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My neighbour just bought 2 innovas, both of them G4 variants with roof mounted Ac, et al. but i was shocked to see the absence of a stereo in it. not even a casette player! how can toyota be so stingy, its a car costing 10.5 lakhs!
but toyota has been known for its stinginess and reliabilty! when i bought my innova 1.5 years back, they dint even offer me mudflaps and interior mats on the toppest variant "V" which i bought, that costed around 12.5 lakhs. they had the mudflaps in the accessories list for Rs. 800/-! will it harm them if they give it standard? those days, in the G4, they used to give a 1 din CD player and in the V, they used to give a 2 din CD and casette player.
but now, in the G4, if they are giving speakers, why not a head unit? what use is the speakers without the HU? this is the time when competition has been offering steering mounted controls, USB/bluetooth/memory card enabled HUs even in 5 lakh cars.
toyota has the most reliable cars and the best service in the country, my experience with them says so. but i wish they stopped acting so cheap.

You are right Raj, I gave many such feedback to Toyota whenever I get chance, very silly things they don't give. I hope they consider such things when they launch facelifted Innova.

Ex: MP3 player, mirror adjustment facility, foot rest side of clutch, standard on every variant, optional ABS on G4, sky blue color, 3rd row glass open like quallis etc..

Regards,

Ravi.

I think they compensate by giving you the most reliable, best in quality and fault free vehicles. and of course after sales service as well.

I presume all these complaints will be resolved once the facelifted Innova is launched in the coming months.
I wouldn't term Toyota stingy as the rest of their cars are well equipped.

There are quite a few things I found very surprising about the Innova.

Only the top end variant has an internally (electrical) adjustable OVRM. None of the other variants have even a manual adjustment from inside - you have to roll down the windows and adjust the mirror by hand!

The fact that only the top end variant has ABS, airbags also surprises me - at least in today's scenario, where these are standard in some newly launched cars.

Needs to be seen if they will make such long awaited changes even in the absence of competition.

This is the time of recession and they ought to make whatever the "moolah" they can make. They obviously think that a guy who is buying an Innova paying 10 Lacs cannot mind paying a bit extra for these "Must" accessories at some cost. IMO, they can offer atleast the mudflaps as freebies.

Some body after a long time is talking against Toyota. There can be many more thing that you can find against them, Specially how they have under rated the Indian Market. Selling Old Qualis model to India. No new addition in Indian market. No car below 7 Laks. A 10L vehicle dont have Air Bag/ ABS. Do you think we are paying un-necessary premium to Toyota Cars.

imagine it raining outside and you have to roll down the windows to adjust your RVM and get wet! cmon, even a 3 lakh santro has internally adjustable RVMs.

its not now buddy, i think its going like this for quite some time and will continue like this till the new innova is launched or even after the new innova! they have made changes in their website too!
here is the link:
http://toyotabharat.com/inen/cars/innova/specs.asp

i really like the innova, its the best in the segment. but i dont like the altis over the civic. i dont like the camry over the accord. they have very few products and the camry and prado are overpriced being CBUs.

Not having a company fitted audio can be good as well. I have seen many people complain about the quality of the manufacturer supplied audio system. I think it's better that the company provides it as an option.

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!

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!

Thanks for ur comments and obervations as iam in the process to go for G4 model innova, do advice which model to buy is it with ABS sure?

Yes they can act cheap at the time of the sale, but unlike some others (which pamper before sale and forget after it), from my own experience, they do treat you great all through your ownership experience.

To give a personal example, I wrote on Toyota website about a mild creaking noise from my left door (painted recently) when it goes over tough roads. Not too much of a bother but why not. At 10AM I wrote on their website. AT 11AM, I got a call from Bangalore, at 1120 AM a call from the dealer, at 1230PM the car was taken by the dealer, and is being delivered tonight, the problem now fixed, at no cost. Not much chance to complain. Bottomline: forget the dealers and write to Toyota directly.

IMO, ABS is only present on V model. For safety concerns I would suggest Vmodel, but if costs are an issue, G4 is also adequately kitted.

Lolz! I use my Innova roughly now, so much so, I've converted it into a boom box of sorts! Earlier on I use to use it carefully, but it was almost impossible to save it from bumps/dents as its body is wafer thin. Even a slightest of touch, leaves a gasthly mark! Saving it took a toll on my health, so then I decided to use it roughly, now Im really happy! You too try !
Now my Innova is full of bumps/dents/scratches, but Im still happy, as I do not worry anymore! Its a heavenly feeling for an automobile enthusiast!

@Vasudeva, good that you had a good experience with the company, but mine was sour! I had problems with my car & wrote manyatimes to the company, but all fell to deaf ears. They did reply to my posts, but on the ground action was nil.

I agree that they might be the Good, Reliable... But I feel that they are enjoying extra premium brand tag from our Indian Customer. Which is really unnecessary. And comparing HONDA, they are also not that great in Cost, Customer Satishfaction. In this forum you can find a thread where HONDA sell a damaged ACCORD car to a customer.
:Frustrati