[nawabnabeel]

i recently took my friend's innova to lohagarh fort near lonavala with 10 people onboard. the ride was super smooth. the engine was total stress free even on steep inclines in the ghat section. the suspension was awesome and didnt experience any rattles even on very bad roads

[raj_5004]

This is my experience with my silver innova 2.5 V, mine is an 8 seater. booked the car in may 2006 and took the delivery in two weeks. wanted one in white, but colour was not available in V. wanted only V variant due to airbags and ABS. next preference was light green, but waiting period was too long, so opted fo silver. on-road price was close to 12.3 lakhs including accessories.

accessories purchased at the toyota dealer:
1) smart guard
2) body stripes
3) floor mats
4) mud flaps
5) window visors (4 Nos.)
6) rear spoiler
7) seat covers
8) rear sensors with display on dashboard, not RVM (Xenos)
9) 3M teflon coating (3 coats, once every 6 months, renewed now)

accessories purchased outside:
1) window tints
2) european horn (roots windtone, to be installed tomorrow as current horns are sounding like a dead goat!)

till now the MUV has performed impeccably, the way a toyota should!

a few initial niggles were:

1) black smoke from the exhaust.
- was advised to use normal diesels and to avoid premium diesels. problem reduced to an extent but still the innova bulches out more visible smoke than my scorpio and safari.

2) windsheild had a huge crack one fine morning, nobody knows how!
- toyota A.S.S. gave an explanation that it does happen in some vehciles, strange! we claimed for warranty, they said they will try and took a picture and said the procedure will take 2-3 days. meanwhile, we applied for insurance. after 2 days, the insurance was cleared and we asked the A.S.S. to proceed with the repair. they said no need for insurance as the warranty has passed, typically toyota! i cannot imagine such levels of customer care from any other manufacturer.

3) rattling of the dashboard.
- was promptly solved by the A.S.S. during a service.

4) a minor issue as mentioned earlier is the standard horns are not sounding good now, sounds distorted. perfect oppurtunity to get roots windtone installed instead of standard ones again.

i must mention here that all our minor complaints were promptly solved and the car delivered on time after every service. the car was washed thoroughly, but once the guys peeled off a bit of the side body stripes (toyota product fitted by the dealer itself) and a bit of my window tints during pressure wash. but these are just minor negatives in front of the faultless service they provide.
my innova was bought from madhuban toyota, kurla, mumbai and gets serviced there everytime. i am a satisfied customer.

pros of the vehicle:
+ fantastic interiors, very spacious, good design and great quality, more apparent after a drive in the scorpio/safari.
+ AC chills and cools down the cabin quickly. my window tints are very dark, could be one of the reasons. all three row AC vents a boon. large front vents throw a lot of air and operation is not noisy.
+ good ride quality and minimal body roll, the difference between a MUV and SUV apparent here. ride quality is good even on the 3rd row seats.
+ gear throw is long but shifts are smooth and precise.
+ standard speakers are good enough, not for an audiophile though.
+ alloy wheel design rocks, looks cool while running, especially under low light.
+ even 3rd row is good enough for a tall guy (6'2") like me if the 2nd row is pulled forwards (its on rails). even for long trips, personal experience. you have your own AC and adequate space.
+ lots of places to keep your knicks and knacks. even 3rd has their own cubby holes and bottle holders. there are a total of 9 bottle holders in the innova! big box behind gear lever very useful.

cons of the vehicle:
- not so good driving experience. performance is just average and power delivery is very jerky.
- engine is not as refined/silent as the scorpio.
- rear roof mounted AC vents could be bigger.
- cabin squeaks and rattles sometimes, especially the seats and dashboard, but 1 trip to the A.S.S solves it.
- FE is just average, i am geting 8-9 kmpl in mumbai city.
- large front windshield exposes the front passenger and driver to the harsh sunlight, more than comfort levels.
- no rear amrest, even in 'V' variant.
- beige interiors can get dirty but wont if regularly cleaned.

List of expenses:-

# 20,000 service:

fluid washer- 28
TGMO DSL- 1154
oil pan drain- 31
oil filter- 443
consumables- 185
service inspection- 657
brake cleaning- 547
3M teflon + interior enrichment- 5720

total- 9200

# kms: 33,124:

a corolla in my compound hit my innova while reversing-

painting charges- 4062
front wiper blades- 231
front wiper blades- 181
rear wiper blade- 48
consumables- 75

total- 4726.5

the bumper was mis-aligned from its place. they fixed it properly. wiper blades were changed on request.

