[silverknight]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

So with the choice of vehicle and variant decided, i approached the local dealership. They wanted INR 1 lac as non-refundable booking deposit and delivery only after 4-5 months. This sounded unreasonable, so contacted the dealership in Chandigarh, with the assumption that more people will be opting for the petrol variant there. The Chandigarh dealer sales team response was even more incredulous. INR 5 lacs non-refundable booking amount and a delivery timeline of 6-7 months! Its not like I am buying a Land Cruiser here!
.

I had similar experience, after waiting 3 months and paying INR5lacs as booking amount the delivery was delayed by another 2-3 months so cancelled the booking. I am waiting now for xuv700 and Jeep 7 seater so another year before I buy a new car.

[vsrikkanth]

Originally Posted by silverknight

I had similar experience, after waiting 3 months and paying INR5lacs as booking amount the delivery was delayed by another 2-3 months so cancelled the booking. I am waiting now for xuv700 and Jeep 7 seater so another year before I buy a new car.

Heartening to see someone who can stand up to Toyota's attitude of "do anything with this perception of bullet proof reliability".

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

So with the choice of vehicle and variant decided, i approached the local dealership. They wanted INR 1 lac as non-refundable booking deposit and delivery only after 4-5 months. This sounded unreasonable,.

Try dealerships in Delhi and Gurgaon, usually MGF Gurgaon will always have in stocks. Though recently supplies are restricted.

Your location seems to be Jallandhar, have you tried at Ludhiana? The new dealership who bought the old Chadha is doing good and I can get you connected with someone who might help.

[kamilharis]

Well, I can comment on your reliability concerns. I can still see very old Kia Carnivals doing rounds here(abroad) with lakhs of kilometers on ODO. Yes, all those Carnivals sold here are petrol variants but I don't think their diesel engine has got any issues either.

But things might be a bit different for KIA India as Carnival is a luxury segment product for them and even the service centers won't be 'well familiar' with the car. Future parts availability will be another big question for Carnival as the model has already been discontinued internationally. Overall the Innova seems like a better option for you, in this case.

Maybe if you'd like, you can try the new Fortuner for a change if budget permits.

[TrackDay]

Originally Posted by silverknight

I had similar experience, after waiting 3 months and paying INR5lacs as booking amount the delivery was delayed by another 2-3 months so cancelled the booking. I am waiting now for xuv700 and Jeep 7 seater so another year before I buy a new car.

Sorry if I missed it, but was the booking amount refunded ? Asking since I read in another post that the booking amount is non-refundable.

[niruvrs9669]

Nice thread. In a similar situation to pick a family cruiser. Ground clearance is hardly a factor for City/Highway runs.

KIA Carnival looks tempting - size, luxury spec and comfort for business class travel. I think Carnival's VFM pricing & it's (almost) immediate availability when compared to Innova Crysta is also helping Carnival's sales.

The waiting period for Innova Crysta is more than 3-4 months from what I heard and their centralized sales response is average due to the kind of demand (or) lack of supply during this pandemic.

I would base my purchase decision between these two: "Carnival available for immediate travel needs" vs "Toyota Crysta's long term reliability".

Who knows after the 3rd wave which of these two factors become more important !

[silverknight]

Originally Posted by TrackDay

Sorry if I missed it, but was the booking amount refunded ? Asking since I read in another post that the booking amount is non-refundable.

Yes it was refunded. It is non refundable but they were not able to deliver the car after the waiting period. So they gave option to refund or wait for another 2-3 months.

[vivekshukla]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

The carnival has low ground clearance, with huge overhangs and long wheelbase.
Its fine for use on normal roads.
However, on rural roads, you will risk scraping the front or the belly.

I am on a long road trip in the Carnival and have already covered 3500 kms., sometimes with 7 people with luggage and also on rural areas. The car is yet to scrape even once. In fact, it's very pliant on even narrow roads.

[rrsteer]

UPDATE: Have booked the Kia Carnival base variant!

It was bit of a sudden u-turn for us. So I had convinced myself and family to buy the Crysta. At first Crysta VX Petrol seemed to be the right choice for us. But every single person I talked to across 4 dealerships, asked me not to buy the petrol variant. No shortcoming with the product, just that there is no demand for it. A reasonable doubt got planted in my head, so decided to buy the diesel Crysta instead. I wanted to test drive the AT before making a decision. As luck would have it we visited the Toyota showroom twice, but on each occasion failed to get a test drive. Once we got a bit late, and on another occasion my kid tagged along and she felt feverish, so had to cut short our visit to the showroom.

