Sharing the ownership review of my Garnet Queen: 2021 Innova Crysta 2.7GX MT Garnet Red
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The car has done over 2000 kms since I bought it in Feb. There aren’t many petrol manuals on the forum and hence thought will be helpful to share my views.
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Likes
- Toyota’s legendary reliability, go anywhere capability (sans off-roading)
- Smooth and peppy 2.7L petrol engine. Higher power to weight ratio than the diesel variant
- Loaded base variant with Apple Car Play/Android Auto, 16” Diamond Cut Alloy Wheels, Hill Hold, Traction Control, etc
- Double digit mileage even with a petrol 2.7L mill and weighing over 1.7T in real-life NCR traffic. The caveat being that the driver won’t rev the car at all in gears 1-4. I have done 4 tank-fulls so far and have gotten a mileage between 10.2 – 13.4 km/l (tank-full method).
- Increased service interval of 10K in the 2021 facelift from 5K kms earlier
- Solid build quality. Indonesian Crysta secured 5 star rating from ASEAN NCAP. The Indonesian version is lower or similar spec than the Indian version. So hoping the Indian version will at least be a 4 star.
- Super comfortable mile muncher
Dislikes
- Pricey: Petrol GX MT is close to 19.5L in NCR. Top Model Diesel costs close to 29L
- No torque surge: With a humble 245NM torque, there is no surge of power at lower revs in this 1.7T MPV and power builds up gradually unless you floor the pedal and rev the engine
- Lack of 6th gear on the MT version
- Missing 7 Airbags in a car which costs almost 20L on-road
- Single digit mileage if driven super hard or in continuous bumper to bumper traffic (gears 1-3 only)
Buying Decision
We are a family of 3, the 2019 X1 Diesel and 2018 Swift Petrol AMT were doing duty. Swift was bought on company lease as a beater car for running errands and city chores. Having owned a 2013 manual Swift earlier, I was looking forward to enjoying the automatic Swift and the go-kart experience. While I was aware about the jerky limitations of the AMT before buying the car, I didn’t expect the experience to be so pathetic. Why so greedy MSIL? At least preserve the DNA of the Swift. The following issues/experiences made me sell a 2-year old car the moment the lease expired without a second thought:
- Tin-can build quality. Mediocre 2 star safety rating. Felt unsafe even at city speeds.
- Vague steering which didn’t inspire confidence over corners. I so missed the steering of my 2013 Swift, the EPS was so well tuned in the previous gen variant
- Rattles from multiple points in the dashboard area
- The jerky AMT box. It just felt so crude.
Given the Covid restrictions and work from home continuing, the need for buying a second car wasn’t felt immediately and we continued with the X1 serving us well. However, as time passed by, we did feel the need for having a beater car for city runs. Also, I am fond of going to the off-beat mountains once a year like Spiti and Leh where I don’t feel like taking the X1.
Given I would be buying it over company lease, the budget was quite flexible and up to 20L. With this, came all the dilemma and confusion. The must have requirements were petrol engine (NCR 10 vs 15 year rule), reliability, safety, comfort over long distances and go-anywhere capability. The good to have requirements were performance and 4x4 capability. Limited test drives were made given the Covid situation. Team bhp and Youtube reviews were leveraged to a great extent.
Grand i10 Nios Magna Manual:
Those In Favor
- Cheapest car amongst all the choices considered
- Hyundai’s decent after-sales experience
Not In Favor
- Good for city runabouts but the build quality didn’t inspire confidence
- Unsuitable for long distance cruising and mountain visits
Toyota Urban Cruiser Mid Manual
Those In Favor
- Practical CSUV with reliable underpinnings
- Toyota’s excellent after-sales experience
- Smooth 4 cylinder petrol engine
Not In Favor
- Limited space at the rear. Not the most comfortable place to be in
- Poor interior quality – hard plastics, lack of thigh support
- Average ride quality – need to slow down over bumps
Kia Seltos 1.5 Petrol HTE Manual
Those In Favor
- Practical 4m+ SUV
- Smooth 4 cylinder petrol engine
Not In Favor
- Mediocre 3 star crash rating
- Unresolved issues with the brake pedal
- Huge waiting period. Booked the car in Dec and there was no sign of delivery even in Feb
Kia Seltos 1.4 Petrol GTX+ DCT
Those in Favor
- Practical 4m+ SUV
- Fast turbo engine. Already have the X1 though which is still ahead in terms of performance
Not In Favor
- Mediocre 3 star crash rating
- Unresolved issues with the brake pedal. Overheating issues with the turbo DCT
Mahindra Thar LX Petrol MT
Those In Favor
- Butch looking jeep
- 4x4 offroading capability
Not In Favor
- New product in the market, teething issues being reported by multiple owners: hood clamps, ergonomic issues, etc.
