[Shreyfiesta]

Toyota Qualis, an interesting model that set foundation for the Toyota brand in India.

Established in 1997 as an 87:13 joint venture between Toyota and Kirloskar Group, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited has grown rapidly to emerge as a significant player in India’s passenger car segment. The company made an investment of about 600 crores at Bidadi near Bengaluru and targeted to sell at least 31,000 vehicles in the first year of operation. Toyota's manufacturing plant had a capacity of producing 50,000 units annually of its first model for India. Despite strong growth in the passenger car market in late-90s, Toyota decided to enter India through the MUV segment. This decision was taken based on an extensive market study and analysis that indicated the potential for a world class MUV that would offer the driving experience of a car, at an affordable price.

India's multi-utility vehicle segment had two major players at that time, the Tata Sumo and the Mahindra Armada. Though these models were decently reliable, people never saw them as substitutes for a car. Those were the days when most car manufacturers in India were competing hard for share in the crowded passenger small car market. So, Toyota's decision was to introduce an MUV, with a passenger car ambience similar to Kijang in Indonesia, Venture in South Africa, Zace in Taiwan and Tomaro in Philippines. Actually, this MUV project was kept as a highly guarded secret by Toyota. Also, it was said that Toyota will bring a passenger car after launching the MUV, but the model was not disclosed.

As per the investment pattern worked out by Toyota Kirloskar Motor, during the first phase, its investment in the vehicle project was around $170 million, in the second phase, between $400 - $700 million and for each subsequent model around $400 million. The company utilised only 18 percent of the 430 acres of land at first, the rest was planned to be utilised once the second model and plans for launch of a small car were fixed. The MUV being developed was an India specific model with a chassis based on the Toyota Utility Vehicle concept. It was designed like a passenger car with seating configurations of 3-3-4 and 2-3-3 sets of seats. As a part of its launch strategy, Toyota had decided to do away with the practice of bookings, so they became one of the first car brands to introduce such an international concept here. No indication of the vehicle's price was given, but had stated that it will carry an affordable price tag.

Fast forward to December 1999, Qualis, the much-awaited MUV from Toyota rolled out from its Bidadi facility for the first time. The event which was called line-out in the Toyota parlance marked in the commercial production of the vehicle. For auto enthusiasts, it appeared that Toyota was trying to position the Qualis as a car rather than a multi-utility vehicle. Toyota's idea was to benchmark itself in the Indian market against sedans like Mitsubishi Lancer and Honda City rather than a Tata Sumo or a Safari. The pricing of Qualis was still kept as a closely guarded secret with not even thee trade knowing exactly how much the MUV will cost. It was assumed by the industry sources that the price of Qualis will be around ₹ 6 lakh for the basic variant.

Finally, the wait for Qualis was about to end. Toyota themselves announced that its first model in India will be unveiled at the Auto Expo in January 2000. Delivery was planned to be done on a first-come-first-serve basis and the company intended to collect only a token amount from the customers at the time of booking. In case if demand exceeds supply, Toyota's plan was to put prospective customers on a waiting list. By then, Toyota had gained a dealership network of 25 dealers in 22 major cities. All these dealers had an integrated sales, aftersales and spare parts storage facility. For starters, around 40 vehicles were dispatched to each of these dealers, to be sold on a first-come-first-serve basis. Around 350 units of Qualis were manufactured by December 1999 and were dispatched to various dealers across the country.

11th January, 2000
Toyota finally made a scorching entry into the Indian auto market with a bargain that many found hard to resist. It was offering the base variant of the Qualis, an 8-10 seater MUV, for an invitation price of ₹ 4.6 lakhs ex-showroom. This was virtually on a par with Tata Sumo and a lot cheaper than the other cars in the mid-size segment. Actually, this was just an introductory offer, they were selling it below production cost. Initial plan was to increase the prices after Toyota establishes themselves in the market. These price tags were an extension of the touch-and-try campaign for the fact to be said.

