[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

IMHO Toyota is taking Indians for a royal ride with the Crysta. I drove the top end manual yesterday and was appalled to see hard plastic everywhere. Upon tapping the plastics gave a hollow sound . The sheet metal also felt really flimsy.

Compared to this even the xuv seems to have better plastics. Based on what one saw at the Expo the hexa will be in a different league altogether.

And before anyone brings out the reliability argument all I can say is that I have never had any niggle(let alone serious issue) to date with my Safari storme

The Storme is recently launched, but compare the longevity and lack of issues of a 10 year old Innova with any other UV of that vintage and you will get the answer.

Frankly, the latter date Dicor(post 2011) and the Storme are excellent products that are vastly under appreciated (try selling the Safari). The gap with the Innova has been narrowed considerably on the quality front, but perceptions once formed are hard to beat.

Also, the Innova owing to monocoque construction behaves more like a car than an SUV. Having driven the Dicor extensively, the Innova comes across as much easier to drive and navigate in the City. For many looking for space and a seven seater configuration, the Crysta is a much easier vehicle to live with compared with typical SUVs. That to me should be a bigger criteria than just the quality.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by avisidhu

Also, the Innova owing to monocoque construction behaves more like a car than an SUV.

, but would like to correct you over here Sir. The Innova never had a monocoque construction, it was always a ladder-on-frame (or body-on-chassis, whatever you would like to call it) construction right from day 1. It is due to this construction the Innova has been very abuse friendly and it can carry loads of passengers without breaking a sweat. It is a different story altogether that it is more car like to drive rather than a SUV.

[SchumiFan]

Drove the Innova for the first time in my life. Had to TD it for my sister who is buying it shortly. They will be going for the manual variant.

Dealer showed up with the Auto variant and I just couldn't resist driving the behemoth (drove a Brio early in the day, so size is relative).

Biggest upgrade was the suspension. Innova dismissed the speed bumps and potholes like it was never there while the Brio will make every attempt to let you know about it.

Brake pedal in Innova was moving freely and had a good bite. While the Brio stays more solid while giving a progressive feel.

Felt the gears changed very quickly as it was in Eco mode. Also used the manual mode to shift the gears manually. Think 'D' mode is all is required. Noise levels were also low compared to older version. Car felt relaxed.

It was a very short TD as I didn't wanted to get into any trouble with a big vehicle.

Told them to chauffeur me around. I feel that the space inside has reduced a bit. Is it because of the tray or the general thickness of the seats, I am not sure. But I wasn't too willing to try out the third row of seats.

Ambient lightning was good and music system as OK as well. They had the TV monitors set up behind the front seats. Not tacky and almost looked like OEM product. 15K price quoted.

Ride quality was again, great in the middle row. I felt the doors were heavy as well. Maybe it was the Brio effect

I am with Bronze for the color, with Z being the variant of choice. But B-I-L is wanting Silver. Haven't seen one in flesh yet.

45 days wait time for the car. It suits us just fine.

One thing I was amazed is how easy it was to drive the car. No big car feel except for a moment where I had to take a blind reverse after getting into a alley. Felt that there could be two more cameras on the left and right of the bumper to help in those situations.

Anyway, a very capable car and I can see why it is selling in almost 5 digit numbers these days.

[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

, but would like to correct you over here Sir. The Innova never had a monocoque construction, it was always a ladder-on-frame (or body-on-chassis, whatever you would like to call it) construction right from day 1. It is due to this construction the Innova has been very abuse friendly and it can carry loads of passengers without breaking a sweat. It is a different story altogether that it is more car like to drive rather than a SUV.

Oh wow, thanks for correcting that. The difference in driving manners wrt the Dicor is so stark that I had assumed it could only be because of monocoque construction.

[samabhi]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Next on the list is changing rear hatch light unit to VX/ZX spec which has a second working tail lamp next to the reverse light. GX doesnt have the provision for a bulb socket there. Its possible to convert GX to take a bulb there but i chose to do it with a ZX tail lamp. Will update once completed, waiting for the bulb holder and socket. At night the one with second tail lamp looks good when viewed from behind.

Sankar..at this rate with all the updates, I think soon your vehicle will be changed from GX AT to VX AT.

Did you enquire about the option of OE lounge lighting inside for the GX? Is it even possible to do it?

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by samabhi

Sankar..at this rate with all the updates, I think soon your vehicle will be changed from GX AT to VX AT.

Did you enquire about the option of OE lounge lighting inside for the GX? Is it even possible to do it?

Greg, I have not enquired about it yet because I think its going to be expensive as it might need roof liner change if it were to be done by Toyota the right way. Should be possible to do it with the help of a skilled upholsterer on GX roof liner itself, but may affect warranty. The front lounge light will be easy though, its thinkable

Toyota could have saved a lot of people from a lot of hassle if they could roll out the VX AT

[geotracks]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Toyota could have saved a lot of people from a lot of hassle if they could roll out the VX AT

I agree that Toyota should have thought of the Indian customers first and provided the VX AT option. However, probably an intentional strategy from Toyota, to make maximum margins on the ZX variant.

My thought is that Toyota logic could have been, GX AT will not sell that much in cab segment. So that leaves the prospective (7 seater) XUV AT W8 / W10 buyers (wanting bells & whistles) & others to look at Innova as alternative. If this group of prospective SUV / MUV buyers are swayed by 'bullet proof reliability' of Toyota, why give them a VX AT option? A prospective XUV AT buyer willing to pay around INR 21L anyways, can always stretch and pay for the ZX AT.

Alternatively, many aspiring Fortuner buyers will jump at the newer Innova ZX AT and would consider it as much better buy in every way as compared to the dated Fortuner.

