Me and my dad had been really huge fans of the Innova. It was our official highway taxi. Other vehicles were left to bite the dust by us. My dad would have bought it a long time ago provided it had an automatic transmission. Sadly, that was not the case. For a long time, we kept hearing about the new Innova Crysta which was going to be launched in India and was going to replace the old one. We got to know that the new Innova was going to have an automatic transmission. This made us overjoyed and really curious for about two months!
If I'm not wrong, the Innova Crysta was launched on 3rd may 2016. I was at my grandparents' place at that time as it was summer time. On knowing this, my adrenaline levels went really high. I used to ask my dad everyday to check it out, but he used to say that he wouldn't check it out without me! I remember, when he finally came to my grandparents' place to pick me up as summer was coming to an end, he promised me that we would go. However, things turned out to be such that we didn't have time to check it out. This made me so depressed that I didn't even talk to him! Kiddish, right? Well, I'm known to act like a kid, so that's nothing new.
However, my dad didn't really want to give up. Both of us somehow managed to get time to check it out. As soon as we walked into the showroom (Annamalais Toyota, Coimbatore) and did the test drive, we realized that this was the car for which we had been waiting for 2 long years! It fulfilled all our requirements. Safety kit, Automatic transmission, 8 seats-it had them all! Hurray!
We didn't want to book it at the first sight as we had to be one hundred percent sure that this car was suitable for us. However, on returning to Bangalore, my dad had left for the USA for two months! This meant that I had to wait for another two months or more before finally booking it! :Frustrati
Those two months felt like the longest wait ever in my life. When he finally returned, we did another 2-3 Test Drives and finally decided to book it!
Then came the question of which variant., I was so impressed by the ZX that I didn't care about the 8 seater requirement. ( Though I am stubborn, there are some exceptions) Hence, like many others, I was in for the ZX AT. However, my dad was in for the GX AT! As we were looking for an 8 seater, the GX was our only option. This made me feel that a VX AT 8 STR makes a lot more sense than a GX AT 8 STR! What was Toyota thinking? As there was a difference of opinion, me and my dad started debating on the question of which variant. However, all my points of argument were contradicted very well by my dad. Let me put it in the form of a conversation:
(on the phone)
Me: dad, which variant should we book? (expecting the answer to be the ZX)
Dad: I have decided to book the GX AT.
Me: (shocked) What?? Why??
Dad: I feel that it's best suited for all our needs. It has bench seats which the ZX doesn't have. Also, the ZX is 27L OTR which is way beyond our budget.
Me: but, but, It has the automatic AC!! We've never had it before!
Dad: Automatic AC or a Manual AC doesn't really matter to me. I just want an AC which can cool the car.
Me:(speechless for a while) But, but, it also has leather seats which are good looking!!
Dad: Leather seats aren't suitable for Indian Conditions. It has the property to absorb heat.
(I had to agree on this. We already suffered a lot with the leather seats in our Honda city)
Me: What about the smart key system?
Dad: Mechanics are always better than electronics. (He knew this from past experiences. Also,as I read in BHPian
Sridhu sir's posts about the flaws in the smart key system, I decided to give up that argument)
Me: Now, what about the 7 airbags?
Dad: If I ever were to buy the ZX, that's the only reason for which I'll buy it.
(No more arguments)
Well, my dad isn't going to be swayed away by one positive point. Hence, it was going to be the GX AT for sure.
Booking
Booking was tried through two dealers - Ravindu Toyota and Nandi Toyota. I don't know why, but Ravindu Toyota didn't seem to care about us. They delayed the test drives by almost a week and also didn't come to us for the booking on the date promised! Never expected that from Toyota! Compared to Ravindu, Nandi Toyota was way better. They kept calling us asking us as to when we wanted the booking to be done. Also, they came to us for the booking on the exact date! All the paperwork was carried out smoothly and the booking was done. The total booking amount was a whooping one lakh!
The next decision was the colour. My dad said that the colour will be decided by me and my junior! I was really fascinated by the Bronze colour. However, my junior liked the silver. So, as there was a difference of opinion, we decided to head to the showroom and check out the colours in person and then decide. Things turned out to be on my side as there was only the bronze colour on display. Also, my mom was of the opinion that since we already had a silver coloured our Honda city, we should go for another colour and hence, the bronze. As there were two against one, the final colour was decided as the bronze! Hurray!
The next thing was the ICE. As many of you might be knowing,
the Innova Crysta GX variant does't get an ICE. I don't understand why is it so. I couldn't expect that from Toyota! We decided to go for the JVC music system. The model was the V520 BT. Don't expect it to be of the same quality as Tata's Harman systems or the the ones in German cars. It is average according to me. Like all official Team-BHP reviews, it will be covered in a separate post.
The most shocking part was that the
GX didn't come with a reverse camera!
It only has parking sensors. On such a huge vehicle, the reverse parking camera is a must. However, Toyota provides the reverse camera on the GX as an accessory. As it was a primary necessity, we opted for it. Other accessories opted by us were the rear bike protector (to protect the rear from rash bikers) and the wooden panel on the front (to make the interiors look better). The total cost of the accessories itself came to about 50,000 INR!
Delivery
The car was delivered on the day promised i.e, the 20th of September 2016. All formalities were carried out in a really efficient way and we were able to drive out of the showroom without any tension. We were really happy with the overall sales experience. We would give the overall sales experience rating a 9.5, which isn't a surprise as it is Toyota!:D
Posting pics from the delivery: