![]() | #16 | ||
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Bangalore
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I dont recommend Safari for the issues and poor resale, and with Merlin around. Merlin should have lot of stuff improved, hopefully! Aria seems to be good, and no issues reported yet, but even the 4x2 variant is priced higher than Innova GX. The only issue is the third row is not good. Feels like you are in a box, and is cramped. Need to be an acrobat to get into the third row. If you have budget constraints, go for Innova G with A/c retrofit. It should be perfectly fine. Quote:
![]() Or, wait for Merlin, but no one knows when it is coming. Its been coming & coming for several months now. ![]() Last edited by GTO : 9th September 2011 at 19:54. Reason: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another! | ||
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![]() | #17 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune
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| ![]() Thanks for the great perspectives on the Innova Samm! Your analysis of Innova vs Xylo is spot on with regard to the people vs luggage conundrum - leave alone the other aspects of interiors and ride etc. With regard to SUV vs MUV, all I can say is somewhere sometime each one of us has to pay the price for being a family man .... That we pay it gladly does not necessarily mean we have to like doing it ![]() The Merlin is supposed to be priced between the Safari and the Aria. The cheapest Safari LX is 9.5 L OTR. The cheapest Aria Pleasure 4x2 is 13.5 L OTR. That's is a difference of 4 L - so the Merlin should probably slot in at 11.5 L OTR. All well and good so far. But when is the car coming???!!!!!!! That of course still leaves the little problem of Tata reliability/quality/niggles and the lack of the front facing 3rd row, but as mentioned before, that is a bridge I am mentally (and financially) willing to cross when and if I come to it. |
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![]() | #18 | |
BHPian ![]() | ![]() Quote:
It is a kind of a car where you cannot go wrong. Toyota has a great after sales back up and upto 1.5 lakh Kms on the odo you will have absolutely no problems. If you can wait you can also wait for the new Innova. | |
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![]() | #19 | |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Delhi
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After a happy 80k kms I can confidently tell you there is still not a single rattle. The car gives me a decent FE of 11 in Delhi traffic with 100% ac. Highways I get around 14 kmpl. I have not spend a single extra penny on it since the date of purchase apart from the servicing. Servicing is also a paltry 4k at 5k kms and then 1k at next 5k kms. This keeps alternating so basically you spend around 5k for every 10,000 kms you drive. Thats Cheap! And if you go to an outside garage it might be even cheaper. I did get an additional AC vent fixed at the back. Its similar to the pictures been already posted on the forum. I don't remember the exact cost but it was around 10-15k. I had got it done from outside and it helps in chilling the car a lot. I will recommend you to go for it incase you travel with more then 2 people often. All in all this is a true workhorse. I would really recommend you to go ahead and buy this. And if you can increase your budget you should go for the V model. If not get the G and some modifications like a good ICE and all will ensure that it keeps you happy for a long long time. Hope this helped. Regards, mohit | |
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![]() | #20 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune
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| ![]() Thanks Gautam. When is the new Innova due and what are the expected changes? Thanks Mohit for the wonderful testimony to Toyota's reliability and quality. No doubt the choice and final consideration set for any buyer looking for moving more than 5 people at a time will always have Innova as one of the top contenders. If only they could make it slightly more off-road worthy (16" wheels, more GC), improve its looks to something a little more masculine, and give the aging motor a small shot of steroids - we would have the complete no-brainer package! ![]() |
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![]() | #21 | |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 200
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![]() But then, nothing in the world is perfect, and Toyota doesnt seem to be in any mood to do that, either. The new Innova (whenever it comes! maybe by mid 2012) is expected to have a better motor, but the center console going back in time. Looks are only slightly different (I cant say better) from the current breed. Not worth waiting for that, in my opinion. Probably others might have better and more reliable information, and I think there is another thread on the new Innova (2012). | |
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![]() | #22 | |
BANNED Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bangalore
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That Innova which can go off-road, has bigger wheels, looks masculine, and the same motor on steroids is called the Fortuner. ![]() | |
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![]() | #23 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Bangalore
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![]() | #24 |
BHPian ![]() | ![]() The exact dates are not yet known but it is at least 4 to 5 months away as Innova has recently announced a Special Edition. IMO the changes would be towards a more refined Interior and minor tweaks here and there. Here is a link to the 2012 Innova thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ationally.html |
