[PrideRed]

“An idle mind is devil’s workshop” -an old saying. The statement does not hold true for an auto enthusiast as the mind is always processing “what will be my next car" (Even after the very next day you buy a new car), and the devil stands no chance. As you move on with life, your priorities change, aspirations change and so does your wants. It is human(or rather auto maniac) nature not be content with what he/she has and even after possessing the best, we somehow manage to find a better one the very next day. Long story cut short- I wanted a new ride .

Decision to sell a car

Age of the car is one of the main factors for me to sell a car and when I sell a car, it has be either 3-4 years old or will keep it for 8-10 years or more and then sell. I have 4 cars in garage namely the gen 1 Innova, Ecosport, Kwid and Endeavour. With latter two being new, it was obvious that Innova or the Ecosport had to depart. While the Innova is 10 years YOUNG and getting stronger by the day, Ecosport is about to complete 4 years was also solid as rock. Despite being old, market vibes pointed out that Innova would fetch better price in used market. But the Innova is our workhorse, the bread winner and stands for peace of mind. Even now it is one of the cars I enjoy driving. No fancy electronics, no garish interiors and something that’s just been working the same from past 10 years. Ecosport on the other hand had its own positives, solid build, great to drive, almost untouchable belly and dirt cheap maintenance and also is backed by superb Ford A.S.S that would give Toyota A.S.S run for its money (at least in my case). Putting both through a weighing scale it was decided that selling the 4 year old Ecosport would be better option. But why? In just about months’ time the extended warranty for Ecosport was going to expire, needed 70K service, the stock tires had about 5-10K life and Insurance was up for renewal. That would easily cost me 60-70K. I love big cars, for their appearance, space on offer and the bigger engine’s they come with. Ecosport being the smaller among the both, clearly had couple of things going against it and I was convinced myself that it would be best to let go off the Ecosport than the Innova.

Lookout for an alternative

With my mind almost made up to sell the Ecosport, I decided to shortlist the options for replacement. With GST implementation speculated to reduce the SUV prices, I was sure to buy only after the price reduction and almost immediately. Why immediately? Our Govt policies are not trustworthy. It was sometime in June I officially started window shopping and with time in my hand, I was in no hurry. First up was looking out for possible new launches and first thing that came up to mind was Jeep Compass. None of the other new launches got me excited.

Priorities

1. Has to be an UV with GC to tackle the bad roads with ease. It’s been ages since I drove a belly (sc)rapper and in no mood to shift.
2. Powerful yet frugal. I don’t want a car that makes me think twice every time I plan for long drive. Decently fun to drive.
3. I am ok with one time investment but subsequent costs to maintain should be cheap.
4. Spacious and reliable. Should be able to carry good amount of luggage.
5. Good access to service center. I did not want to travel for hours in Bangalore traffic to get the car serviced (ex Skoda).
6. More safety kit and less of fancy features. I don’t need useless features like Voice control, ambient lighting, navigation (prefer G Maps any day) etc.
7. Bigger the better. I know it’s a pain in city, but I don’t intend to use the car much in B2B traffic.
After owning/driving cars one thing was clear, I wanted a car with strong fundamentals (READ: Engine, Suspension, mechanicals etc.). The fancy dashboard, expansive feature list get obsolete in no time and much faster than mechanical's. For example the Ecosport I had was supposedly feature rich 4 years ago, come 2018 it is almost bare bones. Similarly when you compare a GLA/X1 to say something of the likes of Tiguan/Tuscon, does not appear that feature rich. But the take Engine for that matter, the 100HP motor of Ecosport is still competent and segment best, so is X1's 2.0 diesel, despite being in market for about 5+ years.


After going through all the information available and with a budget of around 20lacs shortlisted below cars:

1. Jeep Compass
2. Tata Hexa
3. Mahindra XUV
4. Isuzu D-Max
5. Used BMW X1/Audi Q3
6. Toyota Innova Crysta

Jeep Compass

Note: The observations are purely based on online material as it was not yet launched during my evaluation.

Positives

1. Good looking
2. Powerful Engine
3. Nice interiors
4. Solid Build

Negatives

1. Compact dimensions
2. Not spacious.
3. Fiat A.S.S

Given the car appears good, I was ready to compromise A.S.S. But when I put it to comparison to Ecosport all I was getting was a bigger engine and slightly bigger boot for which I have to spend a minimum of 15 lacs more. Was not very convincing to me. The back isn’t that spacious as well.

Tata Hexa

Positives

1. Solid build
2. Superb Ride quality
3. XTA was loaded though I wanted just basic features with maximum safety.
4. VFM

Negatives

1. Ergonomics wasn’t that great
2. Stooping bonnet and Aria inspired design not to my taste.
3. Brand image
4. Resale value

This was a serious contender and even now had Tata plonked a different badge I would have given it a serious thought. Spending 20lacs on Tata that too on a product that is yet to establish itself in the market was not very convincing. I did not quite like the looks as well, which is very akin to Aria. The engine felt little lazy and did not excite me much.

Mahindra XUV

Positives

1. Responsive Engine
2. Decent ride quality
3. Loaded with features

Negatives

1. Rough edges everywhere.
2. Quite old, been in the market for quite long now.
3. Looks not to my taste
4. Nil boot space with third row.

While the engine felt peppy and silent, XUV did not impress me. Add to that it has been in market for quite a while now and my parking lot is flooded with XUV’s of all colors. If XUV, I was convinced to buy a used one as there were plenty available in the market and with huge depreciation.

Isuzu D-Max

Positives

1. Massive road presence.
2. Light clutch and easy to drive.
3. Responsive engine with 4x4 capabilities
4. Decently kitted for the price.

Negatives

1. Bouncy rear seats
2. Wafer thin A.S.S
3. Not practical for city use

I am a big fan of posh pickup, however D-Max did not live up to my expectation as an overall package. I might consider this to replace my other Innova if Isuzu opens more service centers. The service center is available only in Bangalore and that too is about good 1-2 hour drive from my home. Not having A.S.S in Mangalore was a big downer for me.

Used Audi Q3/BMW X1

I checked couple of Q3 , in fact was looking for a German in 20-30 lac space. There were quite a few options available, but the maintenance cost post purchase always kept bothering me. The X1 gen 1 is no more and did not want an outdated car. Also I wasn’t sure how reliable 3+ year old German car would be. Things did not look very convincing and dropped the plans

Innova Crysta

My Wife was very much interested on XUV, but after seeing it in flesh, she was like we are not getting this. Add to that the exchange price offered for my Ecosport was bad. Hexa story was different, we came out impressed and was sure this was the vehicle that we should buy. It was comfortable, had the features and could do a bit off-roading as well. We went to Nandi Toyota immediately after this and requested for test drive of Crysta. They had only 2.8 available. After climbing(yes, u don't walk in) the Crysta immediately after Hexa test drive, the Crysta felt so much better, and my wife was like forget Hexa, let’s get his. The 2.8 Z variant felt much more nimble than the hefty Hexa. Add to that the ergonomics felt much better. The engine felt a lot more powerful albeit with more noise which I was ready to live with. Next day I requested for a manual variant for test drive. Nandi Toyota promptly sent one the next day and oh boy! Did it surprise me? Switch on the power mode and floor the accelerator and you can hear the rear wheel screech in second gear. Clearly it was the most engaging one to drive barring the notchy gear shift. It did not take me much time to shortlist. Barring the side profile, the Crysta appeared more butch which also worked in its favor.