And here comes the twist in the tale. To get to home from the Toyota dealer, I have to drive past the Kia dealership. And each time we did that, there would be a collective sigh, expressing a desire to buy the Carnival. Finally, we decided to give it another chance. This time my wife took a longish test drive taking it through some rural roads that we frequent. While my confidence in the car soared, my wife was completely bowled over. By then we had almost made up our mind to buy the Carnival. What sealed the deal was Toyota raising the prices of the Crysta by more than 50k from August and the Kia dealership valuing our Innova by almost 70k more than the Toyota dealer. In the end, compared to Crysta VX, the Carnival Premium variant was cheaper to buy by over Rs 1 lakh! Since I will be paying the amount in full, managed to sweeten the deal a bit more by securing an accessory kit worth Rs 15k.

Have booked the Carnival in silver, and expect the delivery by the end of this month.

Finally, thank you everyone for your sound advice. Even though I didn't go with the majority vote, right till the end (which was yesterday) I was convinced Crysta was the right choice. So thanks again and see you all in the ownership thread soon!

[niruvrs9669]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

UPDATE: Have booked the Kia Carnival base variant!

Thanks for posting this update. Price drop of Carnival definitely makes it bit more interesting.

I booked a Silver Crysta 2.4 ZX a day before price hike! Coming back from a 5 days self drive rental of Crysta 2.7zx at Goa. The captain seats in the 2nd row were not very comfortable in the twists and start stop traffic as reported by the occupants.

Actually I had not bothered to test drive Carnival due to Toyota’s long term reliability and the price difference then. Now I’m thinking if I should get a Carnival test drive.

[TorqMaster]

Excellent Choice. You will not regret it . May God bless you with a trouble-free ownership.

What all does the base model offer and what does it miss when compared to Crysta ZX?

[vsrikkanth]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

UPDATE: Have booked the Kia Carnival base variant!

It was bit of a sudden u-turn for us. So I had convinced myself and family to buy the Crysta. At first Crysta VX Petrol seemed to be the right choice for us. But every single person I talked to across 4 dealerships, asked me not to buy the petrol variant. No shortcoming with the product, just that there is no demand for it. A reasonable doubt got planted in my head, so decided to buy the diesel Crysta instead. I wanted to test drive the AT before making a decision. As luck would have it we visited the Toyota showroom twice, but on each occasion failed to get a test drive. Once we got a bit late, and on another occasion my kid tagged along and she felt feverish, so had to cut short our visit to the showroom.

And here comes the twist in the tale. To get to home from the Toyota dealer, I have to drive past the Kia dealership. And each time we did that, there would be a collective sigh, expressing a desire to buy the Carnival. Finally, we decided to give it another chance. This time my wife took a longish test drive taking it through some rural roads that we frequent. While my confidence in the car soared, my wife was completely bowled over. By then we had almost made up our mind to buy the Carnival. What sealed the deal was Toyota raising the prices of the Crysta by more than 50k from August and the Kia dealership valuing our Innova by almost 70k more than the Toyota dealer. In the end, compared to Crysta VX, the Carnival Premium variant was cheaper to buy by over Rs 1 lakh! Since I will be paying the amount in full, managed to sweeten the deal a bit more by securing an accessory kit worth Rs 15k.

Have booked the Carnival in silver, and expect the delivery by the end of this month.

Finally, thank you everyone for your sound advice. Even though I didn't go with the majority vote, right till the end (which was yesterday) I was convinced Crysta was the right choice. So thanks again and see you all in the ownership thread soon!

Great decision.

Also, I wanted to share that my 4th paid service at 20k kms was completed yesterday at a cost of 7,988 rs. Just routine expenses like engine oil change, oil filter change, ac filter change e.t.c.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by niruvrs9669

The captain seats in the 2nd row were not very comfortable in the twists and start stop traffic as reported by the occupants.

Actually my first impression was that Carnival's back seat wasn't as comfortable as Innova's. Compared to Innova I felt it lacked thigh support and the cushioning was too soft. But my wife disagreed and felt the Carnival had better seats. Of course, there is no match between them in terms of leg room and shoulder room.

Originally Posted by TorqMaster

What all does the base model offer and what does it miss when compared to Crysta ZX?

The biggest difference is in the number of air bags offered (7 in Crysta Vs 2 in Carnival) and the absence of electronic stability control in Carnival.

[careind]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

UPDATE: Have booked the Kia Carnival base variant!

Great to hear that! I am also planning to buy the carnival but deferring as the 4th gen is supposed to be here by March. How did that play into your equation?

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by careind

Great to hear that! I am also planning to buy the carnival but deferring as the 4th gen is supposed to be here by March. How did that play into your equation?

The current price (including the discount on offer) was the defining factor for me. I got the Carnival (base variant) for about INR 24 lacs on road, including the 5 year unlimited kms warranty. I don't think I would get such a deal on the new Carnival. In addition, I don't like the 4th gen's looks. Finally, I think they may just not launch the 4th gen here. Don't you think the Carnival's sales numbers are too low for Kia to think about doing it?