[v12]

Currently the only market where the Qualis has a demand is the tourist market. They're in demand due to the high reliabiltiy and low maintenance of this vehicle.

There are hardly any Qualis' you will see that are still being used as family vehicle.

[pacman2881]

Originally Posted by v12

The End
Toyota had no reason to discontinue the Qualis but maybe because of a brand image and the Indian auto scene seeing new cars, they wouldnt want to be left behind selling outdated models.

A nice write up on a very good vehicle. At first when Qualis was launched I felt let down by Toyota for bringing a dated looking vehicle till I realized it's potential. Discontinuing Qualis was a bold move by Toyota. They clearly placed their long term goals first over short term success. The Qualis might have sold well even if they had planned a low cost brand for it to dis-associate the Toyota name.
IMO putting Qualis to rest gave a new lease of life to all other MUVs in the market.

[Technocrat]

Thats a lovely Write up V12. The Qualis was a such a hit that when it was stopped the resale values of the car increased instead of decreasing

[Sankar]

Nice review V12. I love this vehicle.

Originally Posted by v12

Currently the only market where the Qualis has a demand is the tourist market. They're in demand due to the high reliabiltiy and low maintenance of this vehicle.

There are hardly any Qualis' you will see that are still being used as family vehicle.

We have three in our family

One at my ancestral home. It's a GS bought new in 2001. This is the one i have driven the most. During my recent visit i popped the hood and was happy to see the engine bay "clean". No oil stains nothing

Second Qualis is with my youngest uncle. It's a GS but the new facelifted model with wind down windows on the rear doors.

And the third (odd) one is with my oldest uncle. It's a RS, Petrol Qualis

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by v12

Currently the only market where the Qualis has a demand is the tourist market. They're in demand due to the high reliabiltiy and low maintenance of this vehicle.

There are hardly any Qualis' you will see that are still being used as family vehicle.

Not quite so down south I feel. I can count atleast 3 numbers of Qualis within my friends and families.

They are being pestered by Travel Operators to sell the car though.

[manikjeet]

we had a dark blue colour Qualis one with PS and A/C . we had its from 2001 to 2006 and we had done 4.75 lac km+ and it was still going strong(no engine work at all) and we sold it to a taxi wala and its still going strong

[Manuuj]

When I had first laid eyes on the Qualis I thought to myself "Why would anyone design such and ugly car and why would anyone buy them?"
Their increasing numbers on the road continued to mystify me, as did the smiling faces behind the wheel, till the day that we got our own.

The story goes..

In late 2003 my Opel Astra's engine blew up for the third time. It was a 1999 model 1.7 turbo diesel and had been plagued with problems from day one..and I mean DAY ONE.
I had already spent a fortune over the years having it repaired time and again and was tired of throwing my money in the bottomless pit that was the Astra's maintenance.
We were in the process of buying a Qualis for the factory staff when the Astra was sent to the Opel workshop for another fortnight long stay.

Since I needed a car in the meantime it was decided that I would drive the Qualis till the Astra came back.

I was averse to the idea at first as I had not even seen the insides of the Qualis until then.

The first day I drove it, it was late evening on the 1st of January 2004, the day after it arrived from the showroom. (I had not even bothered to go take delivery!)
Today’s date is 9th of November 2009 and I have driven my beloved “dhanno" over 1,60,000 hassle free kilometers!

Needless to say my factory staff is not holding their breath in anticipation of that elusive Qualis that was supposed to be delivered to them all those years ago!!

I was recently offered Rs.3,65,000/- by the Toyota dealership for it, as it is in IMMACULATE condition but I’m not selling!

I just had the clutch system overhauled at around 1,55,000 kms. It costed less than 8000/- and has made a HUGE difference to the way the car drives. (This was its FIRST major repair in 6 years of uninterrupted use!)

It is now faster and quieter not to mention a marked improvement in fuel economy figures. It literally feels like its a brand new car again!..

As far as maintenance details go all I can say is that it has gone for service at the same Toyota dealer in Delhi EVERY 5000kms without fail.
Apart from this all Alignment, Wheel Balancing and Tyre Rotation are carried out every 5000 kms also.

There had been some fault with the starter around 1,28,000 kms. It was replaced and is till today the only part that malfunctioned.

I had been advised to get the rubber engine mountings changed at around 1,50,000 kms along with the timing belt which was promptly carried out on cue.