Selection of variant, color and dealer

VX came with same set of safety features as GX and I was clear that if I am spending more money on a variant, it has to have more safety gear. The ZX had it all but it was cool 6-7 lacs costlier than the GX and peeking at Endeavour/Fortuner territory. Time to decide between GX and VX. I have feature rich cars and frankly I don’t use many of them. The fancy ambient lighting, voice control, inbuilt navigation etc. and many more I have hardly used. I would rather prefer two additional airbags, ESP than these. The only feature that I would miss from V would be climate control and steering control but these would cost me about 3 lacs more. The sales adviser was honest here-“Sir you buy G or the Z, I can provide most of the V features on G if need arise including steering controls”. Next confusion which variant in G-7 or 8 seater? I was initially inclined towards 7 seater for the comfort it offers. But 8 seater was not far behind, as it comes with 1 bucket seat and longer seat felt good as well. Only thing that I missed was arm rest. Add to that 8 seater felt more practical when there are 5 people to travel. So it is GX 8 seater, but which color? To me white looks elegant on most cars and ages slowly. It’s easy to maintain and get re-painted. The silver offered was of darker shade and Garnet red was more of Maroon. I liked the black but dealer told me pay full money upfront and will have a waiting period of 2-3 months. Decided to go with my favorite-Super White. So finally decided that it would 2.4 GX 8 Seater in Super White color.

So did I book one? No way, it was still July and GST was yet to be implemented. Few days of silence, the SA was made to understand that I was not going to book/buy before price reduction which was evident. At this point I had not even selected which dealer and given that it was a lean period, I kept getting calls from all Toyota dealers in Bangalore. In the meantime put an ad to sell my Ecosport and man I was surprised by the demand that this vehicle has. Even now I keep getting calls if it’s available for sale. Come August and Innova prices were reduced by about a lac. I knew I had to make it fast because I was sure the Govt. would not tolerate the reduction in price. Started hunting for deals and Nandi Toyota Museum road emerged winner. They were responsive, prompt and knew how to pocket a probable customer.

The very next day the GST prices were announced Mr. Harsha from Nandi Toyota was at my office with price list and demo vehicle. While the others were still struggling to get the price details this guy was already here. I would like to mention the efforts put by this guy. While my Ecosport had good enquires, I had a price on my mind and was not willing to budge. The Toyota dealer tried almost all possible options and even tried through his friends to buy my Ecosport and was successful. The price offered was slightly less than my expectations but it will get rid of hassle of transfer. The drama is not over yet, just a day before booking Crysta, an individual buyer approached me and offered a price that I was expecting. It was a Saturday morning (sorry don’t remember the date though) and the dealer was up early and was calling me starting 9. At 9:30,at roughly same time the individual buyer comes and pays me token advance. I informed dealer and he happily accepted the change in deal without any fuss. I paid the booking amount for Innova 2.4GX 8 seater Super White. The car was already in the yard and did not have any waiting period as such. VIN number indicated that it was May 2017 manufactured vehicle. I was probably the first customer to book Innova from them after GST implementation. From booking to delivery of the vehicle it took about 8 days. The dealer also arranged for PDI by bringing the car to showroom(before I paid the full amount).

Delivery Experience
I had scheduled the delivery of my car in the evening. Previous evening I called up Toyota accessory department and I was told all accessory is in place barring the tweeter grille, which would be fit in the morning. On the delivery day got a confirmation that all fitment is done. Also got a confirmation from dealer that car is registered and have received all the documents. Wrapped up things a little early in office, me and wife took a cab to Museum road. SA went through all the documents, collected few signatures and all done. The SA handed me over 3 keys, a nice document holder, and key holder. Photo clicked, chocolates handed over and voila we are ready to roll. 5/5 for the delivery experience, highly recommend Nandi Toyota Museum road if you plan to get a Toyota.

What did it cost me?

P.S: the numbers are not very accurate.
I had 50% NCB on my current policy and mentioned dealer that I would like to avail the discount if at all I was to buy insurance from them. The dealer was open and perfectly fine with me taking insurance outside. Only downside- I won’t get cashless claims. I checked and compared both and after good bargain I decided to go with Toyota even though it costed 7-8K more.

Toyota offers multiple extended warranty options on Innova and I opted for 2 years/40K. So in total my car has warranty up to 5 years or 1.4lac (whichever earlier). The extended warranty cost me about 23K.
At the time of purchase the on road cost Innova 2.4GX 8 str was 18.5lacs. I was offered 15K corporate cash discount and 5K accessory. I bought some accessories (which I have listed below) from the dealer and final OTR came to 19.2x. Had I bought the vehicle 1.5 months later, would have costed me at least a lac more, thanks to the cess hike by our trustworthy Indian Govt. As today 2.4 GX 8 seater carries a price tag of 19.55 OTR plus the accessories, which should easily cost above 20lac+.

Presenting the Crysta


Accessory selection

I am against chrome and hence majority of the official Toyota accessory was rejected. Did not like the stock speakers and decided to replace the same. Got below accessories from Toyota:

1. Blaupunkt San Marino unit (Comes with Phonelink to enable phone mirroring).
2. Replaced stock speakers with Rockford Fosgate.
3. Tweeter grille.
4. Wood and silver finish for dash.
5. Reverse camera, fit just above number plate (like factory fit and not in bumper)
6. Fabric carpets.
7. Ganesha Idol and Perfume.
The dealer gave me a nice Key chain holder (leather type) and also a nice document holder-again leather type.

Accessories bought outside

1. TRD badge- slapped it on the front grille.
2. Muffler tip- chrome type.
3. IND number plate with frame.
4. OSRAM T10 LED park lights.
5. IPOP ORVM blind spot detector.
6. Fog lamps (just for the looks).


The car as I write the review has clocked about 9000KM with more than 80% of which is driven on highway. Going forward as well, I don’t intend to use the car much in city as I prefer taking my tiny Kwid or radio taxi for city use. Be it automatic or manual, traffic is pain and I can’t bear it more than 30 minutes.

The good things

1. Stonker of an engine especially in power mode which is frugal as well.
2. Highway cruisability and rock solid straight line stability.
3. Comfortable ride coupled with neutral handling.
4. Spacious interiors with useable third row.
5. Well bolstered interior helps to reduce rattles.
6. Quality of materials used and all black interiors.
7. Large comfy seats. The seat compound is just perfect.
8. All round visibility is great aided by large windows for that airy feeling.
9. Good ground clearance.
10. Good Road presence, larger dimensions makes it presence felt.

