so eventually, do you all feel that the innova is value for money and toyota is not demanding excess since its got the reliability, brand image and service?

[1100D]

Originally Posted by Anupam

Toyota is considered to be the toughest task master of all the auto companies in japan, they squeeze the juice out of the vendors, the margins are very very thin and they are very stringent on quality, defects result into hue penalty, delayed shipments is causes penalty

however, they invest huge amount in R&D and like all Japanese company are pretty ethical

Originally Posted by ravibhat

Very much TRUE Anupam, Toyota maintains quality and very touch ones to deal with. Thats why they come up with best product.

They have this "the Toyota way" which sets them apart from most other companies. But then this is also a way which tells them that the Supra was a complete waste. So sad.

[Anupam]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

, do you all feel that the innova is value for money and toyota is not demanding excess since its got the reliability, brand image and service?

These cars are obviously more expensive in India by couple of Lakhs compared to most other countries,

Infact that would be good to know which countries have cars more expensive than us

but thats more because of the tax structure, and not the manufacturers

having a Corola or a Civic kinda sets you apart, elsewhere we all know it is the most common generic car