[narayanang76]

@ nitinbose: congrats on the new Innova. A nicely written review and pictures.

Narayanan

[TheARUN]

Congratulations Brother, awesome choice of vehicle. I missed a chance of a lifetime, being there with another T-Bhpian for checking out a new vehicle

Its a nice dilema to be in, choose between the INNOVA, COROLLA and FORTUNER.

The SHELL news has come as a shocker. My SAFARI is on a SHELL diet since long, and yes the smoke is black. I'm going to switch now to someonelse and check for the colour of smoke.

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by narchennai

Great buy Nitin. The UV looks nice and i see chrome mirror cover, is that a 2010 Innova version change.. Update

Hi,
the chrome mirrors are standard in the Innova Vx Version - I have a 2009 model and it is exactly the same as far as mirror and bumper go,. It is made of scratchproof plastic-I should know because I had a mirror brushup with another vehicle in my innova- while his mirror had a scratch-all that was needed was a wet wipe on my mirror to regain the old shine-scratchless.

Nitin- I hope the plastics that you have gor for mirror indicators are similar in quality to the original mirrors. they tend to fade soon otherwise. I also searched around a bit in vain as the Tooyota Accessories are abt Rs 15k in price (they Replace the original covers instead of being a wraparound which most aftermarket kits are).

Most of the aftermarket kits were the wraparound type (paste on the original mirror cover - make a hole in it and run a wire through).

Looking at their quality and a few aged installed pieces I finally decided not to have it as rolback to the original cover was not possible once you installed it

[Puffdamgcdragon]

Congratulations, dude. I, too, booked my Innova Vx in Silver on the 31st and am excitedly waiting for it. It's a sensible decision... wish i could have stretched my budget for a Fortuner.

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

Hi,
the chrome mirrors are standard in the Innova Vx Version - I have a 2009 model and it is exactly the same as far as mirror and bumper go,. It is made of scratchproof plastic-I should know because I had a mirror brushup with another vehicle in my innova- while his mirror had a scratch-all that was needed was a wet wipe on my mirror to regain the old shine-scratchless.

Nitin- I hope the plastics that you have got for mirror indicators are similar in quality to the original mirrors. they tend to fade soon otherwise. I also searched around a bit in vain as the Tooyota Accessories are abt Rs 15k in price (they Replace the original covers instead of being a wraparound which most aftermarket kits are).

Most of the aftermarket kits were the wraparound type (paste on the original mirror cover - make a hole in it and run a wire through).

Looking at their quality and a few aged installed pieces I finally decided not to have it as rolback to the original cover was not possible once you installed it

Hi,

The mirror covers are indeed stuck over the existing mirror covers, but vary in quality and price - from 1800 to 3500 (if you're buying from a spareparts shop). Indeed yes, the showroom charges 12K for the so called Toyota original and an aftermarket at 6K!

However all of these are stuck on the original mirror cover and made in phillipines/indonesia.

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by Puffdamgcdragon

Congratulations, dude. I, too, booked my Innova Vx in Silver on the 31st and am excitedly waiting for it. It's a sensible decision... wish i could have stretched my budget for a Fortuner.

Did you book on the 31st March? If yes, you would be getting the BSIV version, but there would be some hike in ex-showroom.

At Karnataka, you'd have a hike in VAT & road tax as well.

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by narayanang76

@ nitinbose: congrats on the new Innova. A nicely written review and pictures.

Narayanan

Hi...

Thanks very much.

regards,

Nitin.

[nitinbose]

Hi,

One part that I found a bit cumbersome is the Innova gear lever, it seems longer than needed. I wish it were shorter to make it more ergonomic.

Any way to achieve this?

The current fuel efficiency I'm getting is around 9.5km/liter (from the last two days, with air-conditioner ON and pure city driving).

The 100/90W H4 bulbs I'd installed are also quite bright, even on the lower beam the lights provide quite some visibility. On the flip side, even the low beam sometimes hurts the oncoming motorists - had two instances and had to temporarily switch OFF the headlamps and use only fog lamps until the motorist passed by.

Regarding the Shell fuel, I'd mailed to Toyota and they mention I may use any fuel as long as its cetane 50 or higher - pasting their response below.

"Dear Mr.Bose,

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=2]Greetings from Toyota.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=2]We have gone through your query and would like to comment as below.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=2]You can use any brand fuel with cetane number 50 or higher. But make sure that it is not adultered with impurities or water. This can be ensured by visiting same fuel station every time. Ensure that fuel is filled from a station with proper infrastructure like roof and good water drainage facilities.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=2]We request you to go through the owners manual for our more information on our recommendation on fuel." [/SIZE][/FONT]


Maybe I require more inputs from teambhp.