The bad things

1. Noisy Engine (Although I love the diesel clatter).
2. Notchy gearbox and Dancing gear lever.
3. No driver seat height adjust and rear armrest (Already addressed by Toyota).
4. Puny tires, a 225 section would have looked good.
5. Just 2 reverse sensors.
6. Unfriendly hydraulic steering (City use).
7. 5000KM service interval is too short.
8. Alloy design could have been better and probably bigger.
9. Paint quality isn’t that great for the price you pay.
10. Safety equipment could have been better.



Safety

Buying a safer car was always my priority. Ideally I should have opted for Z but the unnecessary gadgetry it came with and the hefty 7lac premium, the Z variant simply did not get me going. The G and V comes with same safety equipment hence based on my taste I opted for G. The safety kit is not top notch in GX but comes with essential safety equipment by current standards.

The GX variant comes with below safety kit:

1. 3 Airbags.
2. ABS with EBD and Brake Assist.
3. 3 Point ELR with Pre-tensioner & force limiter (Height adjustable).
4. ISOFIX x 2 and tether anchor.
5. Engine Immobilizer.
6. Seat belt and door ajar warning.
7. Clutch start system.
8. Rear view camera (dealer add on) and back sonar (just 2 of them).

How I wish Toyota provided additional 4 airbags and ESP as an optional package. Providing just 2 sensors on such a larger vehicle is a downer. On approaching the obstacle there is a beep heard through speaker. The intensity increases as you go closer. There are no visuals.

Exterior Design

Hate it or love it design grille


The Innova Crysta is larger than its predecessor and it feels when you drive. While the Innova looked pure MUV, the Crysta looks more SUV barring the 3rd quarter panel when viewed from side. From the front, the high bonnet design paired with aggressive grille and XXL headlights, Crysta appears more like an old school SUV. The GX variant comes with normal double barrel halogen and does not fancy any projector/DRL. From a distance it is a little hard to differentiate the normal halogens from projector though. I quite like the aggressive front. The rear sports a cleaner look and gels well with the car. Again the tail lamps are XXL sized. They bulge out of the body. The GX variant get only 2 operational danger lights and the one’s housed on tailgate are dummy. During day it is very hard to spot the difference. If you are following an Innova in night and see 4 red lights, its either V or Z.

From the side, Crysta could have been a little better. Larger wheel wells and little bulges would have looked good. The 205 section tire while helps the ride, from aesthetic perspective Crysta should have been provided with 225 section. While this will end up making the Crysta look a lot more SUV and probably end up cannibalizing Fortuner sales.

Surprisingly even without cladding there is not much sound when it gets hit by stone.




Build Quality, Fit and Finish, Paint quality

Toyota is never known for solid build but is known for its robustness despite being light, Crysta is no exception. The body panels however feel heavier than the predecessor. They don’t flex that easily which got me surprised. The bonnet is super heavy and so is the boot lid. I can safely say that the body panels feel almost 70% as heavy as the one in my Endeavor. My outgoing Ecosport had the most solid body panel (More solid than Endeavor) and the Crysta is nowhere close. The Crysta weighs nearly 150KG more than the outgoing model. Close the door and the Crysta feels noticeably heavier than the outgoing Innova. There is no “Thud” however. The bumpers on Crysta feels a bit flimsy. I don’t think they can stand much of an impact and likely the break easily on impact. Fit and Finish is top notch and there aren’t any ugly uneven gaps. Most of the places it’s tightly fit and also you can find a plenty of bushes everywhere to eliminate those squeaks and rattles.
Note: From my past experience it appears heavier body panel is not equal to rattle free car. The rear doors of Vento used to rattle like crazy and after Ladakh trip the Ecosport also developed rattles. My 10 year old Innova on the other hand is super silent even today (although it rattles in bad roads)!

The paint quality is average with orange peel effect quite evident. The crysta comes with 2 shades of white, the GX comes with just one-the Super white. The pearl effect white costs 10K more and is available only on V or Z. The super white is brighter but is non-metallic. Toyota also offers in Black which I was so tempted to buy. Unfortunately this is only made to order and one has to pay full amount upfront. There is a 2-3 month waiting period associated with it as well.

Wheels and tires

Simple looking 16inch Alloys


The Crysta GX comes with 205/65 R 16 tires shod on Alloy rims. Initially the Z variants were offered with 17 inchers but due to issues like tire bursts, Toyota started to offer 16 inchers on all models. Only recently Toyota re-introduced 17 inchers on Z variant. The alloy wheel in GX is simple and neat. On standstill the 16 inchers looks a little better than 17, on the move 17 inchers shine. My car came with Bridgestone B390 which are quite good. Grips levels are decent and road noise is not much. Apollo is the other option you get with Crysta. While the 16 inchers offer good ride quality, they look bland and small on such a large vehicle. As I mentioned earlier 225 section tires would have looked cool. On the flip side they are cheap costing nearly 4-6K less than the 17 inchers. You can buy the B390 for about 6K a piece. Note that my earlier Ecosport too came with same size tires. The spare tire is a full size alloy wheel. Thumbs up to Toyota for going against the tide. While most manufacturers are offering steel wheels, slimmer, space saving tires, Toyota has not compromised.

Interior

My car came with an all-black interior (well almost). The roof sports conventional grey color. The Interiors of GX is bare bones and Toyota does not even offer music system on a 20lac car, very bad. The speakers which they offer is bad, something not befitting a 20lac car. I added wooden garnish and silver trim from Toyota genuine accessory and the interiors looks much better. Better looking rotary knobs would have helped here. There is no steering controls either, which you can add as an accessory in case needed. The quality of plastic in car does not bother me a much, as I believe there are just two types -a Soft one and hard one- the Crysta comes with latter. However in the interest of benefit to readers, I would say the plastic quality is very good in Crysta. There are no soft touch plastic anywhere in the GX though. All panels are bolstered well and appear as if they will hold well for a long time. Chromes door handles look good. The wiper and headlamp stalks are made of good quality and feels nice to hold. The AC controls, power window buttons appear to be of good quality too. There is a plastic armrest and a box underneath, and no it is no adjustable.

GX comes with fabric seats and quality is excellent. I like this pattern over the V which also comes with Fabric seats. Yes they are black, just the way I like. The dealer, the accessory shop guys all asked me get art leather/pure leather seats, but after using leather (and art) I prefer the fabric seats. Unless my daughter has other plans, I don’t plan to change.

Space and Comfort

There is a plenty on offer. People buy Innova for the space and comfort it offers. The front seats are large and feels almost as big as the one’s in my Endeavour. It offers enough lateral support. The seat base is nor too soft and neither too hard and feels perfect. The bolstering side is quite hard (which it is supposed to be). The driver seat in GX is not height adjustable (Current models have them). Wish Toyota had offered them in the beginning. The travel range for front seats is average. The seats are thinner than earlier, not that they have an impact on comfort. I find the seat height comfortable and see the bonnet when set to my driving position. Current buyers need not worry as the driver seat now is height adjustable.