Variants launched were :
• Family Saloon without A/C, priced at ₹ 4.59 lakhs ex-showroom
• Family Saloon with A/C, priced at ₹ 4.99 lakhs ex-showroom
• Family Saloon with A/C and PS, priced at ₹ 5.32 lakhs ex-showroom
• Grand Saloon with A/C and PS, priced at ₹ 5.77 lakhs ex-showroom
• Grand Saloon with double A/C, PS, PW and 2 speakers, priced at ₹ 6.6 1lakhs ex-showroom
• Grand Saloon Touring, priced at ₹ 7.40 lakhs ex-showroom

Toyota had studied the Indian car market very well before entering. The company worked for developing the best-suitable car that would match the special requirements of the India's car market. Toyota focused on developing a car that would cater to the unique needs of the Indian buyers. It was evident that they had given serious consideration for the special needs of the Indian consumers. Also, they were committed to ensure that the Qualis was designed, engineered and built with the Indian consumer in mind. Unlike many other manufacturers, Toyota wanted customers to try its product at an attractive price. The 'Touch & Try' campaign was able to woo a large number of customers. Marketing strategy was backed by a strong product, was economically priced, safe and comfortable. The Qualis was always marketed as a family car, and not just as a utilitarian multi purpose vehicle.

[Shreyfiesta]

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE QUALIS

Exterior :
Qualis, in all probability is one of the worst looking automobile ever sold in India. But like bread boxes are good at holding bread, the Qualis was good at carrying people and surely, the finish was better than other UVs sold in our country back then. Build quality was superbly executed with uniform panel gaps which put some mid-sized cars to shame. The shabby body panel just below the door lines was glaringly visible with all the ungainly weld spots. Anyways, we all had castigated the Qualis for its unappealing design at that time.

From all sides, the Qualis looked too boxy due to its tiny 14-inch wheels, van-like tailgate, and wraparound indicators. Even in the 2000s, it had an outdated MUV image to show.


On a vehicle like the Qualis, exposed weld spots and panel joints were not so good. For the truth to be told, most people got used to the design of Qualis over the years and, I even thought of buying one every time when a group of guests arrived with their scary assortment of baggage. Toyota had a better looking version around for the eastern markets which can compare well with the Tavera and Scorpio when it comes to exterior design. Let us not waste time here, the Qualis doesn't have anything exciting on the design side.

Design of the Qualis was purely functional, intended only to transport people from point A to point B.



Interior :
The same attention to detail was carried over to the interiors too, everything felt good to touch and were clearly laid-out, especially when compared to the other utility vehicles from that era. Qualis had ample headroom and adequate legroom too. Seats were designed very excellently for the fact to be said, grades of fabric were different in each variant. A major disappointment was the lack of legroom for the front seats, which meant tall passengers had to sit with their legs splayed. The company had ensured that the Qualis was produced like any other Toyota and that meant good fit, finish and overall build quality.

Inside, the layout and trim was well-presented and effectively executed. No rich-looking textures were present on the dashboard, but everything felt hard-wearing and reliable.


In the 10-seater layout, second and third rows of seats offered various configurations to manage the different needs of users. At the front, these models had a seperate seat for the driver and a flat 2-seater bench for side passengers. There existed two 2-seater benches at the rear placed along the side walls of the vehicle, both benches were foldable and detachable. The easy-folding rear seats enabled users to configure the seat arrangements for easy entry, exit and multipurpose usage.

Various seating arrangements possible inside the cabin of a Qualis shown in a 2001 brochure.


All seats were front-facing in the 8-seater layout models (GST and optional in GS). Independent seats were provided at the front for both driver and side passenger. The middle row seats were able to accommodate three passengers and the third row also had a 3-person bench. Like what I said about the 10-seater layout models, these 8-seater layout models also had foldable and detachable rear rows. When both rows are removed, the Qualis can even carry a motorcycle very comfortably inside its cabin. Boot lid opened upward and offered a great loading platform to make things easier.

An RD350 sitting comfortably inside a Qualis after removing second and third rows of seats. This particular car was a 2001 FS 10-seater.


The options of both single and dual air-conditioning were designed specifically for India's extreme weather conditions. Frankly speaking, the entire air-con unit of Qualis was top-class in those days. GST being the most expensive variant, had a roof-mounted blower unit at the middle row and wooden-finished centre console. The same GST variant was available without the twin blower air-con setup also, it was possible for customers to delete these standard equipments IIRC. Toyota sensed the need for child-proof locks and wind-down rear door windows, and began to offer those features from 2002 onwards. Pre-facelift model had sliding door windows at the second row.