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![]() | #25 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai
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| ![]() For this budget, somehow I will recommend you the xylo. The innova will be too bare basic for a family use. Moreover, absence of rear AC vents is a big NO-NO for such a huge vehicle. |
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![]() | #26 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune
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| ![]() Thanks guys for your thoughts. Devdath/Samm, good ones both of you! Raj, everything else put aside for the Xylo, someone rightly said that the internal set-up is such that it is either a 5 seater with luggage or a 7 seater without luggage. That is a much bigger no-no (with no easy woraround, barring an external luggage rack) than a rear AC which can be retro-fitted, don't you think? Can't wait 4-6 months. Max till the end of this month and see if Tatas do something by then ..... otherwise it will be the Innova. Why does no one speak of the new Force One in the same breath while doing these comparos? |
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![]() | #27 | |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai
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Also, I am against retro fitting the roof mounted AC in innova. I have seen one such example. The work done was neat but the console looked cheap & clearly aftermarket. Also, it has 4 vents in the middle row & no vents in the last row. | |
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![]() | #28 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune
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| ![]() No the Innova is far more versatile in usage of internal space. The positioning of the three rows of seats relative to each other, means that there is optimal leg space for each row, and even though the 3rd row has slightly less than the Xylo, and the seat is slightly closer to the floor (so that tall guys have their knees slightly more bent than in the Xylo), the Innova actually can hold pretty decent amount of luggage behind the 3rd row. I have sat once in a cool cab Innova Pune-Mumbai (captain seat middle row), there were 7 of us (including driver), and most of the baggage fitted behind the 3rd row, with some in the space between the two mid row captain seats as well. Again, in the Xylo, there is zero space between the two mid row captain seats with the arm rest put down. A teen can barely squeeze through, not an adult. So you have to til one of the captain seats. Now the captain seats in the Innova can tilt and slide. The ones in the Xylo are fixed and swivel on a point, with no front-back slide. So there is no scope of sliding either the mid or back rows forward to free up luggage space behind the 3rd row at all. If at all, one can only slide stuff under the Xylo seats, which would be difficult with large dimensioned bags with semi-rigid frames. The Xylo 3rd row bench backrest can only fold on itself as a single unit, while that of the Innova has a 50:50 split, which offers you the non all-or-nothing choice of seating one (or two) in the 3rd row, and folding the other half away to free up even more luggage space. Another surprising thing (which i have checked personally sitting in each 3rd row) is that the more comfortable leg space in the Xylo comes at the cost of head space. That may be surprising given the taller stance of the Xylo, but there was more empty space over my head in the Innova than in the Xylo (albeit not significantly). That fact though becomes slightly painfully evident on bad/broken surfaces with the back end of the Xylo pitching and jumping more than the sedate Innova - causing me to bump my head on to the roof (cushioned of course!) a couple of times in the Xylo. |
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![]() | #29 |
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Pune
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| ![]() I fail to understand why people willing to spend 11lacs on a car can even think about skimping on Safety equipment (like ABS)(which will eventually aid in saving lives of YOUR 'loved' ones). My $0.02: Pick the ABS + Airbag variant of the Xylo for your current budget, if you want an Innova instead, please increase your budget and go for the variant with ABS AT LEAST! I have not driven the Innova any more than 500km on dual-carriageway. But believe me, my bike (Pulsar 220) inspires much more confidence while braking from 100 than an Innova. Going anywhere above 110 felt like I was about to suicide. And this is on roads on which I was consistently doing 130-140(on the bike) like a day before. Any Innova owners who feel safe while braking from 120, please refrain from going up to those speeds, it is certainly not safe. More so without ABS. |
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![]() | #30 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai
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| ![]() I was coming to this. Buddy, please do not buy the innova without ABS. There will be many who will tell you that ABS is not necessary and innova's brakes are good enough, but please understand its a big vehicle with skinny and small tires. I have myself experienced that an innova without ABS is a death trap. I learnt the hard way. The car just skids as if its on ice. On the other hand, ABS makes a lot of difference in the V variant. So if you have decided on the innova, please opt for the top end. Safety comes first. |
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