Net outcome, larger margins for Toyota on the ZX AT. Very good strategy from auto maker point of view. Who knows, once the new Fortuner hits the Indian market, Toyota may decide to introduce the VX AT then.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Ahh Ok.. almost all petrol cars can do almost 100 on speedo in second gear and some goes beyond that in second gear. Esteem does round 120 on speedo in second. My octavia rs also does 120 in second gear and 170 in third. Indian Octavia RS' 0 to 100 time is 8.2 secs (iirc). But to manage that timing even once the driver needs to be expert, about doing it consistently is another matter. I managed 9.2 secs in vbox in my remapped Polo GT TDI after lot of tries and clutch abuse, decided to stop at what i got than to continue abuse the clutch.

Exactly my point. You don't have to have the skills of Gaurav Gill to get a good 0-100 time in these cars. 10.5 seconds in 4th gen ivtech is almost too easy, sub 10 seconds will take some skill.

[Sankar]

Innova Crysta's drive train is beefed up in comparison to the previous Innova. Looks like it has more in common with the old/current Fortuner (no idea about new) than the old Innova.

Rear axle housing old Innova


Pic: Google image search.

Rear axle housing old Fortuner


Pic: Google image search.

Rear axle housing Innova Crysta

Pic: My Crysta having a underbody coat.

Looks very similar to Fortuner's. With more metal around differential housing and axle tubes. Differential drain and fill ports also match with Fortuner's.

[samabhi]

Was returning back from Hyd on 14th night and encountered a deep pothole on Bangalore ORR. It was just at the exit of Kalyan Nagar underpass with no lighting at all. Even though I was doing low speeds, I couldn't avoid it as I noticed it at the last minute and both the passenger side front and rear tyres went over it. Immediately noticed the vehicle was pulling to the left and stopped by the side. Both the tyres have gone flat as there is a small cut on the side walls.

Called up Toyota 24×7 and they arranged a tow vehicle. Got the vehicle towed to the nearest Toyota service center and left it there. Went yesterday to check it and they said it's a damage to the Tyre as it took a hit when it landed into the pothole. I wasn't sure of that as it's a common thing on Bangalore roads to encounter POTHOLES every day. It appears that the alloys took a hit too and they will be checking if that needs replacement which I don't think is needed. Started the insurance claim just in case the alloys have to be changed as well. A single tyre is costing about 6.4k plus taxes.







Any expert opinions on this? What I encountered is very common on Bangalore roads. So I am of the opinion that it shouldn't happen at all. Fortunately there was no accident and more over it happened in the city limits. Was a scary incident with the whole family stranded on the road in the middle of the night.

Other than that incident, it was an absolute joy to drive the Crysta over the entire trip of 1700 Kms. A true highway cruiser that can seat the whole family in total comfort. Had super fun on Hyderabad ORR roads.

[pratiksinhal]

I took delivery of my Crysta Zx At 2.8. Love the way it drives. Just concerned about the projector head lights as in the highway on low beam they seem to be inadequate . Has anyone else also faced this or I am just being too sceptical.
The interior is a major step up. From old to the new Innova it feels like upgrade from economy to business class. 😊

[SpoiledBratt]

Congratulations Pratik on your new acquisition! Could you please share the cost breakdown? And does it come with LED headlamps?

[amalji]

Originally Posted by samabhi

Was returning back from Hyd on 14th night and encountered a deep pothole on Bangalore ORR. It was just at the exit of Kalyan Nagar underpass with no lighting at all. Even though I was doing low speeds, I couldn't avoid it as I noticed it at the last minute and both the passenger side front and rear tyres went over it. Immediately noticed the vehicle was pulling to the left and stopped by the side. Both the tyres have gone flat as there is a small cut on the side walls.

I also had a dejavu moment on my Etios around 4 years back. 2 tyres ( Left front & rear ) sidewall got torn and one Alloy had a tiny crack. Got everything replaced under insurance. I would recommend that you don't take a chance with the alloys and get it replaced now. Anyway, you won't end up spending more as you have claimed the zero dep inssurance.

More info on my incident here

Originally Posted by samabhi

Any expert opinions on this? What I encountered is very common on Bangalore roads. So I am of the opinion that it shouldn't happen at all. Fortunately there was no accident and more over it happened in the city limits. Was a scary incident with the whole family stranded on the road in the middle of the night.

It depends on the way you fall into the pothole and the sidewall strength of the tyres ( mine was Goodyears which has a horrible reputation for sidewall strength ). If you hear your alloys getting hit, you are probably in trouble because that could probably mean that the hard surface rubbed against the sidewall all the way till the alloys. In my close to 3 lakh kms driving experience, this has happened to me twice.

First time, both the tyres went kaput along with one alloy.
2nd time, one tyre went bad.

So, it's a rare thing. But, when it happens, it can spoil your day because if you are going in a straight line, there's a very high probability that both the front and rear tyres can get damaged.

[sridhu]

Originally Posted by samabhi

Was returning back from Hyd on 14th night and encountered a deep pothole on Bangalore ORR. It was just at the exit of Kalyan Nagar underpass with no lighting at all. Even though I was doing low speeds, I couldn't avoid it as I noticed it at the last minute and both the passenger side front and rear tyres went over it. ... A single tyre is costing about 6.4k plus taxes.

This happened to me in my old Innova within a month of my buying it. WHile it was my 'fault', the dealership extended a courtesy discount and gave the new tyre at about 50% off.

If they dont, you are probably better off exercising your insurance & replacing the alloy wheels as well.

[pratiksinhal]

Originally Posted by SpoiledBratt

Congratulations Pratik on your new acquisition! Could you please share the cost breakdown? And does it come with LED headlamps?

Ex-showroom : 2131295
Road tax : 125311
Insurance : 86598
True warranty : 15525
Tcs 1% : 21313
Accessories : 16512
Total : 2396554