[haisaikat]

I have recently completed a 1800 KM + round trip to North Bengal and wanted to share a few experiences for the Crysta community. Mine is a 2.8 GX AT 8 seater, 2019 model with 16 incher tyres.

The Good

• Driven 790 KM at a stretch during the onward journey with lunch and breakfast breaks for straight 22 hours, the Crysta help take out all fatigue through a comfortable seating and remarkable ride quality. On our return over 600KM+ distance it was 27+ hours.
• The space offered was more than adequate for me and my wife with our 3 year old kid to stretch and relax adequately during the ride. I pushed the front passenger seat forward and that gave super legroom for my wife at the rear seat while the kid could lie down and sleep on the middle row bench seat beside her. On occasions I pushed the front passenger seat backrest all the way inclined backwards to allow her to stretch her legs full forward on the front seat. Of course the headrest had to be taken out.
• The 3rd row seat folded for luggage space allowed 13 pieces of luggage including 2 suit cases and 2 trolley bags. On top of that two cartoon boxes. Nothing more could we expect to bring along, it was like we got every damn thing at our house needed whether we required or not. Literally spoilt for space.
• The SUVish stance allowed us to go over umpteen kind of bad roads on the plains and of course in the hills without any trouble and the car earned lot of road presence and respect from other regular drivers or cabbies on the road.
• The most difficult trail was our journey through Kolakham with pebbled and stony pathway with narrow hairpins, but the Crysta aced all of that with ease in spite of me being a first time hill driver.
• The automatic gear box makes hill driving very easy, the Cruise control was very handy in long empty stretches.
• Need a break? I reclined the drivers seat backwards and take a nap. I did several times and it worked wonders in self recharging.
• The Multi terrain monitoring system (360 camera) worked like a charm in those close maneuvers in the narrow hill roads and congestion, imparts way more confidence in handling these situations than without it.
• The power on tap is so massive that in power mode on highways it allowed me to make some otherwise impossible maneuvers when cutting through lanes between truck, it was not reckless driving rather best use of the capabilities at hand that we seldom do in city traffic at slower speeds.

What could be better

• I believe the approach angle sometimes made crossing very deep and wide craters a problem where the chassis grazed. So be extra careful and strategize on how to dodge them or how best to approach them before plunging your car forward in overconfidence like me thinking Crysta can double up as a off-roader, its not, even if close to being like SUV.
• Its not the individual braking but the combination of not having a projector headlamp that can show me speed breakers / obstructions from a long distance clubbed with sudden braking on a body on frame setup leaps everyone forward made it a little more inconvenient. I am sure those who have projector headlamp setup would not have this problem.
• If I fold up the 3rd row and dump tons of luggage the recline of the 2nd row becomes difficult unless you pull it forward a bit and then recline.
• I think the engine braking while descending from hills could have been better, its of course there but not adequate, so gear S2 plus brake both to be used in unison or you see RPMs rising 2500+ in S1 all of a sudden if you don't use brakes.
• If you have roads in highways with 1-2 inch deep broken tarmacs, going over them in speeds less than 70-80 can make you feel the jerks a lot, speed over them in 90+ if possible.

Here is the link to the travelogue and a few pictures below.

Initial items in the boot


After dumping rest of them this is how it looked


At breakfast halt in Bihar, front seat completely pushed forward


Parked at Apple Stone Restaurant


Crossing the Gorubathan Bridge


Inside Neora Valley National Park


Farmlands in Paren


Lava Road, on the way to Neora Valley from Gorubathan

Originally Posted by sridhu

Technically, Miracast is there from the beginning. I have never managed to get it working via any of my phones (Note 10, Note 9, Nokia 8, Nokia 6 etc)

Perhaps I can get Toyota to upgrade the firmware

Apparently what HUs have is Mirrorlink and not Miracast as the two are different. I have got it working with older phones that are Mirrorlink 1.0 compatible mostly Android 4.3 or earlier. The related post is here (Toyota Innova Crysta : Official Review)

You can get a list of all compatible devices from this link but note that just having the device is not enough, the compatible OS also needs to be there as the moment the OS is upgraded the Mirrorlink version is also having the potential to get auto upgraded and will not work.

[Gixxy.danger]

Hello members,
We're planning to purchase an Innova Crysta, a used one though. I wanted to know the ideal mileage covered by the car at the which great value can be extracted from the deal.


Given the famous indestructible characteristics of Toyota engines, is it advisable to purchase a car that has covered over 65,000 km?

