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-   -   Toyota Innova Crysta : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/177320-toyota-innova-crysta-official-review-5.html)

Quick question :

What is the best insurance quote that people have got from other vendors? (not the dealer)

Nandi is charging 80k for insuring the Vx 8 seater with something called an RTI rider.

After I picked up my jaw from the floor, I thought I will ask this group...

Well said. Going by the Innova's initial bookings (nearly 25,000 up) and the success of the Hyundai Creta, it's clear that the market is willing to pay a couple of lakhs in premium for all-rounded cars backed by 'can't go wrong' brands.

You can use 'normal' mode. It's the one between ECO & PWR in terms of power delivery.

FAT, FAT, FAT profit margins. This is Toyota India's bread & butter model.

My butt-dyno says 15-18%. Makes quite a difference, especially in the MT.

ZX MT gets all-black. But trust me, after you see the ZX AT's black & brown, you'll fall in love with them. Incredibly tasteful brown colour.

The Innova Crysta MT doesn't beg for a 6th gear like the older Innova did. The 5th is now taller, with a full 500 rpm shaved off the 100 km/h cruising speed.

That said, I agree with you that a 6th gear would be great to have, considering how much time Innovas spend on the highway. Could have brought the cruising rpm to <2,000.

I disagree. I hope the Hexa is competent, but when it comes to trust, brand Toyota is way, way higher than brand Tata. I don't think the Hexa is going to sway too many people away from the Innova Crysta.

Agreed. The XUV500 AT is an extremely competent SUV and I expect many private owners to cross-shop between the XUV500 & Innova Crysta.

I wouldn't call the Innova Crysta's low speed ride plush either. You do feel the road, rides like a typical body-on-frame UV.

Thanks for the correction! Didn't see it in the brochure, but since so many BHPians insist that black exists, I'm removing that point from the review.

Toyota owners on the forum always brag about low service costs, so I don't see that as a concern at all.

Fat chance of that happening. The old Safari Storme's top 2WD variant costs 14 lakhs (ex-showroom Mumbai), while the Aria's top variant (AWD only) has an ex-showroom tag of 16.5 lakhs. The Hexa is going to be expensive.

Exactly. I don't understand Toyota's slow-as-a-turtle pace in India.

Truly baffling! Believe this was the case with the 1st-gen Innova too, but Toyota quickly corrected it later. Hopefully, the Innova Crysta gets a bench seat option on the top variant soon (although my choice will always be the captain seat).

An urban myth. Space is more or less the same as the older Innova. Two reasons why people might think otherwise:

1. Dark coloured interiors.

2. Thicker seats. They could make a little difference.

Hahaha! Great observation.

Yes.

If you have a child / child seat on the front seat (which you shouldn't - kids are safer on the back seat).

I disagree. The vehicle still has to visit the service station which is a process in itself (appointment, drop off, pickup, time off the road etc.). Not like the service is free either.

Nandi has lost it. Should cost less than half of that.

Great review of a Great vehicle.
But my next and first AT would be XUV500.

I am seeing lots of ads on olx and other forums for old Innovas which indicate that the current Innova owners are willing to upgrade it ASAP as the difference between the two generations is wide.
In one Ad I saw a Petrol Innova is being offered for 4 Lac.

Review of the highest quality. It is one thing for manufacturers to provide features but it is another thing for Team BHP moderators to "discover" these features and explain it to all. There are so many examples of illustrations in this review which no official forums or professional reviews would have brought out. Some examples - the sun shade & light, reason for scoop out in B-pillar etc.

I used to own the version prior ("the version with the best front view"), had to sell it later and had to go elsewhere for an need for automatic. Toyota' brand is very strong, proof of the sales chart.

I also liked the brown leather on the ZX AT, but it would have looked even better if the shade was like the "dakota brown" offered in the BMW 5 series. These are nitpickings of course.

I would still go for XUV500 AT AWD - I feel the road presence of XUV is better than Innova. Besides 4-5 Lacs cheaper than Innova, may be a better FE as well.

Rated 5*** for a review.

