[ashis89]

Since you are fixated on the Innova, how about a getting a pre-worshipped top-end Innova, a year or two old and with low running? You can look around for the Zx models. It should be within your budget and better loaded than the base Gx Crysta.

Second idea. Will you driving the whole 2500kms with 6 people on board? If no, then continue driving the Ecosport daily and get a petrol Ertiga/Mobilio (even an used one) for the occasional family trips. You can even replace the Ecosport with an XUV and hire an Innova for the those long outstation trips with heavy luggage.

Do wait for the Hexa as it seems promising. If they offer long standard and extended warranty then you might even put your money in it.

[forester]

I think this time, you would just have to be content with the base variant only! The Crysta is the most likeable candidate here. A complete package with a durable engine, acres of space & solid safety with 3 airbags coming standard. Your monthly running is also quite substantial, for which the Innova already has enough credentials to its name.

Stretching out even for the base variant makes all the sense in this case and later on, get all the other required bells and whistles in a phase-wise manner from the aftermarket.

And when you would want to sell it away, it will just go in the blink of an eye. Let the mighty 'T' badge keep doing all the work in the background, while you create happy memories with your family in it.

[vamsi2390]

Voted for Honda BR-V as its quite spacious and comes with the ivtec provided you are alright with a petrol. If it is diesel that you might want due to your long monthly runnings, probably the XUV or the Crysta depending on the budget. If i were you i might pick the XUV for its butch looks. Crysta is too van like for my taste. (well, i am contradicting myself. Arent I? So is BRV, but atleast the front of it looks CRV like)

Lodgy feels a segment below somehow.

[nishsingh]

Originally Posted by autofreak

Prelude

- Safety cannot be stressed more

If you are really serious about this, why are we even having this discussion? Innova Crysta is your only option.

N.B. I am in a similar position to yours (minus the incoming twins part), and I am saving up for the top-end Crysta with 7 airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat mounts, vehicle stability control (VSC) and hill assist control (HSC). I don't think any other vehicle priced below the Innova Crysta is going to be offering these safety options anytime soon.

[pramodpk]

Voted for the Toyota Innova Cysta. I would suggest to keep the car longer in order to justify the higher purchase price. Also, Innova will fetch a higher resale value.

Scorpio/Xylo out of the list due to safety issues.

XUV out due to reliability issues. Especially electronics in the higher variant

Lodgy - Van like. No resale value

BRV- Would not look like an upgrade from Ecosport. Also, diesel is unrefined.

[imp!]

Congratulations on the twins dude.

I'd buy the best Crysta I could afford if I were you. Reasons being

1) You may like to Keep your cars for 5 years, Truth be told, you'll need a people mover to replace whichever people mover you buy now. You'll find that only a Crysta will/can replace a Crysta --> This coming from someone who completely dislikes Toyota but respects their products; You'll probably end up keeping the Crysta as a Second or even Third car. Our Qualis has close to 4 lakh KMs on it and we continue finding uses for it in our factory. Our Innova has 1.7 Lakh KMs on it, it will probably go from our possession to the scrap yard.

2) All of your other options are not true seven seaters but 5+2. They are all without doubt not as safe as the Innova

3) There are no 7 seaters in your budget that are being launched that can compete with the Innova

4) None of your other options are as practical as the Crysta given the size of your family.

Finally, its going to be cheap to run and maintain. It will take any and all abuses your kids are going to throw at it for the next decade without looking like its been through a blender. You will also be able to hawk it at a great re-sale price if you are so inclined.

[aptiwa]

Congratulations on the twins on their way. With your family setup, you are practically looking at a seating arrangement of 2+2+3 in such a car. Let me explain why.

I have twins myself (now 4+) and you will always need to carry so much of their stuff that needs to be readily accessible when you stop the car. Also, with the twins, you have to have them in car seats ALL the time. Not sure if all 3 kids will fit in the middle row. I have 2 car seats and only a very slim adult can fit in the middle. So your middle row will only have the twins + ALL their luggage. And the toddler and 2 adults will need to fit in the last row.

So, BR-V is absolutely off limits for you. It is strictly a 2+2+2.

Both Innova and Lodgy are good for your needs since the last row is actually usable and 3 people can fit. Since depreciation is a concern, you know you have to buy the Innova. Though you can get lots of discounts on the Lodgy to cover for any depreciation. You can even go for the 7 seater versions to allow the last row passengers ease of getting in & out with the car seats fixed in the middle row.

Have you given thought to the Safari Storme? With small kids, ride quality is very important and there are very few that can match the Safari's comfort. It also comes with the drool-worthy Harman ICE arrangement and looks way-better than either Innova or Lodgy.

[STraiTDriVE]

Certainly Crysta becomes the obvious choice ticking almost all the boxes but with premium price tag attached to it. Ertiga missing in this link is most eligible value for money, if at all you are ready to comprise a bit in the third row. If resale has to be considered both UV’s will give more or less a similar return on value % after 5 years.
XUV 500 should be the next best choice but would even draw attention to Safari Storme as it’s not that bad an option either considering the comfort it gives in the 2nd row for 3 healthy adults without shoulders getting rubbed.