Mine is an 8 seater version, which means there are no captain seats in the middle row. There is little more legroom in the middle row (thanks to slimmer front seats) than the older Innova which itself had plenty of legroom. The middle row seats are not plain bench anymore and has cuts and creases. There is a proper bucket seat in the middle row and the even in the 2 seater the portion towards window side almost feels like a bucket seat. The person sitting in the center sits quite high though and I don’t find it that comfortable. You can recline the back rest and also move seats front and back to liberate more leg room to third row passenger. Under thigh support is excellent. There are two hooks present on than backside of front seats and both have pockets. GX comes with individual blowers for each row and you can control only the speed in GX. In VX and later you can also control the temperature for back seat. While the headrests are comfortable I prefer the older design. Push the middle row all the way forward and try to tumble it down, you can’t. Thanks to XL sized headrests, they interrupt. They also hinder rearward visibility. A rare flaw from Toyota.

Tumble the middle row seats and step into third and you will be pleasantly surprised. There is more legroom than before, and also a little more thigh support. You can recline the backrests but the seats cannot be moved forward/backward. Again the slimmer middle row seats help to liberate more space in the back. A person of about 5’6 to 5’8 will find this comfortable for journeys up to 300KM. You also get cup holders here. The 8th passenger also gets headrest and proper 3 point seat belt.

The boot is as big as older Innova and can easily gobble 4-5 decently sized duffle bags with all three row seats in place. With third row tumbled down you can carry your 1BHK studio apartment and with middle row down, you can probably carry a 3BHK home. Just kidding, all I mean is there is enough space to carry any kind of luggage.

The Crysta comes with 1 touch (or rather pull) tumble seats. In middle row, release the lever on the side, the seat will tumble forward and let you access third row. Same for third row, just pull the string and the seats will tumble and move up. All you have to do is latch it. Nifty feature and quite useful as well.

Front doors can hold 1litre bottles and there is a bottle holder next to armrest. There are two glovebox and the one at bottom is decently sized one. The release button opens the lid in slow motion, nice touch by Toyota. There is plenty of storage space beneath the armrest as well. It has provided with liner just to ensure that the stuff you store won’t rattle. Hop into the back and there are bottle holders in each door. The front seats come with decently sized pockets at the back. Third row people also get cup/bottle holders. There is sunglass holder in the front is partially lined inside.

Let’s hop back to driver seat. It won’t take much time to find an ideal driving position. Innova is one rare car where I and my Dad used to share same driving position, Crysta is no different. The steering is tilt and telescopic adjustable type, though the range is just above average. GX comes with same steering wheel as V/Z, though there aren’t any controls. Save for DISP button which is used to toggle the MID. The dashboard console is simple and straight forwards. Comes with Tacho, Speedo, Fuel gauge and lovely temperature gauge (which many manufacturers skip these days). The MID is smaller but offers all the data I need such as DTE, Avg FE, Avg speed, real time FE, outside temperature. The MID also shows nice animation indicating which door is opened. Twist the key and you will see “Innova” pop up in MID on start. There are two trip meters and you have to toggle the knob on console to change or reset. The Odometer is also displayed here. The GX comes with traditional key based ignition and keyhole is illuminated.
The front seats are not height adjustable but the seats are set quite high. You see the bonnet and offers good view of what’s ahead. It is nothing like sitting in a towering Endeavour though. There is a front quarter glass and despite that there is a small blind spot. The rear ward visibility is decent however with 3 passenger sitting in the middle row, things get worse. I have added reverse camera but planning to get 2 more sensors added. For such a long vehicle 4 sensors is a must. The ORVM’s are big and offers good view of what’s happening in the back. I somehow miss the in-built blind spot of my Ecosport. I got a small blind spot detector to my mirror and has helped to some extent.

The Aircon unit is a chiller. While buying I was hoping to use a lot of rear –aircon, but given how powerful the front AC is, I have hardly used the rear-air conditioner. Come peak summer, I hope they will be put to good use. The GX comes with manual AC and Auto AC is one of the other feature I miss from Ecosport. The blower noise is not much even at full speed. The vents feel solid and nothing like the ones in Vento. They can be shut completely.

Audio

Among all the cars I owned this probably had the worst Audio, even the humble kwid scores better. Really? Well that’s because there isn’t one, Toyota thinks GX owners will not listen to music and also forgot that they have added speakers. I added Blaunpunkt San Marino head unit. Going by review and how the speaker sound in my Innova, I knew I had to replace speakers as well. I got stock speakers replaced with Rockford Fosgate prime series speaker. Tweeter grille (same one’s that come with Z) was added to front doors to conceal the tweeters. Now we are talking, the unit now sounds better than the one in my Ecosport. The speaker have good low end bass and doesn't jarr on increasing the volume. The installation was done at Nandi Toyota and does not void any warranty. The San Marino unit is pretty basic with bluetooth connectivity and phonelink which enables you to mirror android phones. Touch sensitivity is pretty good. Display suffers under bright sunlight. The unit comes with a large remote but unfortunately can be used only when you hold straight to the unit. The bluetooth works flawlessly and audio clarity is better than Ecosport. They have added a Mic just above rear view mirror. I always wanted a basic system that sounded well, and I am more than happy with current setup.

Engine



There is no engine cover in the GX variant.

The crux of the review and an important one. For me a car’s engine is a make or break kind of thing. My car has to have good engine, and by good I don’t mean powerful, it should be chuckable, not much lag and be able to maintain decent speed on highway. Kwid was an exception. I test drove Hexa, XUV Crysta 2.8 and finally 2.4, all in span of 2 days. After driving 2.4 it did not take me much time to decide. Hexa felt lazy, 2.8 felt the most powerful but wasn’t engaging (thanks to auto box), XUV had a great engine but the car did not suit my taste.

What I like about 2.4 is its Jekyll and Hyde character. Push the Eco button and the 2.4 has very tractable nature and feels city friendly. It passed 2nd gear speed breaker test and I don’t recall using 1st gear in city in recent past. Smaller humps at times are dislodged in 3rd gear as well. You can even get moving in 2nd gear from standstill. In Eco mode you drive it leisurely, gazing things happening around you and at times I feel I should just grab a cup of nice south Indian filter coffee and some nice onion pakoda’s to go with. There is a gentle kick past 2000rpm but not something that would spill your coffee.

This is one side of the story. Push the PWR button, and you will experience a totally different vehicle and you will be confused if it’s the same engine. Be sure that the coffee you were drinking will be splashed. The engine pull is so strong and car gallops like a mad bull. In each and every gear the car just pulls like there is no end. In 5th gear its only post 160 the pull starts tapering. Until then you will be pinned down to your seat. I use this mode only for highway driving and I find it inconvenient for city driving.
There is third mode or the Normal mode, which I hardly use. I just don’t want to be in the middle. As the name suggests it’s a mode in between the two but not to my liking.