Ride and Handling :
Qualis had a robust and proven ladder type frame with a twin wishbone and torsion bar set-up in front and leaf spring suspension at the rear. The front suspension worked well and the small 14-inch wheels made the Qualis very nimble. Brakes were terrific, had the right amount of feel and never unsettled the vehicle when applied hard. The suspension was on the softer side and hence the Qualis rode best at low speeds and on paved roads. The tiny 175 R14 tyres provided decent grip but a larger footprint, especially under a full load, would have been better. Ground clearance, despite those stunted 14-inch wheels was adequate, and this meant that the Qualis used to tackle bad roads with ease. Yes, city and inter city trips were equally comfortable to its passengers.

Look at the stingy 14-inch wheels, the Qualis always craved for bigger wheels. Picture from BS Motoring's April 2002 issue.


The rev-sensing power steering system made the work of turning this big vehicle around easier. With 3.5 turns lock to lock and a turning circle of just 9.8 metres, the Qualis is still a highly maneuverable tool in the bumper to bumper rush hour traffic. Steering system always took away all the feedback from the driver's hands, and led to a sense of overconfidence around fast corners most of the times. The tall gear lever with long throws, the two-spoke steering wheel, hand brake lever's position and other controls were actually easy to handle for the driver. Driving position was superb, and this is one of the very few vehicles that is suitable for a person who's not driven anything bigger than a Maruti 800 or a Tata Nano.

The light and nimble Qualis is almost like a car to drive. Suspension is on the softer side. Picture from BS Motoring's April 2002 issue.


Engine and Transmission :
Under the hood of Qualis lied a 2.4-litre four-cylinder 8V variant of Toyota's 2L engine. The same unit was seen in myriad Toyota saloons, pick-up trucks and vans worldwide. This diesel engine sported an all-square bore and stroke configuration - 92x92mm. Using distribution type fuel injection and operating on a 22.1:1 compression ratio, the engine delivered an adequate 74bhp at 4200rpm and 151Nm of torque at 2400rpm. Mated with the unit was a G-58 five-speed manual transmission. Even in the diesel-engined guise, the Qualis was supremely refined.

Qualis's 2.4-litre 2L unit was smoother and more refined than that of the Tata Safari's 1.9-litre 90bhp unit. Picture from Autocar India's August 2002 issue.


These diesel-powered vehicles were capable to clock the zero to 60kmph sprint in 8.7 seconds while zero to 100kmph came up in an agonising 26.3 seconds. In the early-2000s, the holder of the 'fastest MUV' label in India was the Tata Sumo Turbo which did a top speed of 136kmph while the Qualis GS diesel had maxed out at 132kmph. The unit felt eager and willing with an ample torque spread in the real world. Engine’s responsive nature and super-slick gearshift helped in making the Qualis like a car. Where the Qualis lost out was in top-end performance. Beyond 100kph, progress was slow and the engine liked not to be revved harder. So was this a totally capable car or a simple people-mover, like it was designed to be in the eighties? Toyota always wanted Indians to believe that the Qualis was targeted against mid-sized sedans.

Performance figures from the Scorpio SZ2600 vs Safari vs Qualis vs Sumo Turbo vs Bolero XD3P comparison test conducted by Autocar India in 2002.


A petrol-powered version of the Qualis was released later in January 2002 with Toyota's 1 RZ-E four-cylinder, single overhead cam engine. The unit was capable to belt out 92bhp at 4800rpm, while also capable of churning up the rear wheels with a reasonably torquey 150Nm at a surprisingly calm 2800rpm. The move to a petrol engine was pretty much expected, thanks to the imminent dismantling of the administered price mechanism for petrol and diesel which the government had assured to manifest itself from mid-2002. While Mahindra had plans for an Isuzu-engined Armada and MM550 earlier, nothing much materialised.

An unfamiliar petrol engine under the familiar hood. Though the motor was torquier than that of City and Lancer, the same was not reflected in the acceleration figures. Picture from BS Motoring's December 2001 issue.


Initial acceleration tests between 0-60kmph and 0-100kmph pulled out 6.6 seconds and 18.8 seconds respectively, and though not anywhere close to petrol sedan figures, that was ample performance from a big boxy vehicle like the Qualis. A top speed of 142kmph was the most respectable figure for a vehicle of its class in those days. The same gearbox from diesel was retained, including the internal ratios but the final drive was changed to a 4.555:1 ratio in place of the 4.100:1 on the diesel engined versions.