[sunilg33]

Originally Posted by Gixxy.danger

Hello members,
We're planning to purchase an Innova Crysta, a used one though. I wanted to know the ideal mileage covered by the car at the which great value can be extracted from the deal.


Given the famous indestructible characteristics of Toyota engines, is it advisable to purchase a car that has covered over 65,000 km?

I recently purchased a used 2016 2.8 GX AT from Toyota U-Trust. It had covered 43K. Apart from some minor squeaks from the seats you really can't tell the age of the car.
66K also shouldn't make a major difference. Please verify the service records and get the car checked by a local mechanic before you go ahead.

[audioholic]

Completed a 900km road trip on the Crysta around Chikmagalur and the western ghats over the last four days. We were five friend-colleagues on board and all are from automotive R&D line with two of us being vehicle testers. So we did have a good insight into the vehicles capabilities. I was the only driver though during the trip since I am not comfortable lending my car to others. But here are some observations on the car and the likes/dislikes with no order whatsoever. It is usually the sort of notes I make at work:

• Engine is a gem - and cant appreciate it better. It hardly needs to revv above 2000 RPM and this is something new to me, but takes the vehicle to good speeds in no time with not much engine noise. Engine is super silent during regular driving and I love the sound of the turbo whistle. It does get noisy when cold and when the radiator fan is running but apart from that, it is pretty well managed especially inside the cabin.
• Transmission is not the best TC out there, when it comes to holding onto gears, throttle response and so, but the shifts are seamless and really smooth.
• Performs effortlessly under load. I did not have to use PWR mode except once for the sake of experiencing it.
• While the transmission coasts upon letting go of throttle, if there is a decline then it does hold on to revvs and offer engine braking. However when I drove in the ghats, I always used S mode and this offers real good engine braking. I would switch between S4 and S3 for the milder slopes and slow down to S2 for the steeper sections and hairpin bends. I hardly had to use the brakes except for correcting speed and some final braking. On the highways if I have to slowdown for speed breakers, I also use the S4 for this once the speed is below 80 and then S3. It helps avoid excessive braking.
• One thing I didnt like about the transmission is that the sixth gear is used only when cruising and a slight tap of the accelerator brings it down to fifth and there is a lag here, as well as loss of energy. Maybe things can be improved here and the car can hold onto sixth at least at higher speeds and the torque from the engine can be used to easily accelerate.
• Suspension can take up minor undulations pretty decently without any drama, given the car has a ladder frame chassis. I cant say the same thing about other ladder frame cars, and one of the reasons I hated them. But this car is an exception and even in the ghats, the handling is pretty decent for its size and weight. In the same roads, I can maintain better pace with my SX4 or any other monocoque car with a relatively stiffer suspension, but thats also because of the maneuverability of the smaller cars. Somehow I feel that the tyres give up on hard cornering so this requires some extra steering, but I can only compare it with other cars which I drive which is from a different segment or different type. Maybe if I drive something like a Marazzo or even a Kia Carnival I can actually judge whether this is good or bad.
• I did not go too fast over potholes or speedbreakers since I was worried about the tyre and rim, but most of them were eaten up by the suspension with hardly anything reaching the cabin.
• Passengers loved the comfort, except in the last row where it can get bouncy over humps. But when I say they liked it, they are guys and girls who spend time on bigger cars and from higher segments, so I nor them are kidding about the ride comfort of the Crysta.
• In fact two weeks back I landed back in Bangalore after spending six weeks of intense testing on a few German cars. While dad drove the Crysta and I sat in the middle row, I really felt the difference in how comfortable that seat was. Full marks in this department.
• On the highway, thats where the home is. I thoroughly loved the car for the comfort and the way it can cover distances. Between Bangalore and Hassan and on the way back, I used cruise control for most of the time and had set speed to 100-120 depending on the stretch. The car is dead silent except for some road noise which goes away by music and the cabin is almost stationary. While the engine is hardly at 2K RPM at 120, it also gives decent FE in spite of not babying around - Got around 14.5kmpl for this stretch in spite of good speeds.
• The DPF regeneration dips FE and while it happened only once on the highway, in the ghats it happened much frequently, once in around 100kms since it was either a full upward climb with load or descent with engine braking. Regen is noticeable with higher idle speed and visible drop in FE on the MID. But this was the normal regen process and did not demand any manual intervention. Only when we park during the middle of regen, the idle speed will be noticed and it is usually for five minutes that the regen happens.
• The lights are pretty good when dark and semi dark. But when there is oncoming traffic, it is not really the best especially when I come from my SX4 with a brilliant setup.
• Out of the 900kms, 400 was on the highway. 100 in urban conditions and 400 in hilly roads and narrow roads. In all this, the overall FE was 12.5kmpl. I wouldnt expect more at least here. On our airport runs, the car easily breaches the 15kmpl mark since the speeds are consistent, and around 100kmph. But I think for the car that is, it is mundane to speak about achieving higher FE numbers.