I love doing this on a highway- While in Eco mode keep the accelerator input constant so that car cruises at 90KM/hr. and without changing accelerator input press the PWR mode. The bonnet rises a bit to acknowledge the change in behavior, and the speedometer starts climbing rapidly to 120-130. I switch back to ECO mode only after hearing a big shout from passengers at the back. If you are driving on a 4 lane highway the only time you have to change the gear is when you approach a toll booth. 5th gear is good to tackle the rest. That said a 6th gear would have made the cruising much better. To conclude, the earlier Innova had one of the best drivability and weak top end, the 2.4 has best of both worlds.

Coming to NVH, the 2.4 is a much silent unit than the outgoing 2.5. That said there is enough noise that manages to enter the cabin. In my older Innova at 110KM/Hr. there is enough noise inside and you can feel the engine is getting strained. In the Crysta at same speed you can hear the slight thrum and there is plenty of juice still left. Past 150KM/Hr. the engine starts getting noisy like the old Innova, but until then it feels ok.

Overall a fantastic engine which is slightly let down by engine noise.

Gearbox

Crysta 2.4 comes with 5 speed manual transmission. Toyota somehow seem to be a big fan of MJ, and gearbox is purely inspired by his moves. Start the engine and the gearbox will acknowledge with MJ’s signature moonwalk. The inspiration continues on bad patches, varying accelerator input as well. The gearbox is a bit of letdown at least for now. Such a beautiful engine deserves a better gearbox. It’s a bit notchy to begin with and throws are long. Also lack of 6th gear is a downer on this highway cruiser. The Crysta cruises at 100KM/hr. and Tachometer needle is hovering just above 2200RPM, A 6th gear would have probably shaved another 200-300. I expect the gear to work smoother after 10K/20K service based on my observation on current Innova. The saving grace here is the clutch-its super light and did not expect one on such a large vehicle. While the travel is on the longer side, the spring action is smooth and light. One other thing I hate is the gear knob. It’s plain, boring and doesn’t feel great to hold. I have started hunting for a different one, any suggestions welcome.

Edit: The gearbox has become a lot smoother now as the car is inching towards 10K. The shifts have become precise and predictable.

Suspension, Ride and Handling

When launched in 2005 Innova probably had the best springs resulting in probably the best ride quality. Not anymore. The competition has upped the game and there are cars like Hexa which has slightly better ride I feel. But again it’s just slightly, the Innova still has great ride quality and you will still find passengers falling off asleep easily. Smaller tires means you can’t glide like an SUV over potholes but again you can go over potholes, bumps at reasonable speed. The suspension works quietly which is a good thing. You won’t hear thud when you accidently run through that pothole. Some people have complained that current Innova has a softer suspension resulting in wallowy handling compared to older Innova. Since I own both generations I can safely say that Crysta drives as well as older Innova or better. The feeling is probably because you are most likely to carry more speed while entering the corner in Cyrsta. Given the height, it would be wrong if I said there is no body roll, it is there and nothing that one should be bothered about. Body roll comes for free with all UV’s and its fine as long as it’s not too much. The Bridgestone tires offer decent grip, in wet conditions they are just about average. There is not much road noise while traveling at speeds up to 120 post which some tire noise creeps into cabin, again nothing like MRF in my Ecosport. One area where Innova really shines is w.r.to straight line stability. It is unfazed by cross winds, just moves forward like an arrow.
The steering being a hydraulic unit feels heavy in the city. Add to that Crysta has large turning radius. The car needs some effort to move in heavy traffic and if one needs to make frequent U turns. On the flip side it’s such a joy to use on highway. The steering feels heavy enough and inspires confidence while driving fast.

The brakes feel razor sharp and has good feel to it, just the way I want (read not very spongy). The same good brakes start to look just above average in PWR mode. The way in which car accelerates in PWR mode, better set of brakes would have inspired more confidence. The current set feels awesome when in ECO/Normal mode and feels just above average in PWR mode. Some owners have mentioned Juddering effect on brakes while braking at high speeds, I haven’t noticed yet. Slam the brakes at high speed, the car comes to halt without any drama. A better/wider tire will definitely improve the braking prowess of Innova Crysta.

Electricals and Electronics

Any review is incomplete without discussion on headlamps. The GX variant comes with Quad lamp/barrel setup and I felt the stock unit to be powerful enough for both city and highway driving conditions. This is one area where the older Innova excelled and happy to report that Crsyta carries forward the legacy. I added fog lamps just for aesthetics, they are of no use. When headlamps are switched on, you can hardly see any difference. I Plan to upgrade fog lamp bulbs in future. I replaced park lights with OSRAM T10 LED’s which are fairly bright and have a bluish tinge to the throw. The reverse lights in back are powerful and offers good visibility. As I mentioned earlier GX comes with just 2 brake lights at the back instead of 4. There is no ambient lighting inside and all roof mounted lamps are regular bulbs and not LED.

A look at the wiper frames


The wipers are good, they are not frameless type but comes with a good and premium looking cover. The rear wipers are no different. Single speed intermittent along with 2 speed wiper function is available with GX variant. The throw from rear wiper could have been better. There is a well-integrated rear windscreen washer. The front washers are neatly tucked under the bonnet.

The GX variant comes with foldable type key fob with remote lock/unlock function. Toyota provided 2 remote keys and 1 regular key making it three in total- thank you for being so generous. The key fob has two buttons to lock and unlock and a dummy button in middle. Wish Toyota was little more generous and provided an option to unlock the boot using remote.

A look at double barrel projector headlamps.


The one on boot are dummy lights.

[PrideRed]

Third quarter glass looks nice without making interiors claustrophobic.


The boot does not get any fancy automatic button like my Endeavour. Gets a useful pull type handle though.


The Crysta is significantly longer and the large gap is one of the reasons.


Aftermarket rear view camera. Does not flush fit like stock, looks better than bumper fit camera though


Easy mechanism to operate child lock. You don't need keys to operate them.


All black front door pads.


Same color scheme in the back.


Reflectors in front door.


Fins- supposedly enhance aerodynamics.


And they are present in the back too...


Simple plastic door sills gets Toyota branding.


Not so with rear door sills. They are small too.


Probably the only LED unit in GX variant.


A look at front indicator and fog lamp housing. Plan to replace stock bulbs with LED's.


The headlamps are long, really long about 2.5 foot!


Hardships of maintaining white color. The mud accumulated are easily seen.


Bonnet gets insulation, despite this NVH is not great.


A look at the Fuse box


Neat looking ORVM, gets integrated indicators.


And yes, they offer good visibility of things happening at the back. Blind spot detector helps here.


The spoiler is integrated very well and is standard fitment across Innova range.


The bumper also gets reflectors which stand out in white color.


The not so premium looking dashboard.


Nothing to fiddle with, just drive. DISP button to toggle MID.


Crysta gets these nice cup holders, yes there is one on the other side as well.


Surprisingly gets height adjustable seatbelts. Rare case of Toyota being so generous.



There are two glove boxes both of which open in slow motion. The one below is lockable and is decently sized.


When the same is opened


GX also gets chrome door handles, looks neat.