Acceleration test conducted for the Qualis GST petrol recorded a 0-100kmph figure in 18.86 seconds. Data from Overdrive India December 2001.

[Shreyfiesta]

UPDATES/FACELIFTS/SPECIAL EDITIONS

• 1st Anniversary Edition - January 2001 :
Qualis was an instant success in the Indian car market, mainly because of the amount of practicality it offered. The model actually built Toyota's brand reputation in our country for outstanding reliability. For commemorating the occasion of its first year on the Indian roads, Toyota had introduced an 'Anniversary' edition model of the Qualis in early-2001. Priced at around ₹ 8.0lakh ex-showroom, the special edition was sold on first-come-first-serve basis with bookings for only 1,000 units. The Anniversary special edition came in black colour only with special body stripes. This special edition also differentiated from the regular Qualis with alloy wheels, gold-plated monograms and a side protective moulding to reinforce its exclusivity. Also, this model featured a glossy metallica instrument panel, high-grade fabric upholstery and a multi-purpose console box.

The special badge on this model's fender read 'On Indian roads for more than a year.' First anniversary celebrations at Delhi's Le Meridien had a fashion show by Bangalore-based designers.


• Festival Edition - August 2001 :
In addition to the FS, GS and GST variants, the company had released a limited 'Festival' edition of the Qualis with a target of 400 unit sales during the festival season of 2001. This edition of the Qualis was built on the theme of a 'light sports model for highway cruising.' With an ex-showroom price tag of around ₹ 7.0lakh, the vehicle boasted of special side graphics, alloy wheels, body coloured bumpers, etc. These vehicles actually had different seat upholstery, centre console panel and door pad trims from the regular Qualis. Bluish Silver Metallic was the only body colour available for Festival edition Qualis.

A 2001 advertisement of the Festival Edition Qualis. Clearer pictures of this special edition variant are not available anywhere in the internet now.


• GST Super Petrol - January 2002 :
Released in 2002, the petrol-engined Qualis was the quickest utility vehicle sold in India. While it proudly claimed the performance crown in its category, the over-optimistic ex-showroom price tag of ₹ 8.9lakh made it an ultra flop model in our market. For such a big sum of money, buying a thirsty petrol-powered MUV was pointless in those days. Since the GST Super was positioned above regular GST diesel, it had to go against prevailing convention in a country where oil burners used to command larger sticker tags. Nothing was different on the style front except the dual-tone paint scheme and four-spoke alloy wheels. And yes, aftermarket dual-tone paint jobs were popular on regular Qualis variants before GST Super's arrival. Mounting position of front seats were reworked to provide more space for six-footers and huge pot-bellied guys. Anti-glare IRVM, Alpine music system with four speakers, console box, etc also were added to the GST Super variant. Refer to the previous post for performance related details of this petrol version.

GST Super petrol variant's advertisement from mid-2002. The Super's competition came from only one source and that, was the Qualis diesel.


• Facelift - September 2002 :
Facelifted Qualis hit the market in September 2002, designed with exquisite style and comfort. This was the update which saw the adoption of a 7-seater variant. Diesel version came in two variants : FS and GS, priced at ₹ 6.0lakh and ₹ 8.0lakh ex-showroom while 7-seater petrol variant RS costed ₹ 8.5lakh ex-showroom. Both FS and GS used to have sub-variants also. The company had launched a fleet model too, which was a completely stripped down version of the model, for ₹ 5.1lakh. Qualis became fresher than before with vertically-slated radiator grille, clear lens head lamps and tail lamps, redesigned bumpers and new body graphics. FS being the base grade, came with 10-seater configuration from the factory whereas the GS had an 8-seater configuration. GS variant was offered in five colour options : White, Silver Metallic, Green Mica Metallic, Beige Metallic and Turquoise Metallic. Also, it had a plastic cladding around the wheel arch and body graphics. RS variant looked more modern from outside as it had dual-tone body colour, blacked-out pillars, chrome grille, fog lamps, six-spoke alloy wheels and rear spoiler with high-mounted stop lamp. Inside the cabin, it used to have seat belts at all rows, wooden finish instrument panel, tachometer and a bigger console box. Red Mica Metallic + Silver Metallic and Green Mica Metallic + Silver Metallic were the colour options offered for RS. Diesel version of the RS variant also was introduced later in mid-2003. In order to give better control and stability at higher speeds, all variants began to run on wider tubeless tyres after this update.

