[sid_deb]

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.




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


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

[sid_deb]

Ownership Experience

Having driven the car for 2000+ kms since then, sharing my experience on the engine performance, gearbox, mileage and driving comfort.

Driving Performance
While I went for the petrol Innova solely due to the 10 vs. 15 year life issue in NCR, I can say that it was the right decision. The petrol engine is just so smooth and refined over the diesel mill. It’s incredibly peppy too and great that Toyota is offering the 2.7L mill in India and not the 2.0L mill which it offers in other South East Asian countries like Indonesia. The 2.7L engine runs in Dubai as well and even powers the mighty LC Prado over there. I myself have gone on a desert safari in a 2.7L Prado and knew that I can’t go wrong with this engine.

While the ECO mode is great for extracting double digit mileage from this 1.7T beast, the Power mode really transforms this car. One can immediately notice the difference and the Crysta just propels ahead without any fuss. While this is no X1, it can comfortably cruise along on the highway with not much noise inside the cabin.

There are some reviews on YouTube which mention the petrol engine to be a slouch, I don't think its true at all. The Crysta petrol with its higher power to weight ratio than the diesel dethrones the diesel on the highway easily if needed. That said, I am not an advocate of driving dangerously or beyond the speed limits. Hence not sharing any other pointers on this front. The Crysta is anyways meant to be driven with the family in a relaxed manner.

Transmission
Coming to the gearbox, the manual gearbox is effortless to use. The clutch action is long but very light, comparable to the Creta I had earlier. The gear slotting does take a little more effort than the Hyundai which was butter smooth. That said, for anyone comfortable with making the shifts I would say the manual offers a lot more control and freedom to extract power from this 2.7L engine while not burning fuel. The best part about the gearbox is that the 5th gear can be used at 45kmph or above. Hence there is practically very limited need to downshift on the highways. For city runs, the 3rd gear works quite well with limited need to shift up or down. Addition of 6th gear would have definitely made the ride even smoother but Toyota hasn’t included it in the manual variant so far (other than the Touring Sport which was discontinued).

Mileage On Offer
The Crysta petrol easily offers around 11kmpl in the city if driven with a light foot which I would say is commendable for a car of this size. I had bought it with the assumption that it would not go beyond 7-8kmpl but it proved me wrong. And I am glad it did, petrol price has gone up through the roof and the running cost per km is still quite high.

However, if you start driving aggressively and try to get ahead of the traffic in the first 3 gears, there is no way it will return a double-digit mileage. This is where the diesel makes more sense with its huge surge of torque. However, accelerating once the car is in the 4th or 5th gear won’t dip the mileage much and one can easily get past the traffic clusters then.

I also took the car for a quick spin in the Aravalis near Sohna Gurugram. The mileage does dip while climbing the ghats and the instantaneous bar was showing 6kmpl. That said, the average for the trip didn't go down below 11.5 km/l given the ghat section was only 5kms. Yet to ascertain how it fares on the hills. One advice I do have for any Crysta petrol owner looking to get more out of their "gold plated" petrol tank is: Be Gentle on The Throttle

Driving Comfort
I am not going much into the suspension and driving comfort. A lot has been said about it in other threads already. I can only say that it’s super comfortable, even more once you load it up.

[sid_deb]

Cabin Experience

The Innova is known for its comfortable cabin and ride. I must say that the latest facelift has stepped up the game by many levels.

The biggest update: New Infotainment system with Apple Car Play

The Crysta now gets a wired Car Play/Android Auto as standard across all variants. It works flawlessly and the screen is bigger than the 8" unit on my X1. The X1 looks tiny now but has the advantage of wireless Car Play support. I don't like the wired one as the phone is constantly being charged which isn't good for the battery life. Planning to use a beater Android Phone for the Crysta now



Home Screen of the Infotainment System. Display the current audio along with the mileage statistics



Clicking the mileage box on the top right, gives more details on the mileage delivered across multiple trips (resets made to the average fuel economy) and instantaneous mileage variation during last 15 minutes. The second one is immensely helpful in understanding how the throttle actions impact the fuel and adjust your driving style for optimal mileage and less damage to the environment.



Menu offers an option to toggle across FM, AM, Bluetooth, USB and Apple Car Play. Works without any lag. Pairing can be done only when the vehicle is stationery.



There are other theme options as well. Sharing the white one which comes by default


Rear Camera added as an Original Toyota Accessory. Cost 10K. Integrated in the Infotainment system itself.


Also ordered a Screen Guard for protecting the touch screen. Costs 350.


The USB slot isn't on the dashboard but located behind the arm-rest. Smart move considering the chauffeur driven appeal of the car. Took me five minutes to figure out after taking the delivery.


The GX variant doesn't get the better looking instrument cluster on the VX/ZX. That said, it does the job well.