[Akshay1234]

use only normal (sada) diesel. no speed, turbojet, xtramile, etc. i.e no fuels with additives. it will cause the car to smoke alot.

[nitinbose]

Hi,

I'm posting some pictures of the Innova with the accessories I'd fitted.

Sorry for the quality as I took the photos with the car in the basement - too lazy to get it to ground floor.

So far the driving experience has been good. The cabin sound insulation is excellent. When I started the car in the basement and stood next to it, the sound from the engine was moderate, however once in the vehicle with the doors and windows shut, all could hear was a minimal hum. Good sound-proofing.

[nitinbose]

Hi Everyone,

One interesting fact that I forgot to mention was the way in which the extra accessories were brought and installed.

The leather seats were made by first measuring my existing seats and then ordered and stitched from Stanley's, from the shop where I purchased the accessories.

Once the seats arrived, they were fixed by two gentlemen whose job is to install seats, and they're the people who does this for the entire area.

The same was true for the installation of other accessories, including the sunfilm.

So, outsourcing exists even in small scale industries.

Surprisingly, such installers make lots of money, the accessories shopkeeper told me the gentlemen who installed the seats have two taxis of their own! I also saw them using Blackberries!

Who said India is poor?

[RSimonS]

Congratulations Nitin, it is a great drive.

Couple of things which annoy me in the Innova is occational sounds which might come from inside (it could be the seatbelt or something like that, once you know where to check, this will go off), the gear lever behaviour while the engine is started, the engine noise above 85 kmph, the shallow glove box (it is really small), no aux or USB support by the OEM head unit.

I had couple of queries.

Is this the 2010 model which is BSIV compliant (one with intercooler as reported by some sites)
What was the OTR? Did you get any discounts, freebees?
How much did you pay for the leather seats? Is it comfirtable?

Thanks in advance.
RS

[narayanang76]

@ nitin: Thanks for sharing the interior pics, do you mind some more pics in day light (outside) please?

Also as a suggestion, please remove the steering wheel cover - at least I didnt like it looks and it looked bad. I feel the normal look is better

Regards,
Narayanan

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by RSimonS

Congratulations Nitin, it is a great drive.

Couple of things which annoy me in the Innova is occational sounds which might come from inside (it could be the seatbelt or something like that, once you know where to check, this will go off), the gear lever behaviour while the engine is started, the engine noise above 85 kmph, the shallow glove box (it is really small), no aux or USB support by the OEM head unit.

I had couple of queries.

Is this the 2010 model which is BSIV compliant (one with intercooler as reported by some sites)
What was the OTR? Did you get any discounts, freebees?
How much did you pay for the leather seats? Is it comfirtable?

Thanks in advance.
RS

Hi,

The Glove box is not small, but just that its the only glove box, unlike most other cars in the class which have two glove boxes. Strange enough, the space where they could have put the second glove box is also free and hollow.

The seat belts could make some rattling, which is why there are holders to fasten them when not in use.

Engine noise above 85kmph - not sure, so far, not observed. This could also arise from external factors such as type of the road, wind drag etc., which could introduce some strange noises.

As for the gear lever behavior, do understand its a characteristic of a diesel engine and above all this is a 2500cc engine.

The OEM does not have the aux/ipod connectivity. You would have to replace the HU for this, or purchase the 3rd party adaptor which has a connector for ipod, card readers, aux input etc., and it would transmit via FM to the HU.

Though I have an ipod and a fan of it, i still feel burning CDs for the car is cheaper enough, as its only about INR 20/-, so no hard feelings if it gets damaged etc., unlike an ipod which goes into thousands. .

I find the quality of the OEM HU to be quite decent, comfortable to hear music when driving with just enough Bass/treble. I did check the HU at the Toyota accessories shop and found the build quality (exterior and interior) to be quite comparable to some of the reputed brands.

This is the 2010 model but BS-III. From what I gather, the BS-IV version has some changes in the catalytic converter. The intercooler part is not confirmed though - so far, I've not seen the toyota website mention this either. Even if its there it would be an intercooler for name-sake.

I paid about 15K for the leather seats, including fitting. They're quite okay, soft and seem durable enough. From the money I've spent, I would be happy if it lasted for two years, though the shop owner showed me his Baleno which was done seven years ago! I do not believe in spending too much for accessories as nobody considers them during the resale.

OTR including everything came close to INR 1.5M. The only freebies from Nandi toyota was a box of tissues.

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by narayanang76

@ nitin: Thanks for sharing the interior pics, do you mind some more pics in day light (outside) please?

Also as a suggestion, please remove the steering wheel cover - at least I didnt like it looks and it looked bad. I feel the normal look is better

Regards,
Narayanan

You are going to have a live view the coming weekend!