A well-maintained Qualis RS in Green + Silver dual-tone shade still catches your eyes, right? Special thanks to BHPian @og_adi for sharing this advertisement on the forum.


• FS Limited Edition - September 2003 :
Special limited 8-seater Qualis FS edition was launched to celebrate the milestone of 1,00,000 units sales in India. Priced at around ₹ 6.5lakh ex-showroom, the Qualis FS limited edition came with a sleek full-body stripe to add a touch of style, imposing front grill guard for a powerful front profile, silver metallic dashboard panelling, high-mounted stop lamp, imported sunshades and what not. I'm not sure about how many units of this special edition model were manufactured. By 2003, Toyota had more models like Corolla, Camry and Prado in its Indian product portfolio. The company used to sell 25,000+ units of Qualis easily every year.

This is how the 2003 FS Limited Edition looked from outside. No other pictures of this model exists in the web.


• MYST - April 2004 :
Aimed at personal users including businessmen who seeked exclusivity, Toyota introduced the limited edition Qualis Myst in April 2004. Myst was positioned as a trendy multi-purpose vehicle that combined style and performance at an attractive price of ₹ 6.7lakh ex-showroom. No other shades except for black was offered for this limited edition. Myst edition Qualis came with multi-coloured body stripes, chrome hood mould and radiator grille, a convenient aluminium sidestep, front facing seats and lovely fabric upholstery. Also, it had rugged over fenders, high-mounted stop lamp and a lower console box. Toyota's target was to sell 1200 units of Qualis Myst within four months of launch.

Brochure cover of Toyota Qualis Myst edition from 2004. This variant was aimed at personal users including businessmen and professionals who needey exclusivity.



February 1, 2005
Every legend deserves a farewell, right? The Qualis was Toyota's mainstay in India for almost five years, it was the product that provided Toyota a perfect platform in our country. It was a globally outdated model, but became a super success in our market due to its top-class reliability and practicality. Within an year, Qualis set benchmarks by winning awards from eminent institutions such as JD Power, Overdrive and BS Motoring. It was the synonymous with quality, durability and reliability in the mind of every Indian customer and was judged the best MPV by JD Power for four consecutive years. In fact, Qualis was the most trusted vehicle in the market as it had best rating in critical parameters such as ride, harshness, braking and engine performance. Qualis was recognised as the vehicle that provides its owners with the least cost of ownership in its segment back then itself. NFO also had rated the vehicle with the most resale value in 2003. Though the Qualis had garnered a market share of 30 percent in the utility vehicle segment during the year 2004, Toyota decided to replace it with a more-modern MPV.

Qualis brought togetherness, a newspaper advertisement from 2000. Sorry for the poor quality image.


Giving the reason for the withdrawal of Qualis, Toyota said in a media release that some market research indicated that the customer's needs were changing and the Qualis had to be phased out to make way for a customer-value driven product. By then, the company had sold 1.4 lakh units of Qualis in India with around 30 percent of its sales from the tourist taxi market. Even before the introduction of Camry and Corolla, speculations were there in the automotive industry that Toyota was planning to replace the Qualis with something else. Qualis was the model that made Toyota live up to all the reliability taglines it had associated itself with for the advertising purposes. Even now, it is possible to find lots of examples that has clocked more than 7,00,000 kms without any major mechanical issues.

A Qualis Myst advertisement from May 2004 featuring South Indian actress Shobhana.


The Innova brand which came as a replacement for Qualis is still ferrying many Indian families in comfort through long journeys since 2005. Taxi operators are very fond of the first-gen Innova and base variants are the best fit for their budget. Within few months of launch, Innova was rated by Indians as the best MPV in the market. The first and foremost reason for its success was the reliability factor, same was the case with Qualis as well. Being a luxurious MPV, most of the filmstars, politicians and entrepreneurs used to have one in their garage till the Crysta came as a replacement in 2016. Also, many automobile designers including DC used to customize Innova's interiors with limousine-like facilities.To be truthful, nowadays it is quite difficult to see an original looking Type-1 Innova as most of the owners are facelifting to Type-4 looks.