Truely we don't need the 600 page manual after reading this review. Everything is here.
Awesome. Many thanks

What an awesome review GTO & Rehaan. You guys have really raised the benchmark for all TBHP reviews, as excellent as they are, once again. Thanks so much for factual & unbiased report on this new car's positives and negatives. I think Toyota has a winner on its hands.

There are no headlamp levelling knobs. During my test drive, I took the vehicle to the service area and enquired this with the service engineer. He said that it comes with auto levelling too, based on speed. Did you observe this auto levelling during the test drives?

Here is the comparison of the Innova Crysta within its own Variants. Toyota has divided them into the following:

• GX
  
• GX AT
  
• VX
  
• ZX
  
• ZX AT

Features Comparison


With some high emphasis by Toyota on the seating options and MID data over the different variants, I have put them in a separate picture else the resultant size of the complete comparison becomes small making it difficult to read.

Seating & MID Comparison


PS: All data taken from the Toyota Innova Crysta Brochure (Website).

NOTE: Click any picture to open a larger higher-resolution version in a new window / tab.

Top class review. My Q for reviewers. How would you comment on an AT purchase decision between the innova and the endy. I know they're slightly different price points (but not THAT different) and MUV vs SUV but I'm sure there'll be some cross shopping.

Excellent review of an excellent vehicle !! Rated 5 stars.
My few opinions regarding the Crysta:
1. The vehicle looks good on front, average from rear and good from the sides.
2. Excellent engines with superb low end torque.
3. Giant leap in the ergonomics compared to old Innova.
4. Manual transmission should've been 6 speed given the nature of the vehicle
5. Engine guard missing
6. Rear drum is not a deal breaker if the braking is good as even Fortuner, Elantra gets drum.
7. Zx should have had a 8 seater version.
8. Awesome plus points like option for a 7 year warranty (not that anything will go wrong), lifetime engine timing chain and cheap maintanence costs with only gripe being short service intervals.
9. Last but not the least, I couldn't even think how responsible people's driving will be with this amount of power, when they used to fly low with a 100 bhp. Sigh. Expect Innova bullies to grow manifold.

Thanks for the wonderful review. I agree to the positives and negatives. In addition I found the steering ply to be quite long compared to the older model.

The main thing I did not like was the placement of the USB port. Its a struggle for me every time to turn around and properly align and push in the USB drive. Very very awkward. Hope I don't sprain my back.

Another question

I found the brakes on both the at & the Mt to be very binary - no travel at all.

I am normally very smooth on brakes.

Is this something the reviewers observed too?

Excellent review of the Crysta, GTO and Rehaan. Team-BHP reviews are outstanding, to say the least. Considering the quality of the speakers, does it not make sense to buy the GX variant and deck it up with aftermarket stuff. It will turn out to be much cheaper than the VX or ZX. The only important thing missing would be the remaining 4 airbags. The rest of the features are just adornments and can be lived without.
How would the XUV compare with the Innova? There are quite a lot of niggles in the XUV but can be lived with, considering the price difference. Also the ASS of Toyota is notches above that of Mahindra.
Can we start a comparison page between the XUV and the Innova?

Awesome review there... Can easily claim the tagline "Not your regular car review!"

The car really looks to have dual personality - a regular boxy MPV from the outside, and quite beautifully and luxuriously done inside. The top variant really can be luxurious and safe beater car for the household. Loved that tan/brown shade leather seats.

Saw a lot of people going the price vs value comparison. Since I recently booked a crysta, I too went thru it.

For the help of the others, below is my analysis, documented on the Crysta Brochure




Notes:
- I have compared the Gx AT 8 seater with the Zx AT & the Vx MT 8 seater with the Zx AT
- A '0' shows a difference that I dont care about
- A '+' is a difference in favour of this model vs the Zx
- A '-' is a difference that is against this model vs the Zx
- A '*' is a significant difference; something I care about

(PS: use with caution. Did it for my benefit. YMMV)

My decision process (long. Short analysis: needed an 8 seater; dont mind manual; so Vx)

The most frustrating thing about this was that every single variant had a significant negative that prevented you from picking it, even if budget was not a constraint. Toyota or their dealers seriously need to address this either from the factory or as dealer options that do not void warranty.