# 40,000 service:

bumper guard painting- 1500
fluid washer- 23
brake fluid- 102
TGMO DSL- 1196
transmission oil- 538
differential oil- 434
gasket plug- 44
oil pan drain- 28
oil filter- 290
labour- 1170

total- 5366.74

# kms: 41,968:

a biker in pune hit the rear of my innova which broke its bumper!

rear bumper replaced- 2640


though the price of spares and service is on the higher side, their dedication is praise worthy and hence you are ready to spend the amount at the dealer itself.

[bhp1]

Good account, please add some pics. too.
40000km service of Corolla is around 13k, 5k for Innova seems cheap in comparison!

I have an Innova & speaking of Toyota A.S.S, well small parts are interchanged with newer vehicles, thanks to extra friendly environment!

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by bhp1

Good account, please add some pics. too.
40000km service of Corolla is around 13k, 5k for Innova seems cheap in comparison!

I have an Innova & speaking of Toyota A.S.S, well small parts are interchanged with newer vehicles, thanks to extra friendly environment!

sure buddy, i'll add pics soon.
i think toyota has priced innova's service cheaper than corolla.

i dint understand the part highlighted in bold, sorry!

[GTO]

In typical Toyota fashion, not a single major problem in 40,000 kms. The Innova is treating you well without a doubt, but it is especially nice to hear of your positive experience with the after-sales. This is one crucial area where Toyota has beaten Honda dry.

Here's to some more mile-crunching!

[prabhuav]

Now that I have a driver, it is sorely tempting to move to the innova from the scorpio. This account makes it even more of a case to do so.

Vijay

[GSMINC]

I am suprised that you find a Scorpio Engine more refined/silent than a Toyota Engine

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by GTO

In typical Toyota fashion, not a single major problem in 40,000 kms. The Innova is treating you well without a doubt, but it is especially nice to hear of your positive experience with the after-sales. This is one crucial area where Toyota has beaten Honda dry.

Here's to some more mile-crunching!

yes, the A.S.S is one of the best in the country, i vouch for it.

Originally Posted by prabhuav

Now that I have a driver, it is sorely tempting to move to the innova from the scorpio. This account makes it even more of a case to do so.

Vijay

innova is the best car IF you have a driver.

Originally Posted by GSMINC

I am suprised that you find a Scorpio Engine more refined/silent than a Toyota Engine

yes, the scorpio mHAWK and CRDe (not the older SZ turbo!) engine is more refined/silent than the innova's D-4D. not only that, even tyre and road noise is less in the scorpio.

[raj_5004]

Uploading some pics:

[bhp1]

Very good pics.!
Nice bumper guard, where did you get it from & for how much?
EDIT: Ok I saw Ajanta written over it later.
Do I see parking sensors on rear bumper!

About the earlier post, I was reffering to extra friendly A.S.S from Toyota. Some of the used parts of my cars are readily replaced with ones from newer cars! Im happy!
Even Honda served me good this way!

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by bhp1

Very good pics.!
Nice bumper guard, where did you get it from & for how much?
Do I see parking sensors on rear bumper!

all the accessories have been fitted at the dealer itself. except for the window tints, no outside mechanic has touched my innova!

guard - Rs. 8500/-
Xenos parking sensors - Rs. 4500/- I repeat, the sensors does not have the display on the RVM as is common these days, it has a different display near the right A pillar.

[needle]

Hi,

Thats a good info. Toyota has a website called 'toyotaquality.in'. They are runnig a contest to get good stories from their customers & there are lot of goodies to win. (incld- Trip for two to Hongkong). I think you must try...

All the best...

[needle]

Hi,

Thats great details.

Are you aware about toyotaquality.in website? Toyota is collecting travel stories from its customer on this website & has an exciting contest...Trip to Hongkong...Just check it out...

[raj_5004]

after i read akshay's long term report about his innova, i realized i forgot to mention something-
like in akshay's case, even in my innova, both the gas struts lifting/holding the rear hatch packed up. but i was replaced under warranty in the 40000 service, so no issues.

[krish3]

Raj-: Since you have Innova, Scorpio and Safari, can you please list down the pros and cons of each and summarize on which is the best amongst the lot?

Your are the first person I have known to have each of these.