Some Toyota Innova advertisments from early-2005. Aamir Khan was endorsed as the brand ambassador in August 2006.


THE END.

[Aditya]

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

[doxinboy]

Are you kidding Toyota? Just look in the mirror and see how you single handedly lept into the hearts of Indians as synonym for reliability. Qualis is not just the epitome of engineering prowess, but it came with affordable tag to it. Now what happened in between? How difficult will it be for you to reinvent Qualis to slot below 16 lakhs and set the market on fire again. Instead of rebadging Suzuki, why don't you take a leaf from their playbook and create Arena clone to distinguish premium and affordable brands internally.

[TheHelix0202]

Brilliant dose of nostalgia, hoping to see more threads on other cars of the same era.

It isn’t mentioned in this thread, but here are the two variants of the Qualis with different tail lamps.



The cluster above used to be my fav as a kid, especially on the green shade.

[GTO]

Awesome thread, thanks for sharing! Over & above what is posted, I think there were two more contributors to the Qualis' success:

- Our fascination with brand Toyota & brand Honda (see how the 1st-gen City also took off) since the 80s, after years of seeing rich dudes driving imported Corollas, Civics, Accords, Cressidas and what not.

- The competition was so poor! The Qualis came at a time when Mahindras & Tatas were slow, noisy, overheating, with a shoddy build and had lots of niggles. Here came a new Toyota that could do 500,000 km without so much as a cough! And it drove well, in a time when Mahindras had awful suspensions (bumpy + poor handling) while Tata's were sloppy (but had decent ride quality).

Trivia: Qualis sales peaked when its retirement was announced, and the Innova was coming in. Even after the car was discontinued, owners of immaculate examples had people following them home & making tempting offers to buy the MUV.

[Shreyfiesta]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

It isn’t mentioned in this thread, but here are the two variants of the Qualis with different tail lamps.

Attachment 2230543

The cluster above used to be my fav as a kid, especially on the green shade.

Attachment 2230544

These aren't actually two different variants. From September 2002 onwards, all Qualis variants recieved two-piece taillights as a part of the facelift. It was the pre-facelift model which had single piece taillights.

[Axe77]

Superbly put together Shrey. What an incredible tribute to an iconic model.

The Qualis truly set an outstanding foundation for Toyota’s future success as well. Imagine the customer’s delight when they viewed the first Innova as the successor to the Qualis. Must have been a - “here, take my money” moment, given that it was virtually a double generation jump in the product offering.

Toyota sadly could be SO much more given its pedigree and brand value in India. To me, Toyota is as much about what its achieved as it is about what more it could have been.

[Kosfactor]

What made qualis popular was not it's quality or reliability etc - what strikes you at first is how easy it was to drive. Qualis was the first car-like driving MPV, MUV whatever you want to call it.

Toyota in its infinite wisdom did build on the segment of entry level UVs and went onto create what we now know as Mahindra

[Bibendum90949]

A great compilation shreyfiesta

Qualis was a hell of a machine that quietly goes about it's business in a very dependable way. We had one in the family and had driven a bit. Few things that stays in my mind from the drives 20 years ago.

* Extremely light steering, as light as an old wagon R.
* Almost zero steering feedback.
* Heavy nose dive even at the slightest touch of brakes.
* Very bouncy ride but not unliveable
* Extremely soft suspension that handled bad roads well.
* People at the rear side benches often suffered from motion sickness owing to poor ventilation.
* The hand brake lever was unique that needs to be turned and pulled towards you, placed right to centre console.
* Pretty spacious
* Guess turning radius was pretty good too.

The car did some 4 lakh kilometers without a sweat before it was sold at almost 60% of it's original price IIRC.

Recently, a friend wanted to sell his Qualis. I convinced him to retain it and now he's planning to do a full restoration job. He was mentioning that when he takes it to Toyota service, he gets immense respect and attention than even a LC owner

And how many manufacturers will have the audacity to discontinue a model while doing peak sales numbers. That's Toyota for you.

A tribute to Qualis on bhpian Hanmust's channel Flywheel, in malayalam though.

https://youtu.be/3N_9LrBd9-Q

[parsh]

Originally Posted by Shreyfiesta

UPDATES/FACELIFTS/SPECIAL EDITIONS
To be truthful, nowadays it is quite difficult to see an original looking Type-1 Innova as most of the owners are facelifting to Type-4 looks.