- Petrol engines are still not Mahindra’s forte
- Super bumpy ride quality
Innova Crysta 2.7GX MT
Those In Favor
- Toyota’s reliability and durability
- Comfortable family cruiser
- Smooth petrol engine
- Excellent resale value
- Go anywhere capability (except off-roading)
Not In Favor
- Expensive. Period.
- Huge for running city errands. Doesn’t feel bulky though in real-life
Choosing the Crysta
The only association we had with Toyota was up to my early college days. My dad used to own the Qualis from 2003-2011. The Toyota had been our steed on multiple highway trips and always carried us without any fuss or troubles. It didn’t break down even once during the 8 years of ownership. That said, it didn’t offer a lot of refinement or performance.
We had been eyeing the Toyota Innova since we sold the Qualis in 2011 but the taxi image and lack of enough refinement put us off every time. The D-4D engine in the old Innova was a solid performer but became quite noisy after 80-90kmph. Hence, we never opted for it and went for the Honda Amaze, Honda City followed by the Hyundai Creta during 2011-2018. Then came the Innova Crysta, I must say I was blown away the first time I took a ride in it. I was on a project in Odisha in 2017 and we were crossing a Naxalite area during late evening. Being super scared, I asked the driver to hurry up and get us to safety. He obliged and oh boy, the Crysta just pulled and pulled, all of this in the Eco mode. It did triple digit speeds effortlessly and within an hour we were close to the AP border and away from all the risk.
I sat in the Diesel Crysta cabs multiple times since then and knew that it would probably make sense to have this in the family garage one day. Just that, it kept getting expensive and more expensive. This time, we finally decided to bring back the reliable Toyota back in the garage. I had already driven the first gen Creta base model and hence wasn’t too keen on the Seltos HTE or Creta E model. The huge waiting periods and mediocre crash ratings didn’t help further. Further, the top model Seltos or Creta (Turbo petrol) just felt like another X1 that wasn’t really a X1 in terms of engine performance. The heart did say consider the mighty Thar but the mind vetoed on buying a first gen Mahindra that already had many niggles being reported by people.
Variant Selection
Buying the Petrol became an easy decision given the diesel uncertainty in NCR. Didn’t make sense to have two diesels in the garage (X1 is a diesel). Given my budget was restricted to 20L, GX variant fit the bill perfectly well.
I could have stretched to go for the GX AT but didn’t want to risk it this time after the horrific experience with the Swift AMT. While Toyota offers a conventional torque converter, the auto gearbox is still slow to respond. I knew I won’t like this one either after getting spoilt with the 8 speed torque converter unit in the X1. There was no test drive available for the manual petrol but I did check the clutch modulation before buying and found it to be comfortable even for bumper to bumper traffic. Also the pleasure of driving with a stick the old school way is unparalleled and going to go away soon with EVs coming up.
Color Selection
White was immediately ruled out given the taxi image. Grey and Bronze didn’t appeal to my parents and were taken out as well. Silver, Garnet Red and Black finally made it to the short-list. Garnet Red looked the classiest amongst the 3 with a tint of black, something different for us (we already had driven Silver earlier).
Booking Experience and Delivery
I was initially told the car is on 1.5 months waiting period in Feb 2021 and there is 0 discount available. Reached out to 3 dealers and got the same response everywhere. I then checked with the car leasing company, who also buys vehicles for its own fleet. They called me back in 2 hours and said Silver color is available with a dealer in Noida. They will also give a cash discount of 10K as well if I give the go-ahead right now. One of the 3 dealers who I had reached out called me the next day and asked me to book the car. I told him that I have already got the car and going to book it soon. Just that I am not getting the color I want. He was stunned the moment he heard this and asked me to wait for an hour. He called me back in 15 minutes and said he could arrange a Garnet Red for me. The negotiator in me took over and I said I can only buy if they offer me a good discount. He initially refused but then finally agreed to offer 25K worth of accessories if I gave the consent right then. This was the same dealer who had sold us the Qualis and my dad knew the sales manager there. So we decided to go ahead and book the car with them.
The next day, the SA invited us over to check the car out in person. He had got the car from the stockyard and kept it on the roof of the dealership. Did the initial inspection and found it to be okay.
First look of the car at the dealership roof
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Gave the go-ahead to the leasing company and within 5 days the car was delivered to me. The delivery process was smooth. Given my dad’s love for Toyota, he was closely involved in the buying process this time and was a bit surprised to see a car get delivered on a Purchase Order without any down-payment from my end.
Getting ready for delivery
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5th November 2021, 20:32
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