I (& my wife) wanted an automatic. In fact, my wife fell in love with the automatic. So, it was either the Zx or the Gx.

Why Gx
The difference was over 6 lakhs, so naturally, the first choice was a Gx.
I was thinking that since it has 3 frontal airbags, ABS, EBP & BA the safety is not very bad. Sure it will be nice o have the VSC, ESP & 4 more air bags but this level of safety was top-of-the-line just 3 months ago. Also, I did not really like the touch leather in the Zx and fundamentally, I believe navigation is better handled in real time by a phone rather than by a ICE navigation with static data.

So, I thought "buy the Gx; Put in a good ice. ( get a nice Capacitive touch screen with android auto, put in nice speakers & an amp). Get good quality Stanley leather everywhere, including the damn door pads.

For a an additional 2 lakhs max, I have an automatic with 8 seater done up to my specs and looking good. It will not have the nice things like indirect lighting, power seats etc but you will get tired of them soon any way. I told my wife, "It is basically our current Innova (G4) with an automatic".

And so it was decided.

Something was still nagging me but I was about 90% convinced.

Choosing the Zx instead
Then I got to thinking.

Sure, the difference is 6 lakhs.

But, I need to spend about 2 lakhs to get the car I want. The safety features, which cannot be put in, cost about 2 lakhs (Difference between Vx & Zx MT) and the nice-to-have features like the cabin, headlights, etc are worth around 2 lakhs. So, it is not like the Zx is an over priced version - we are getting our money's worth for the additional 6 lakhs. The 'budget' is sort of an artificial concern any way. We can surely afford the 26 lakhs. Will only upgrade the speakers (12k max) and use the amp from the old Innova.

So, let us buy the Zx - this was the decision as of Wednesday night.


So wife & I went to Nandi at 9:00 Am on Thursday (good time) to book the Gx. We made the mistake of looking at the Gx & Zx side by side. My wife went "Whaaa ... 6 lakhs for this kind of difference? How many times will you set the power seat? It does not even have a memory. Maybe we should put in the additional money & get the BMW. Or save 6 lakhs, buy the Gx."

In this, the sales person (Sowmya, Nandi Toyota) gave fairly good advice, IMO. She said "Buy a Gx. Most people do that. It has the best trade off."

We had not driven the MT at all. So the sales person suggested "Why dont I come home with the Zx MT? I will bring the documents to be signed also. SO we will be done"

How I ended up with the VX MT 8STR

She came home with the Zx MT. My mum, 83, decided she wanted to sit in the car. Came out, sat in the car and declared "What non sense? We need a bench seat. I want to stretch my leg out when we travel".

With that added input we went back to the drawing board.

Finally, I said to my wife "Listen. I dont really mind the manual. Also, I think you should use the Innova (instead of the Duster) as you go a longer distance. It is more comfortable in the back & the driver does not need an automatic.

We need an 8 seater & the car has to feel like an upgrade.

So, let us buy the Vx 8STR MT"

So that is how we ended up booking a Silver Vx 8STR MT.

I am still only about 95% convinced! If the Zx had a 8STR, I think I will buy it in a jiffy!

Advice to Toyota

Toyota needs to communicate with customers better.

- If Toyota introduces a 8STR Zx or an Automatic Vx in the next 3 months, I will be super upset!
- If they do, & they (or the dealer) give Zx 7 seater buyers the option to put in the 8 seater at a differential cost, it might still be acceptable.

Basically, they need to ensure that my 20+ lakh investment / expenditure gets me what I need.
- They seriously need to introduce an automatic Vx
- Also a 2.8 Ltr MT with 6 speed manual.

Just got this sheet as the justification for the 80k insurance component. So, what do you think? :-)

Advantages of Toyota Insurance.xls

Amazingly in-depth review. Rated 5 stars. The Innova and Crysta both prove one point emphatically. Even in the so-called 'price sensitive' market like India, people are willing to pay a premium for quality, safety and reliability. Important lesson for the rest of the pack.