Some Toyota Innova advertisments from early-2005. Aamir Khan was endorsed as the brand ambassador in August 2006.


THE END.

This was their launch time brochure shade, Metallic Light Green, still adorning my garage as Faithful Family Highway Cruiser since 16 years now, with the Original Paint on most of car barring a few panels, bumper and fenders, that had to be replaced/repainted due to few accidental repairs and showing no signs of ageing unless I get terribly bored of it. Hope to carry it to its scrapyard when the MVA Regulations force it to. The only other choice then was the Safari 3.0 burdened by its own issues, engine, limited moving capacity and body roll.

Absolutely beautiful compilation and thread. You indeed have great patience to gather so much information and compile it so well other than the fanatism for the Great Qualis. To many, it seemed to be an age old generation Kijang brought to Indian shores treating India like a dumpyard for their old model. But once it fired up the charts, there was no competition and no looking back.

The Innova was not an instant hit per se. It endeared the brunt of Qualis Legacy initially, its sales fired up few months later, IMO.

If only they got the updated versions of the Kijang on Indian Soil at the proper price point, they would totally wash out any competition.

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Brilliant dose of nostalgia, hoping to see more threads on other cars of the same era.

It isn’t mentioned in this thread, but here are the two variants of the Qualis with different tail lamps.

Attachment 2230543

The cluster above used to be my fav as a kid, especially on the green shade.

Attachment 2230544

Nice catch there and addition to the wonderful thread. It is difficult to find much information on these minor things now.

It is indeed wonderful to see those well maintained Age Old Qualises run along my 16 year Young Oldie sometimes on Mumbai Roads, on highways and many interior Rural areas.

[gkveda]

Wonderful. You have written a biography of our Qualis. I am sure every Qualis owner will admire your efforts and will have experienced the value of Qualis.

I had Qualis for 13 years (2004 to 2017) and even now, it is in my heart. For me, It is a न भूतो न भविष्यति (meaning never before, never after) kind of vehicle. Any amount of admiration is inadequate for the car. Not even once, I repeat, NOT EVEN ONCE, I had to worry about the car, journey or destination in 13 years of togetherness.

When someone says, its boxy design and shape is worst, I say "To get People admiration, one must be rich or must die. Look at Tesla’s CyberTruck, Land rover or Range Rover. If Tesla gives, boxy design SUV and sells in crores, it will be admired as the best design. If Toyota gives boxy design and sells in less than million, it gets trolled." After Qualis was stopped in production, it started getting more admiration and respect from people. In fact, when our Qualis was parked in house without car cover, people used to come and knock our house door just to check if we are selling our Qualis. After we said NO, They used to give their phone numbers and request us to call them if we plan to sell. I have experienced this several times.

Although it is boxy design, it was neglected in front of its Quality and flawless performance.

[rakesh_r]

Wonderful way to give respect to the legend. Like the Scorpio, the Qualis was a hot favourite among vehicle thieves too. One of my friend lost his brand new Qualis in a week's time. He used to give his vehicle as a private taxi. The driver was waylaid and the thieves absconded with the car. Fortunately, the car was found or rather intercepted at KA-MH border when a smart eyed cop found different number plates at the front and back.
Qualis was the first Diesel engined vehicle i drove and found it to be way more nimble than my then owned Zen VX. The more it was loaded the more stable it felt on the road. I still remember, Indians never accepted the Innova initially.
Though it looked ugly, the vehicle had a purpose, transporting people from Point A to Point B.
Remember seeing a modified Qualis in one of Kamal Hassan's Tamil movie-Pammal K Sambandam, loved the stance.

[NiInJa]

Excellent thread.

The Qualis was phased out when I was just about to start my college years, I was crazy about automobiles at that time. A trip in one of those rented Qualis was enough to convince me that someday in future, I will get a car as spacious as this that will fit everyone in the family. My decision of getting the 2nd gen Ertiga had something to do with the Qualis as I could finally relate it to my desire of my college years!

We still have an immaculately maintained silver colored special edition in our colony and despite its boxy looks, people, especially older men give her a look of admiration
I especially like the sticker work with the word 'Toyota' splattered all over the sides.

On a different note, the XL-6 has similar traits as that of first gen Qualis, with disproportionate wheel size, cladding and trapezoidal front grille.