A look at wood finish and silver garnish


Ownership Cost and Fuel Efficiency

So far I have spent only about 1.2K for wheel alignment and balancing. The 10K service should cost me about 7-8K. Barring this I haven’t spent on anything other than fuel bills. The Fuel efficiency has been good for such a large engine. On Highway I get anywhere between 13.5-16KM/L depending on my mood and mode I drive in. If driven on a 4 lane highway in Eco mode at speeds of about 100, I have got 16.xx couple of times. The worst I got was 10.9 when driven at PWR mode and with a super heavy foot. While driving purely on Bangalore’s B2B traffic I have been getting 10-11. If run on reasonable traffic like ring road, I get around 11-12KM/L. I have used tankful to tankful, auto-cut off to auto-cut off and can safely say that the figures displayed on MID is fairly accurate. The car is yet to get first oil change, but I don’t expect Crysta’s fuel efficiency to change significantly post oil change.

I wash the car myself and wash it once in a week. In rainy days it does get dirty and try to wash whenever possible. The car is polished alternate weeks. I visit my hometown almost every month and every time I ensure the car gets much needed pressure wash using a hose pipe which is powered by a 5HP motor.

After sales and Service

I have been a regular customer of United Toyota Mangalore and have been taking my old Innova for service there. I have taken crysta to Nandi Toyota Graphite road and United, the service was top notch and fuss free in both the place. The seating area in particular is splendid. While sitting on a cushy sofa you can watch TV and also see your car getting serviced. The staff were very accommodating and even accepted my car for service when I visited them without an appointment. I am used to same treatment in Ford, but story is different in Renault. With Renault I always have to get an appointment, else I will get my car only the next day.

Comparison with Gen 1 Innova

I also own a gen 1 Innova G1 2008 model and how can I miss the comparison. I love the previous gen Innova, though I can't point out and say one strong reason why I like it. It’s reliable, simple and comfortable. It has completed 10 years and is going strong, in fact very strong. I will not think twice If I have to take it to say Ladakh.

The Innova G1 is bare bones by current standards, Front AC, power windows, central locking, and Power steering are the some of the highlights. Bumpers and collision bars are probably the only safety kit it comes with. It is running almost stock and has completed 1.35lacs of KM's which is very low by Innova standards.

The Crysta I have is G4 equivalent and betters previous gen Innova in almost aspects. Better engine, lighter clutch, better NVH, more kit. The Crysta also rides and handles better and is also more fuel efficient. The only thing where the previous Innova felt better is w.r.to headrests in middle row. They don't interfere or cause problems while folding the seats. The one in Crysta are tall and one has to ensure the seats are not pushed all the way front, in which case the headrests obstruct folding mechanism. A rare design flaw by Toyota. Some folks here have mentioned that Innova handles better than Crysta. After driving Crysta for 9K KM's I can safely say the Crysta handles much better than the previous gen Innova, The body roll is better controlled, steering is more precise(Equally heavy) and suspension is better tuned as well. Space wise the Crysta scores marginally over the Innova, despite being significantly longer and wider. Another trait I liked in the older Innova was their head lights, they were brilliant. Crysta betters in this department too. With quad beam setup, the output is significantly better with high beam having good throw. They are traditional Halogen though and not the new fancy LED's.

Older Innova feels a lot lighter and smaller dimensions is noticeable. Especially after driving the Endeavour and the Crysta, the Innova feels tiny.

Niggles and problems

There is not much to report here other than the alignment issue. When the car was delivered the steering wasn’t centered and I was sure there was some alignment problem. During the first free service, brought it to the notice of service advisor. They did alignment for free and the car appeared to behave much better. However on highway drive I noticed the steering was still couple of degree’s off-center. Got this rectified during second free service. I also requested them to do an alignment and balancing.

The car is rattle free for now and is in silent mode-just the way I like it. There is no Jarring sound from the speaker either. As I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of bushes and washers just to avoid those squeaks and rattles.

[PrideRed]

The GX gets Manual controls for AC at the back. You can only control the blower speed.


Toyota thankfully have provided a 12V charger at the back. A USB slot would have been nice.


The driver side sun visor gets a nifty ticket holder.


The co-passenger one is bare bones. Is of decent quality and size though.


The AC vents can be shut completely. Despite this there is bit of air that comes out of the vent.


Rubber flap used to cover steering housing is of good quality.


The Crysta gets 3 point seat belt for all 8 passengers. This is how it is implemented for passengers sitting in the middle.


8th passenger also gets his own headrest which gets a nice slot to hold.


There are 2 useful hooks to hold those shopping bags.


Nice touch, each belt gets a holder which helps to eliminate rattle. The front seat belts has no possibility of hitting the plastic as it is scooped in.


Useful boot lamp. Another lamp on the left would have been more helpful.


Innova did not have this, Crysta gets a dedicated latch to hold third row seats.


Armrest is hard unlike the ones in V/Z variant. Comfortably placed and is wide.



The box is deep and has felt lining inside to prevent rattle.


The useful cup holder


The tools kit is nicely locked inside.


I love the digital clock though it is of a decade old style.


I got these added along with aftermarket tweeters. It is standard in Z variant.


Useful drive modes and car behaves very differently in each mode. The switches are of top quality.


6 piece official Toyota car fabric mats. 6th one is at the boot.


The front seats offer great lumbar support and great place to be in. Lateral support is excellent and under thigh support is also good. The current GX variants gets height adjustable driver seats.


MJ inspired gear lever, the knob is ugly and is not that great to hold.


ISOFIX points in middle row. You can also see the nice texture of the fabric seats.


The rare third airbag is standard across Crysta range.


Headlamp leveler, stupid parking sensor off switch housing. Levers to open fuel cap and bonnet are located below. Sadly there is no boot release button.


Insanely brilliant implementation. Just one pull and the seats tumble forward. Very useful. Third row seats also have similar one pull tumble up implementation.


Have to leave with this as GX does not come with factory fit music system.


A look at simple MID. It can display DTE, Real time FE, Avg. FE, outside temperature, Avg. Speed.


There is no dead pedal however there is enough place to rest your feet beneath the clutch. The pedals are well spaced.


A look at the illuminated power windows buttons. They are of excellent quality and feels durable. Only driver side window gets Auto up/down buttons.




Interesting things

1. The car has seatbelt warning for co-passenger as well. This works mostly by validating the pressure/weight. When new, I kept my laptop bag and despite me buckling up there was seatbelt reminder. It took me quite some time to realize and remove the bag.

2. Even after you power off the car you can operate the driver’s windows (like VW), provided key is inside the keyhole.

3. Headlamps can be powered on even without key. Typical Toyota, but not seen in other brands. Crysta has headlamp on reminder and there is a beep when you remove the key. The beep gets violent once you open the door.

4. Phonelink lets me mirror my phone. Only downside is that the phone display has to be ON. Have tried in OnePlus and S7 and works flawlessly. IPhone's are not welcome though.

5. Toyota still relies on age old mechanism for removing the spare tire. Wish they had offered some newer, easier mechanism.

6. Each door comes with locking button. Even after the doors are locked you can open the doors from inside without unlocking. This was not the case with older Innova. My Endeavour and Ecosport work this way.