Average Fuel Economy, Instant Fuel Economy and Range (also displayed on the Infotainment System)




Average Speed and Driving Time



Settings for switching off Eco light and other settings



Steering mounted controls are again standard. The GX doesn't get the MID control joystick on the right though. Only a plain vanilla DISP button to toggle across the multiple driving values - average, range, etc.


The dealer had given complimentary fabric and plastic mats. However they keep slipping and make it a bit irritating to drive. Finally installed Autoform 7D mats. Cost 7.5K.


The Crysta facelift now comes with Power Folding Mirrors by standard. These don't auto-fold and can be added as an accessory if needed.


Got leather on the door panel, wood trim and PU Napa Leather seat covers. Cost 26K




The Crysta GX also comes with Driver Seat Height adjust as standard


The GX doesn't get the push button start and comes with a regular flip key.


The key well is illuminated but it's a bit difficult to find the exact position when sitting on the driver seat. I have ended up scratching the area around the key fob quite a bit. Any suggestions on how to remove these?


The manual Gear lever. A joy to use, really allows to extract the best of power and mileage from the car.


Sun-glass holder and Vanity Mirror are also standard on the GX



The 3rd row of seats can be folded very easily. Do ensure that the velcro strap is fully tightened or else the seat will start rattling. Took me some effort to figure out.


The Jack is neatly tucked on the left side. It's capable of handling weight up to 2T.


Toyota has silently removed the de-fogger on the GX variant though. Now only the rear wash and wipe is standard. That said, to summarize the GX variant is pretty much loaded and can be spruced up with leather/PU seat covers, etc. The only thing I miss are the 7 airbags. Wish Toyota made it standard even if it meant increasing the prices by another 50-75K.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[vraned]

@sid_deb, thanks for the detailed review. Very helpful as I await my GX AT (hopefully) shortly.

Wanted to get your experience with the performance of the A/C. I read in another thread that the AC works remarkably well in the ZX and cooling is above par. Was wondering if your experience is the same considering GX is manual AC and not Auto.

Thanks!

[Maverick Avi]

Congratulations on your new purchase!! It is good to see Toyota providing some goodies even at base variant but that gear knob and A/c controls look quite basic and hence out of place in a 20 lakh rupee car.

Toyota demand too much of a premium for their products and hence I may only buy them when I have enough disposable income to spare. Till then I have to be content with poor man's Toyota(Maruti).

[Dhillon]

Congrats on buying the Innova. Great choice indeed.

Great write-up. Short and crisp. I think there are very few takers for Innova Petrol given its poor fuel efficiency. I am surprised that you are able to extract 11-12 kmpl

Also, for such a big car, Toyota should not have removed the de-fogger. It comes handy during our winter season.

[rahulskumar]

Thanks for the review. Any reason that you skipped Jeep Compass petrol ?
I'm literally torn between Compass petrol manual vs Harrier for my highway rides ( Innova petrol will be head decision ). I'm preferring petrol to keep the car as long as possible and my running wont exceed 10000 a year going forward. I'm researching a lot about Jeep compass petrol Manual about the issue customer faced but unable to find much information ( not preferring DSG Auto as I dont know the kind of issues I will have to see in the long run ). Rated 5 stars for your thread

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by sid_deb

The Crysta petrol easily offers around 11kmpl in the city if driven with a light foot

Great review there, @sid_deb. You've just debunked the myth that the Crysta petrol is a guzzler.

Rear Camera added as an Original Toyota Accessory. Cost 10K.

That camera is insanely priced; just unacceptable.

The Crysta facelift now comes with Power Folding Mirrors by standard.

Toyota has silently removed the de-fogger on the GX variant though. Now only the rear wash and wipe is standard.

I don't understand this at all. Alloys and power folding mirrors are standard, while defogger is beyond standard? If I indeed had to clip a feature, it would be some style out but safety and convenience in.

Originally Posted by vraned

Wanted to get your experience with the performance of the A/C. I read in another thread that the AC works remarkably well in the ZX and cooling is above par. Was wondering if your experience is the same considering GX is manual AC

Sorry for jumping the gun, but the manual AC is as good as, if not better than the climate control. After using ACCs for close to 11 years, I feel the manual one is the way to go with the temperature knob set all the way down in blue and the blower speed adjusted for cabin temperature control.

[LPJ777]

After having read sid_deb's ownership review, I am strongly willing to consider Crysta petrol as my next car again. Everytime I toyed with the idea of the petrol variant, I was told that I would expect abysmal FE. Also, none of the dealers in Bangalore had a TD vehicle available. It's not easy to spent 20 lakhs on car that is not available for a TD plus having to wait 2 months for delivery on top it.

[sid_deb]

Originally Posted by vraned

@sid_deb, thanks for the detailed review. Very helpful as I await my GX AT (hopefully) shortly.