The Tyres were changed around at 1,20,000 kms and I do expect them to last the 50-55,000 kms the earlier two sets lasted. (Bridgestone Potenza 195/70/R14)

All I do apart from this is replacing the wiper blades every monsoon and topping up the washer fluid every week!

As far as cost of ownership per kilometer go it is difficult to come to an exact figure but ballpark figures are:

• Approximately Rs.1500-2000/ on every 5000 kms service = Rs 0.36/km
  
  2. Set of tyres (4) at approx 4000 per tyre = Rs.16,000..done thrice= Rs.48,000/- on tyres in 1,45,000 kms= Rs.0.33/km
  
  3. Maybe Rs.5000/- on emergency breakdowns (only one comes to mind) = Rs.0.03/kmand 8000/- on a clutch overhaul at 154,000 kms = Rs.0.05/km which totals Rs.0.08/km
  
  4. Battery changed twice at approx Rs.10,000/ =Rs.0.06/km
  
  5. The most expensive services are at every 40,000 kms at approx. Rs.7500/-done thrice= Rs. 22500/- which comes too 0.15 /km
  
  6. Average mileage is at 11.5 Kms/litre CONSISTENTLY. This means 1,55,000 kms divided by 11.5 kms/litre= 13,478 litres of fuel @ Rs.31= Rs.4,17,818/- divided by 1,55,000kms= Rs. Rs.2.69/km.
• If you add all these up you get a figure of Rs.3.67 per kilometer which includes All Services, Tyres, Batteries, Parts Replacements and FUEL !

These are of course all approximations but I'm sure are should be pretty close to the real figure.

Customer service at Toyota is top class and offers complete peace of mind.
They even serviced my car once under an hour once when I told them it was an emergency!

As far as the luggage carrying capacity goes many a times the toll collectors have asked me if I was moving house owing to the amount of luggage and furniture (yes..furniture) I have lugged in my beloved dhanno !!

All in all I have never felt this satisfied with any other vehicle.

That is why I shall only buy Toyota for the rest of my years.

I have booked the Fortuner which will be delivered to me on the 19th of November but I shall still use my trusty Qualis for my daily driving and factory duties.

[Ramsagar]

Thats a great review. Still there is lot of respect stored for Qualis in the used car market.
Become more reliable even after running for lakhs of kms. That was a magic wand from Toyota.

[Sankar]

I took a casual look at Qualis used car listings in carwale and was shocked to see the market prices! The cars done more than a lac and half and in some cases over two lacs and the asking price is in the range of 4 to 6 lacs (south prices).

[Bullfrog]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Become more reliable even after running for lakhs of kms.

I have heard from the operator, my organisation uses for travel, that he has a Qualis that is doing duty after...hold your breath...logging 650,000 Kms
And he is happy with it. So are his customers.

[anekho]

very nice write up v12 and manuuj - the qualis is a real work horse.

I've never owned/driven one but it was the long distance car of our choice. We've undertaken plenty of trips on it to so many family functions etc. Untill the innova came

cheers

[trrk]

Hi,

This is a Qualis owned by my cousins.







This had engine work at around the 3L mark. Don't know any other details.

Just drove it for a few kilometres and is still good.

I was not sure about where to post this and this thread happened!

[GTO]

I have huge respect for the Qualis. For what it did to the utility vehicle segment, and how durable the product eventually proved. Sure it was ugly. But amongst the Mahindra's and Tata's of the time, the Qualis brought a level of reliability that our people mover segment had never seen before. The market simply couldn't have enough of them and the Qualis went on to become a favorite with personal owners, tourist cabs, highway champs and semi-urban / rural buyers alike. Heck, my family rented a 2.25 lakh kms Qualis at Corbett that ran smooth and still had a long healthy life left in it. What's more : The Qualis got predictable / acceptable handling to the segment too.

Toyota could very well have sold the Qualis at a lower price point, even after the Innova's launch, and it would have still found a good number of homes each month!

[Joe M]

The Qualis shares the position in my heart with the OHC as the most missed cars of the past decade. I know Qualises used by Taxi drivers as well as familymen. It is one of most demanded car in todays' second hand car market as well, though it's a few years after it's discontinued. I know people who consider the Qualis even better than the Innova. It had one of the best diesel engines in our market at that time.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Joe M

It is one of most demanded car in todays' second hand car market as well, though it's a few years after it's discontinued. I know people who consider the Qualis even better than the Innova.

A late model Qualis (i.e. same year that the Innova was released) will fetch a higher resale price than an Innova of the same year. Beat that!