Overall, though the car is devoid of futuristic stuff, I think they have got the fundamentals right, and thats the reason for its success. This also completed close to 5k kms on the car overall, and looking forward to the rest of the journey.

[swami69]

Originally Posted by Gixxy.danger

Hello members,
We're planning to purchase an Innova Crysta, a used one though. I wanted to know the ideal mileage covered by the car at the which great value can be extracted from the deal.


Given the famous indestructible characteristics of Toyota engines, is it advisable to purchase a car that has covered over 65,000 km?

I purchased a 2016, 49000kms done Innova Crysta Z MT from Toyota UTrust, Chennai a week back. As mentioned before, around 50K kms, it is nothing for this car and probably getting fine tuned at this point

Swami

[theGeekyLad]

I'd soon build my own front-parking sensors with a small heads-up display for my 2019 Innova but was wondering about the feasibility of passing a wire from the engine bay into the cabin. This tank is well within warranty so I'd eschew punching a hole in the rubber grommet for a pass-through.

I don't mind if the wire is not as discreet and cues slight visibility from the outside. Anyone with ideas?

[audioholic]

A recent picture in a calm location:

[amarendernag]

Dear BHPians
Tyres on my Crysta need to be replaced (215 60 R17) soon (current tread depth: 3mm). Since getting Michelins is almost mission impossible , could you please suggest alternate tires that are similar to Michelin primacy's performance?
Thanks

[powerband_rider]

Originally Posted by audioholic

A recent picture in a calm location:
Attachment 2096034

Nice click buddy. Is the side-step footboard fitted on your car an official Toyota accessory? How is the fit and performance w.r.t. rattles etc? I got mine from the aftermarket, which is now rattling somewhat and gets irritating. I think getting a Toyota one may be better durability-wise.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by powerband_rider

Nice click buddy. Is the side-step footboard fitted on your car an official Toyota accessory? How is the fit and performance w.r.t. rattles etc? I got mine from the aftermarket, which is now rattling somewhat and gets irritating. I think getting a Toyota one may be better durability-wise.

IIRC what I have on my car is the OE footrest of the fortuner. Everything is from Toyota and no outside accessory. The fit is perfect and there are no creaks and rattles even though I use it to get in and out to avoid wearing out the seat sides. I chose this over the actual official accessory for innova since this doesn't come with any chrome bits which the former came with.

[audioholic]

Got the Adblue low warning on my Crysta today while returning from a roadtrip of around 1k kms. With the DEF last topped up at 900kms without any reference, which means I am not sure if it was full or overfilled or not filled completely, it is supposed to last till an Odo of 8100kms. Which means I got around 7200kms on one tank of Adblue which indicates a consumption of around one liter for every 600kms. This time I will ensure that I will get it filled with a proper scan tool connected to monitor the level correctly. But the warning and messages are very appropriate and it begins a countdown when there is 2400kms to go.





Though I have a can of Adblue at home of 5 liters, I want to visit the ASC to understand how much the actual consumption is. Then I will get the tank topped up so that I know when to expect it next.

[silverknight]

Does anyone know if and where I can buy side cladding for wheel arches, bumper like the one has on Touring Sport model?

[manasmadaan]

Originally Posted by silverknight

Does anyone know if and where I can buy side cladding for wheel arches, bumper like the one has on Touring Sport model?

That will really be helpful. I also want to install those on my crysta if possible. If someone can help..?

[vsun]

Originally Posted by silverknight

Does anyone know if and where I can buy side cladding for wheel arches, bumper like the one has on Touring Sport model?

As the cladding is present in Touring Sport model, it must be available in the spare parts section of Toyota service centers. Enquire at the service center. If readily not available, they may source you on order.

Better to talk to your service advisor first for installing the part.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by vsun

As the cladding is present in Touring Sport model, it must be available in the spare parts section of Toyota service centers.

Better to talk to your service advisor first for installing the part.

OE cladding usually is not of the stick on type and will be installed with clips which go into holes in the body. Hence, I am not sure of fitting the cladding of the touring sport on the regular crysta. That's another thing to explore before placing an order.