7. Headrests are provided for 8 passengers. That said the last seat is good for 2 adults. It also gets 3 point seatbelts for all 8 passengers-Nice from Toyota.

8. Innova comes with 7 or 8 seater option. The Crysta's 8 seater configuration in SUV like Endeavor, Fortuner is sold as 7 seater. Ideally the third row in Innova is good for 2 adults should have been sold as 7 seater instead of 8.

9. In GX, the only way to open the boot is by pressing the physical button above the number plate. Most of the cars I have seen/used have at least 2 options.

10. Innova is a rare vehicle which can be seen in abundant across three categories. You can see them being driven by a common man, the celebrities/politicians and also the cabbies.

11. Toyota had introduced the name Crysta way in October 2011. It was a limited edition Innova based on V model, and had smoked alloys, graphics, dual tone leather seats and rear spoiler. It came in just one color-Super White. This is what Toyota said back then "Crysta name has been derived from 'crystal' to portray a class or premium image of the MUV. Innova Crysta is designed to give exclusive luxury elements". With current version Toyota has ensured the pricing is also-CRYSTA.

12. The only serious challenge to Innova family was by Tavera back in early 2000. Toyota used to sell Qualis and was getting old, Tavera had better looks, engine and appeared more premium. The Tavera enjoyed the leadership only for few months and was buried deep under once the gen 1. Innova was launched.

13. Found this interesting thing about 2.4 GD engine in Wiki
"The 2GD-FTV is a 2.4L (2393cc) straight-4 common rail diesel engine with a variable nozzle turbocharger (VNT), VVT-i, and intercooler. It has 16 valves and a DOHC (double overhead camshaft) design. Its compression ratio is 15.6:1. Bore x stroke is 92.0 mm x 90.0 mm. It generates 150 PS (148 hp; 110 kW) with intercooler at 3400 rpm, and 400 N·m (295 lbf·ft; 41 kg·m) of torque at 1600-2000 rpm when mated to 6-speed automatic transmission or manual transmission, depending on target market and emission specifications.

In Toyota Innova, it generates 149 PS (147 hp; 110 kW) at 3400 rpm, and 36.7 kg·m (360 N·m; 265 lbf·ft) of torque at 1200-2600 rpm when mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, depending on target market and emission specifications. With manual transmission, outputs are 149 PS (110 kW; 147 hp) and 34.9 kg·m (342 N·m; 252 lbf·ft)".

Two things to notice here, one engine is tuned conservatively for the Innova, and secondly, Toyota has ditched 2.4 6-speed Auto box option and instead went for 2.8 Auto in India. This should help to keep the costs low as the 2.8 engine is shared with Fortuner.

14. The G and V badges used in Crysta appear ditto as previous generation. The size, font all appears same. This is probably the only part they used from previous generation. I am yet find another common part.

15. Toyota offers three types of grille in Cyrsta. GX -gets all black (almost), V gets silver finish for first two slats and rest in black. The Z gets silver finish for first two slats, and painted glossy black for the rest. Unless the grilles are changed this is the best way to distinguish the variants from front.

16. This supposedly the 6th generation of Kijang which is an acronym for Indo-Japanese Co-operation. In Indonesia the Avanza is currently called the Kijang and Crysta is called Kijang Innova- A premium version of Kijang. Technically Innova is not from Kijang's heritage and retains the badge only from marketing perspective. The Kijang was designed with ease of manufacture in mind; in 1986 assembly of a Kijang only cost 42 percent of the cost of assembling the much smaller Corolla 1300 . Even now the entry price for Innova crysta is lower than Corolla altis despite being larger and equally equipped.

Conclusion

Every car comes with its own set of positives and negatives, what matters the most is it should meet your requirement and you should like it. In worst case if you end up not liking it, you should be able to sell it without much depreciation. After driving for 9K KM I am happy to inform that I like my ride and will probably use it for 7-8 years come.

[PrideRed]

Bonus pictures


Somewhere in Hampi


Hampi again


Munirabad dam








Evolution


On the way to my farm


Off-roading-technically yes, but not a 4x4 territory. That said with 150 horses on tap and decent GC, Innova can do some mild off-roading like below without much fuss.




A small video of mild off-roading. The Innova did this with ease in 2nd gear in Eco mode. (Please bear with the inverted and poor quality video)


I had encountered a situation (Different then above) where the car had to go through steep incline and the surface had become slushy due to rain. There were couple of vehicles ahead of me and the likes of Omni, Alto, and i10 struggled a lot and needed a push from a bunch of people. A Thar moved ahead in 4H like a boss. A Tata Sumo ahead of me was successful only in its second attempt that too with heavy pushing from behind. I pushed PWR mode, gained enough pace and Crysta made it to the top with sheer power and brute force. I could hear the rear tires spin but 150 horses ensured the climb a rather easy affair.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Dr.Naren]

Nice review Toyota has many loyal Innova customers. I have seen many guys with old Innova upgrading to Crysta. Good to see both old and new gen in your garage.

Comparison with Gen 1 Innova

[SPARKled]

Lovely review and was keenly read by me as I took delivery of a 2.8 GX just last week. My car too was pulling to the left from day 1, but considering how badly alignment and balancing is handled at ASCs I got it done from my reliable shop and now it tracks straight like an arrow. Can you comment on your front tyre wear so far, as the guy who does my alignment, commented that the new crysta eats tyres like anything if alignment and tyres rotation is not done regularly, unlike the older Innova which was immune to this problem.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

Lovely review and was keenly read by me as I took delivery of a 2.8 GX just last week. My car too was pulling to the left from day 1, but considering how badly alignment and balancing is handled at ASCs I got it done from my reliable shop and now it tracks straight like an arrow. Can you comment on your front tyre wear so far, as the guy who does my alignment, commented that the new crysta eats tyres like anything if alignment and tyres rotation is not done regularly, unlike the older Innova which was immune to this problem.

The tires in my Crysta looks good for another 25-30K, taking the total mileage to 40K. Our older Innova has covered 1.35lac KM and none of the tires have lasted beyond 35K KM mark. Given that 2.8 AT is heavier than 2.4, the tires might have a little shorter life.

[Vulken Auto]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

The tires in my Crysta looks good for another 25-30K, taking the total mileage to 40K. Our older Innova has covered 1.35lac KM and none of the tires have lasted beyond 35K KM mark. Given that 2.8 AT is heavier than 2.4, the tires might have a little shorter life.

Great writeup pride. Assuming you have 16 inch wheels, did you have any tyre bursts? After 4k kms on odo my engine has opened up nicely and mileage is 13.5- 15 kmpl in city in pmode, and 18- 21 on highway in ecomode. Did you see similar trend in your crysta.

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

The tires in my Crysta looks good for another 25-30K, taking the total mileage to 40K. Our older Innova has covered 1.35lac KM and none of the tires have lasted beyond 35K KM mark. Given that 2.8 AT is heavier than 2.4, the tires might have a little shorter life.