[samabhi]

Originally Posted by autofreak

Prelude


What I like
+ Solid drivetrain
+Safety uncompromised even on base variant
+Magic ride quality
+ Expected stellar reliability
+Proper 7 seater
+Fuss free service support
+Supposedly less depreciating

What I dislike (Not much)
- Base variant doesn’t make you plonk 18 big ones
- Too big a car for the self driven me
- FE figures compared to BRV & Lodgy

I am pretty much on the same boat as you and I am more tilted towards the Innova Crysta GX variant. And as you, the GX Variant itself is a little stretch for me and I am willing to take that risk mainly for what it offers.

One of the main reasons, I liked Innova Crysta over BR-V is for the build quality and also the three point seat belts provided for the middle passengers in 2nd and 3rd rows. Airbags and ABS are common in both the cars. I will miss the Projector Lamps in Innova and also one thing I hated the most in GX variant are the AC Control knobs. They are too crude to be present in a 18L car. As for the infotainment system and the reverse camera, they can be added from the Toyota Genuine Accessories itself.

And regarding the size, its not that big to drive around in the city. The clutch is super light and I could easily take it around into the narrow roads.

Overall if I see, Innova Crysta is a great car and its worth to stretch that little bit to get it. And couple of lakhs interms of EMI is nothing, if you are going for finance options.

[noopster]

A good friend has triplets and he swears that the Innova is the *only* car that suits their unique requirements! I think the Crysta is your best bet here. Though I am a little wary of the GX trim, surely VX is a much better option, even if you pay a lakh or two more up-front?

I quite liked the Lodgy Stepway when I saw it on the road and think it matches the Crysta in space, at a much better price point. But you will lose the peace of mind associated with Toyota. Renault service is a bit of hit or miss, especially for the not-so-hot products in their portfolio.

XUV500 is a seven-seater but keep in mind that you can barely squeeze in much luggage there if you load it to capacity. It's a nice car, though, and I would certainly at least retain it in the shortlist.

B-RV is a completely new entity and space-wise may not be the best bet.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by imp!

They are all without doubt not as safe as the Innova

The BR-V is actually safer for the adult occupant than the Innova Crysta, even though the difference is marginal.
BR-V
Innova Crysta

I've also heard very good opinion about Lodgy from couple of my friends who own them. Product wise, I think Renault is hard to beat. But agree on the after sales and service part; can be a hit or miss. Also, I see some people comment about XUV and niggles in electronics. I own a W8 AWD for 2+ years now and the only niggle I faced till now is a broken puddle lamp clamp. And in this 2 years of ownership, I've spent ~Rs.3000 for the service. But my friend had not been very lucky, but the front left suspension and clutch plate were replaced free of cost.
My apartment mate's Liva had a broken timing chain within 6 months of ownership. My point is that a Mahindra does not inherently mean niggles or a Toyota does not mean supreme reliability. But I agree that the law of averages still holds good in this case.

[ashishmathur14]

Toyota Innova Crysta... Without a doubt!!

Top Reasons:
- Established reliability of earlier Innova
- Most comfortable among all listed, most preferred by all top execs for comfort.
- Smoother ingress/egress, with two infants, you need that flexibility.
- Fuss free ownership of Toyota
- 2500 kms per month, means good driving comfort.
- Better utilized last row as compared to all other listed.
- Good re-sale
- Low maintenance

Choice 2 – XUV 500 W8
- Stylish
- Powerful
- Ingress/Egress bit high, could be difficult with infants
- Mahindra’s sluggish service centers
- Known niggling issues
- Solid build and heavy feel like EcoSport


Honda BR-V is not worth a shot as it looks more like if Honda is trying to sell the unsold Mobilio with a more padding. Does not appeal to me as a 7 Seater comfortable SUV.

Renault Lodgy , as many mentioned would soon be taken back to the stable owing to poor sales and response. Moreover, It doesn’t even look classy, cannot compete with likes of Mahindra or Toyota in service.

With the conditions you have mentioned, I would pick Innova Crysta.

But since, you have it for the top variants, you can also check out Fortuner or Endeavour , Their lower variants are also equipped with all features and would cost you a little more to the top variant of Crysta (I Assume).
With Endeavour/Fortuner, The variants differs between AWD/AT and not much on features inside or related to safety.

[GTO]

I'd bring it down to either the XUV500 or Innova Crysta. Can't go wrong with either.

The XUV500 has now matured and whatever mechanical niggles were there, they have all been solved. This SUV will give you a lot more bang for the buck than the Innova Crysta. The loaded W8 variant will cost you as much as the Innova Crysta's basic GX trim.

Originally Posted by nishsingh

I am in a similar position to yours (minus the incoming twins part), and I am saving up for the top-end Crysta with 7 airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat mounts, vehicle stability control (VSC) and hill assist control (HSC).

Just wanted to add that ISOFIX child seat mounts, 3 airbags, ABS and reverse parking sensors are standard on the Innova Crysta, even the base variant .

[1.2TSI7DSG]

@ Autofreak

I would go for the Crysta hands down if its in my budget.

Reasons
Super Comfort for the passengers & Long term reliability

With 2 infants, a kid & mom & dad, i will give preference to the most reliable vehicle available in my budget.

[ajay_satpute]

I would say XUV-5OO out of the given choice. Its an established product and most of the issues are ironed out now. The new gen XUV looks fab and has all the features one need or expects in million+ rupees car.

Crysta no doubt is a brilliant product, at least seemingly, but it's priced ridiculously. The top-end Innova is close to ~26 lakhs on-road. I cannot believe this pricing strategy. I understand new engine, new looks, better features, and all, but I think Toyota is asking for too much now.