Wanted to get your experience with the performance of the A/C. I read in another thread that the AC works remarkably well in the ZX and cooling is above par. Was wondering if your experience is the same considering GX is manual AC and not Auto.

Thanks!

Thank you! I hope you get the delivery of your GX AT soon. There is no difference in the performance of the AC due to the climate control. I can't comment on the full effectiveness of the AC as it hasn't gotten super hot in NCR so far, but so far it's a chiller. The AC made me desperately lower the fan speed after 10 minutes of operation when the outside temperature was 38 degrees.

Off topic, I can definitely also say that the AC is way more effective and powerful than my X1. I guess the Germans haven't designed their vehicles for the extreme hot weather in India.

Originally Posted by Dhillon

Congrats on buying the Innova. Great choice indeed.

Great write-up. Short and crisp. I think there are very few takers for Innova Petrol given its poor fuel efficiency. I am surprised that you are able to extract 11-12 kmpl

Also, for such a big car, Toyota should not have removed the de-fogger. It comes handy during our winter season.

I had the same pleasant shock as well. It won't guzzle any fuel if you are gentle on the throttle and don't rev the car during initial pickup.

I totally agree on the de-fogger. It's a safety feature and should be standard across variants.

Originally Posted by LPJ777

After having read sid_deb's ownership review, I am strongly willing to consider Crysta petrol as my next car again. Everytime I toyed with the idea of the petrol variant, I was told that I would expect abysmal FE. Also, none of the dealers in Bangalore had a TD vehicle available. It's not easy to spent 20 lakhs on car that is not available for a TD plus having to wait 2 months for delivery on top it.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I had the same exact experience, the SA told me multiple times that the petrol would not give more than 7-8 in city conditions and I should go in for the diesel. I think it's just a myth and needs to be debunked.

Originally Posted by rahulskumar

Thanks for the review. Any reason that you skipped Jeep Compass petrol ?
I'm literally torn between Compass petrol manual vs Harrier for my highway rides ( Innova petrol will be head decision ). I'm preferring petrol to keep the car as long as possible and my running wont exceed 10000 a year going forward. I'm researching a lot about Jeep compass petrol Manual about the issue customer faced but unable to find much information ( not preferring DSG Auto as I dont know the kind of issues I will have to see in the long run ). Rated 5 stars for your thread

Thank you so much. Since I already have the X1 diesel, I didn't look at the D SUV segment particularly Jeep Compass. I also needed a car which is top-notch in terms of reliability and can go anywhere even if it doesn't offer high levels of performance. The X1 makes up for all the occasional adrenaline rush I need

[Shanksta]

Originally Posted by sid_deb

Sharing the ownership review of my Garnet Queen: 2021 Innova Crysta 2.7GX MT Garnet Red

.

Congratulations on the Crysta ! Wishing you loads of (s)miles.

The petrol Innova has a separate fanbase in my family, two of my uncles own a 2006 Toyota Innova G4 with the 2.0L VVT each. I have driven their cars quite a lot and it is just extremely refined compared to my 2.5 D4d diesel Innova. They generally get 8-10 kmpl in the city and 10-11 kmpl on the highway.

Both the cars have clocked more than a lakh kms with nothing but regular service.

Very happy to read an ownership thread on a unique variant of the Innova. Was not aware until I read your thread that Toyota is offering so many features (not available in the initial lots) as standard now.

Lastly, many might say that Toyotas are overpriced but there is absolutely nothing out there to beat the sheer reliability, durability and dependability you get from this machine. Not to forget the pocket friendly service costs (provided your SA doesn’t inflate the bill).

Once again wishing you many happy (s)miles with your petrol Crysta.

[Aakash118]

Great review, loved reading it. I have been thinking of getting the Crysta in next one year or so and after reading your review, I will definitely give petrol variant a serious look. Our usage is quite low and petrol should work just fine. On a different note, can you confirm if a feature like this is still available, my mum will love to strech her legs like this. https://www.team-bhp.com/carpics/201...-crysta-08.jpg

[vraned]

Originally Posted by Aakash118

On a different note, can you confirm if a feature like this is still available, my mum will love to strech her legs like this. https://www.team-bhp.com/carpics/201...-crysta-08.jpg

Yes, I test drove the new Crysta (Diesel AT though) before booking and this feature was there and will be available in the Petrol variant as well. I'd love to stretch out while my wife drives me around

[haisaikat]

Congratulations sid_deb. Very nice to see the growing fanbase of the 2.7 motor on this forum. Considering petrol market in the NCR is what I believe allowed you to have ready petrol options in the dealers. Wish the same was true for other cities too. I had to give petrol a pass owing to unavailability of test drives and leaned to diesel. Enjoy the beast and wish you tons of miles on the roads in the years to come.