It's a bit surprising that your old Innova tyres went off by 35k. 50 to 70k is the norm with most old Innova owners that I know including other RWD ladder on frame cars like the Tavera and Scorpio.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Vulken Auto

Great writeup pride. Assuming you have 16 inch wheels, did you have any tyre bursts? After 4k kms on odo my engine has opened up nicely and mileage is 13.5- 15 kmpl in city in pmode, and 18- 21 on highway in ecomode. Did you see similar trend in your crysta.

GX comes with 16 inchers and so far have been trouble free without any bursts.I drive in Bangalore and I get 11-12 with AC on always inside city. On highway I get about 14-16 decent three digit speeds. The best I got was 16.3 on highway.

Originally Posted by SPARKled

It's a bit surprising that your old Innova tyres went off by 35k. 50 to 70k is the norm with most old Innova owners that I know including other RWD ladder on frame cars like the Tavera and Scorpio.

The Scorpio is known for tire mileage, the Innova is not. Previous gen Innova also sports 15 inch 205 section which to me are small for the size of the car. That said tires should still do 50-55K, but my usage involves lot of luggage hauling and travel in mud roads. Based on my observation small tires on large car is not a good recipe for long lasting tires( I might be wrong).

[RoarOnRoad]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

The tires in my Crysta looks good for another 25-30K, taking the total mileage to 40K. Our older Innova has covered 1.35lac KM and none of the tires have lasted beyond 35K KM mark. Given that 2.8 AT is heavier than 2.4, the tires might have a little shorter life.

Brilliantly described! In order to extract the maximum tyre life, I would recommend you to get the wheels aligned, balanced and rotated every 5-6k kms and ensure that the camber adjustments are properly done. The wheel alignment procedure itself on the Innova takes about 20-30 mins.
Also, I have two cases of stock Apollos 205/60R16 reaching EOL, one changing at 58k kms and the other at 75k kms. For the older Innova, I'd say 80% of the people got a life of ~75k kms or more from stock tyres. I guess you aren't that lucky with the tyres.

[sandeepmohan]

Don't think it gets any more detailed than this. Brilliant review of your new ride.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Found this interesting thing about 2.4 GD engine in Wiki "The 2GD-FTV is a 2.4L (2393cc) straight-4 common rail diesel engine with a variable nozzle turbocharger (VNT), VVT-i, and intercooler.

Never heard of intelligent variable valve timing applied to a diesel engine. That does not seem right.

On the way the door locks function, it is more a safety implementation than anything else. Most European cars had this a long time ago. The old Ford Ikon and Fiat Palio did not have any knob to lock. The door release lever was pushed in to Lock the door. In a crash or emergency, it is easier to reach out for for the door release handle rather than fumble with the door lock knob and then the handle, which you may struggle with depending on the situation. If you've got kids at the back, use the child lock. As inconvenient it maybe for you to get out each time and open the door, it is safer.

I am not sure why you even bothered with extended warranty cause you just don't need one for a Toyota. I do understand that is a personal choice. However; I am trying to highlight that anything that this company makes is indestructible. You run a couple of lac km, fix or replace a few basic wear and tear components and the thing will run another few more lac km and the cycle goes on.

There is nothing really to fault on the old Innova or even the new one. I recall taking one for a joy ride from the dealer in front of ISKCON in Bangalore. This must have been 2002-2004. I was blown away by this little "VAN". Yes; it bounced around, wallowed and the engine was screaming at 120 while I ripped down Outer Ring Road near Peenya (Good luck trying this today). Everything on the inside was fitted perfectly, no sharp edges, top quality interiors, superb NVH (For its time) and supremely comfortable for the driver and passenger. There was nothing like it and I guess I can say there is still nothing like it even today. TATA, Mahindra and whoever else can do all the want but there is just no way you can beat an Innova. Toyota set the standards of what a luxury (if you can call it that) muv should be and it still holds the crown.

[Sankar]

Nice writeup and the first ownership report of Crysta in Tbhp.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

2. Even after you power off the car you can operate the driver’s windows (like VW), provided key is inside the keyhole.

The driver side power window works with the key out of the ignition also, for a certain amount of time or till the door is opened. Once door is opened and closed the relay cuts the power.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

6. Each door comes with locking button. Even after the doors are locked you can open the doors from inside without unlocking. This was not the case with older Innova. My Endeavour and Ecosport work this way.

Only the driver side door can be unlocked with a single pull like the Europeans. Other doors are like most other Jap cars - unlock and pull.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

13. Found this interesting thing about 2.4 GD engine in Wiki
"The 2GD-FTV is a 2.4L (2393cc) straight-4 common rail diesel engine with a variable nozzle turbocharger (VNT), VVT-i, and intercooler. It has 16 valves and a DOHC (double overhead camshaft) design. Its compression ratio is 15.6:1. Bore x stroke is 92.0 mm x 90.0 mm. It generates 150 PS (148 hp; 110 kW) with intercooler at 3400 rpm, and 400 N·m (295 lbf·ft; 41 kg·m) of torque at 1600-2000 rpm when mated to 6-speed automatic transmission or manual transmission, depending on target market and emission specifications.

VVT-i (variable valve tech) is not there in 1GD or 2GD engines, its a mistake on wikipedia page. The petrol Crysta gets it.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

15. Toyota offers three types of grille in Cyrsta. GX -gets all black (almost), V gets silver finish for first two slats and rest in black. The Z gets silver finish for first two slats, and painted glossy black for the rest. Unless the grilles are changed this is the best way to distinguish the variants from front.

Fourth type of grill is on Touring Sport which is full gloss black except for the chrome lines on the two upper slats.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Never heard of intelligent variable valve timing applied to a diesel engine. That does not seem right.

Mitsubishi has variable valve tech in some engines from their current Diesel lineup.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Don't think it gets any more detailed than this. Brilliant review of your new ride.
Never heard of intelligent variable valve timing applied to a diesel engine. That does not seem right.
On the way the door locks function, it is more a safety implementation than anything else. Most European cars had this a long time ago. The old Ford Ikon and Fiat Palio did not have any knob to lock. The door release lever was pushed in to Lock the door.
I am not sure why you even bothered with extended warranty cause you just don't need one for a Toyota. I do understand that is a personal choice. However; I am trying to highlight that anything that this company makes is indestructible. You run a couple of lac km, fix or replace a few basic wear and tear components and the thing will run another few more lac km and the cycle goes on.

I know the locking system is a safety feature, however I have seen this implementation mostly in European and American cars, not on a Japanese.
The Toyota's are known to be reliable, But be it any car I always prefer taking Extended warranty for that extra peace of mind. Add to that If at all you plan to sell the car within 5 years, extended warranty adds some value.

Originally Posted by Sankar

The driver side power window works with the key out of the ignition also, for a certain amount of time or till the door is opened. Once door is opened and closed the relay cuts the power.

Only the driver side door can be unlocked with a single pull like the Europeans. Other doors are like most other Jap cars - unlock and pull.

You are right the driver window rolls down even with key out , until the door is opened. And you are correct w.r.to door unlocking mechanism too. After realizing that front door can be opened even when locked, I assumed same will be applicable to all doors. Thanks for the information