Team-BHP - Toyota Innova Crysta : Official Review

Brilliant review. I took the delivery of Vx MT 7Str, Pearl White Crystal color yesterday and must tell you all that it is an ecstatic experience to drive this beast. The delivery experience was good and the team went overboard to accommodate my requests. I will soon write a comprehensive ownership experience soon. However, unexpectedly there is an small niggle which i need to report.

The joystick on the right side of the steering wheel seem to have a problem in my new car. While i use the joystick, all the directions respond immediately except for the Downward direction. It seems to need more effort. I will get it checked with the service center once i get the first service done.

I am also finding it difficult to source a good foot mat. I tried to look at the original Toyota products which are listed below
1. Premium Mat(Rs 5500 appx) -
2. Rubber Mat(Rs 2500) - I was told, this should not be directly placed on the floor but on the premium mats
3. 3D Mat - Rs 7500/- (Local Sourced - It was not a genuine Toyota Accessory) - Looked cheap

I called someone i know who is the regional Accessories marketing guy and he mentioned that Original 3D mat (Toyota Accessory) would be sourced in a week's time and i should hold on.

I did see some mats on Amazon which say that they are for Crysta (I have my own doubts). Any help here will be appreciated.

Took a drive to Cherthala this evening from Trivandrum, about 180Km one way on a two lane highway. More i drive the crysta the more I am falling in love with it. Has everything I need in a highway car - ample power and acceleration, comfortable suspension, road presence, easy to drive. Makes one forget all the negativity i had during the 1st service.

Fuel economy as displayed in the MID is 10.5kmpl. The road is bad with lot of large potholes and some places have top layer missing, there was traffic too as I left home during rush hour. Mileage is not bad and should improve i think.

I saw couple of Crystas today on the highway coming from opposite side. Those were V or Z because those had projector lights. V and Z owners could you please tell if projector low beam provides adequate visibility? Reason I ask is because the Crysta LED projector looked a lot less brighter than HID projectors of couple of German sedans i spotted today.

One cool feature I discovered today is that until you lock the car, a small led light in the smart key keeps on blinking and reminds you to lock the car.

The gate bottle holders are quite large and that results in rattling when bottles are placed. Toyota could have added a thin layer of rubber to counter that problem.

Also, yesterday I covered 130 kms of highway trip and I must say the car is now growing over me and feels involving to drive now! Power delivery between 100-120kmh is insane and you end up with a higher average speed than a sedan or hatch. This is a terrific highway beast! Feels indestructible when you are on the roll and eats up everything. I should also add that this is the most sorted suspension setup I have ever witnessed on a body on frame chassis setup. I have driven XUV extensively and inspite being a monocoque it comes nowhere close in terms of straight line stability and handling department.

To beat the ongoing 3-month waiting period, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has ramped up the the production of its newly launched Innova Crysta from 6,000 units/month (May) to 7,800 units/month (June). Production target will be revised based on future demand.

At the planning stage, the manufacturer considered 40:60 mix for Automatic & Manual transmission. However, since it's launch in May 2016, the company has received 30,000 bookings out of which 50-60% are for the Automatic variant. TMK is closely working with suppliers to aid the ramp up phase.

Registering a MoM growth of 29%, TKM sold 8,171 units of Innova Crysta in June 2016 against 6,600 units in May 2016.

Source : http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes...eriod/53029947

I got the Toyota OE seatcovers installed yesterday at the showroom, i took the vehicle in and after the completion of the work it was delivered to my address as requested. The CRM also met me there and has promised a better experience next time. I appreciate that and i hope it meets expectations.

The vehicle has now around 1350KM on the odometer and now the Avg reads 10.6KPL, AC always on and i have not used ECO mode, but regular. The upgraded bulbs are better over OE bulbs and the improvement is noticeable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by a4anurag (Post 4009427)

What did the SA say about the odometer entry in the bill versus actual?

I raised this point with the CRM and he invited me to meet the service manager alongwith him but i was in a hurry to leave! I woke up at 4AM and started driving at 5am in the morning back to Trivandrum and soon after reaching home i was at Toyota. I was tired and wanted to make it to office without much delay and also the Uber driver was waiting for me outise the dealership. So the discussion was with CRM only and was short. Anyway lets see how it goes next time, i hope it will be good.

LED bulbs for sure, but later :)

If the Delhi SC ruling resolves itself with diesels coming back into the market, this may well be one of the shortest living launches in the market. Kudos to Toyota for at least launching it though. I'm also really curious what kind of mileage an AT of this MUV would give. My guess is 5 -6 kmpl in heavy traffic cities. I'm guessing the diesel mustn't be giving more than 7-9 kmpl in heavy city traffic so guessing petrol accordingly. Any views anyone?

I have owned a scorpio 2005 model which I sold off in 2014 after clocking 3+ lac km. I did maintain it diligently and the ride was always smooth. Today I took a test ride of all 3 vehicles (scorpio 1.99, XUV 1.99 and the new Crysta manual). The scorpio was not at all handling well, the XUV was ok, but the Crysta was miles ahead. Both the Scorpio and XUV appeared overpriced in comparison to the already overpriced Crysta. But that is the problem with the Indian market. In most cases it is the most expensive item which appears value for money as the rest of the competition do not even come anywhere close.

Sorry buddy. I have written elsewhere in this forum and I write again. I sold off my scorpio of 9 years with 3+ lac km and till the date of selling it, it rode like a dream. It was smooth, it was powerful, it was sturdy, and everything. I got hit from behind by a Sumo (hard bang), then a bus (light tap) and it just shrugged it off with Nil damages. Today I test drove a Scorpio after two long years praying that I would get the same feel. No, Nil Nada. It was disappointing. I had placed my trust in Mahindra all those years and would not budge from my faith. People saw me a die hard Mahindra fan. But today I can safely say I will not buy a Mahindra car again. I would have loved if they would have given me an option of similar experience even with a higher price tag. The steering seemed out of control, the overall handling was nothing like the old scorpio. In contrast, Toyota has made the Innova experience even better with Crysta. No wonder people are willing to place more trust in this Japanese machine than which was once the Indian phenomenon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjain2054 (Post 3999189)

Anyway, when Hexa comes out at 18-20L, we will crib about the price (despite the package being worth it). Why will we do that? Mindset? (Indian product is inferior and Japanese superior) Maybe?

However, no running away from the fact that, in the car industry, Indian manufacturers are not very good. Having said that, I feel this is a chicken and egg story. Unless we Indians put our faith in our products (even if slightly inferior), we will not rise. (here we = indian car manufacturers). "

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sankar (Post 4009423)

The upgraded bulbs are better over OE bulbs and the improvement is noticeable.

Are these bulbs plug and play or do you need a relay / cut out? What are the other options for a headlight upgrade? Is there is possibility of retrofitting xenons or projectors or led lights? Sorry if this has been asked / answered before

The current ones are very inadequate! Do you have some before and after pictures?

Thanks in advance!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjain2054 (Post 3999189)

I have never understood this argument. Is it upon us to now be guinea pigs in order to for an Indian manufacture to better their quality and market share. What does that Indian manufacture provide me in return? Help me with my bills, lower my taxes? They are just business houses like any other company. Please don't bring this patriotism debate as a factor in assessing a car.

And going by that logic did the Japanese bear with inferior quality products for decades before companies like Toyota could fine tune their products to the current quality standards?

What I have observed it that it looks very good sitting in comfort and typing a post saying one is ready to live up with an inferior product etc. These same people would not shy away from booking an Innova for their next outstation road trip if they already haven't got one. How many Zests have sold? Its such an excellent car, even won our COTY award. But in reality Tata brand has killed it. They have been knocked out of competition fair and square. So please don't bring patriotism into this.

This debate about pricing has gone on for a very long time now and has become boring and stale. Assuming that all people who are buying it at a higher price tag are fools/fans is choosing to live in ignorance. The car sells because people find merit in it and there is no other alternative good enough to match it. Period.

Quote:

Originally Posted by miharbe (Post 4010377)

These are plug and play, same wattage, so no relay or wiring is required. Are the headlights in your vehicle aligned properly? I am asking because i did not find the OE lights that bad, of course its not as good as the HID projector in my other car.

I do not have comparison photos but here is a random clip i saved when i saw two other Innovas while coming back from the doc. My vehicle has the Philips XV and the other Innova Crysta is a VX with LED projector. To me the LED projector light looks dim.

https://youtu.be/lNhaETa0JV8