[VKumar]

Toyota Innova Crysta 2.7 is priced between INR 13,98,800 to 19,88,300 (Ex-showroom, Delhi). This report will focus on changes in the 2.7l petrol automatic as compared to its 2.8l diesel automatic sibling. To read the full official review, click here

[VKumar]

Observations and Differences

Basically, only the '2.7' badge on the boot is what you an rely on, to recognize if this is a petrol version or the diesel. Other than that, well; the smoking habit of diesels.

On the inside, only the tachometer is a way that can help you find out, what engine powers the Innova Crysta you are travelling into. At idle, diesel clatter is perfectly apparent. But, things get tough while the speedo is nearing 100 kph mark. There the tacho will help, NVH won't; until you are an enthusiast.

I tried to adjust the steering wheel to a bit lower position and discovered this. Seriously Toyota? You could have used a bit more of rubber to join it on lower end.

And behind the flap lies this.

Steering mounted controls are good to have, but anyone with an eye for detail is gonna hate the way these are integrated and the cheap and audible click they work with. We wish the controls were better fit, finish is fine but the click sound of buttons isn't.

[VKumar]

We love numbers. Don't we? Just for the sake of some numbers; with an option of 5-speed MT or 6 speed slushbox AT, is the 2.7 liter Petrol engine, which has a peak power output of 166 PS (@5200 RPM), and a peak torque output of 25 kg-m (@4000 RPM - before you call that 'low', previous Innova had a shade over 20), with ARAI certified FE numbers ticking at 9.89 Kmpl and 10.83 Kmpl for its manual and automatic versions, respectively. The old, proven, not very rev happy and VVT-I equipped 2.7l block has been offered by Toyota for the petrol buyers. Although this is an old block (square profile, 95 mm X 95 mm), it is known internationally for its bulletproof reliability. What Toyota has added is variable valve timing and this beast of an engine is ready to pull the Innova Crysta petrol.

Before we move ahead to discuss how this MPV is to drive, let's discuss the numbers once again. The 2.8l diesel, which we all actually love, has a peak power output of 174 ps, with a gross vehicle weight (Why discuss the kerb weight, when Toyota has given us the numbers with full load? Refer the attached brochure) of 2,450 kilos. That makes an 'actual' power to weight ratio of 71.02 ps/ton. While the 2.7l petrol with a peak power output of 166ps has a gross vehicle weight of 2,340 kilos to lug around, which makes for a figure of 70.94 ps/ton. So the 2.7 should be a slower car. Read on to find out.

The first question that comes into mind is how will a petrol engine perform in a 2+ tonne MPV (loaded with passengers)? You’ll be surprised, trust me. This high displacement petrol is the engine that packs a good number of surprises. In fact, for a customer who lives in NCR, has a running of 500 kilometers per month or 750 kilometers per month, planning to keep the car for a long term (diesels have a life of 10 years now) and buying the Innova Crysta for the comfort and some occasional touring. If you belong to this category, then Innova Crysta petrol is the car for you. NVH is awesome and both the diesel motors feel crude in front of this creamy petrol in terms of NVH as well as smoothness of operation.

So you need smoothness and silence of operation, drive inside Delhi, want to keep the car for 10+ years (only petrol can be kept in Delhi now), and drive 500-750 kilometers a month and prefer occasional bursts of power. Close your eyes and buy this car. The NVH is definitely not Hyundai level, but it is way better than the diesels. This 2.7l petrol is one with a proper big bore, hence torque is not an issue. This engine has enough guts to pull like a diesel and keep the enthusiast inside you happy with its power delivery, handling and engine note (it even shakes like old American muscle cars if you push the engine to 5000 while parked).

The shifter remains same as what one gets to see in Innova Crysta diesel A/T or new Fortuner A/T variants.

Slot the gear selector into D mode and let the car crawl, all good for city traffic. Hit highway or hills and it won’t let you down anywhere. Just like the 2.8, this engine also is let down by a slow automatic, which takes a second or two to convert the order that you gave by the heavy foot to actual performance. The gearshift pattern while downshifting is also exactly same for this automatic too. Put your foot down and it shifts one gear down, then one more and this road liner starts moving ahead with some arrogance. 100 Kph can be seen at around 1900 RPM in sixth cog and there is absolute silence at that time. We saw 120 coming at around 2250 RPM.

What differentiates this engine from its diesel sibling is the way it delivers the power. Push hard and you will notice that initially it has to be the diesel all the way, but once the petrol is in its peak band, it demolishes the 2.8 diesel in no time. While the acceleration and torque delivery of the diesel seems to be flat, it’s petrol which will excite the enthusiast in you. Higher the tacho needle goes, sweeter the engine note gets and the power delivery keeps getting stronger and stronger, you want to pull even harder and the upshift happens at a shade below 6000 RPM. Smack, you are back onto the back of 166 petrol powered mad horses, they push back into the seat again. Want to push further? The speedo needle will this time make your eyeballs come out of their sockets.

While trying 0-100 runs, we managed to do 100 either at 12 seconds or a shade above it (again, 5 on board and AC on), since initial starting of NA petrol cars is normally more effected by the load, we expect 1 second benefit with one on board and AC off – that’s a respectable figure for a 2 tonne people mover anyways. In a parallel run against a 2.8 AT, we could easily notice the factors those make 2.8 quicker to 100 Kph. It's noticeable that starting is where the diesel definitely has an upper hand due to massive torque, even before the petrol car reaches 30 kph, the 2.8 diesel feels it'll be beyond the sight within a minute. After that, the petrol car slowly catches up, but till then the 100 is already crossed with diesel being the quicker. It's around 120 Kph when petrol car will be again running parallel to its diesel counterpart and then 2.8L is overtaken. At this moment, the petrol is running at its peak with the progress being very strong, the 2.8 is completely defeated in front of this 2.7 petrol. So if you love only occasional bursts of power, the petrol is for you and if your concern is a quick power delivery – always, then look at 2.8 diesel. The 2.7 isn't far back though, it's also surprisingly quick for a naturally aspirated petrol.

Kitna deti hai? Here lies the real surprise. We were expecting 6-7 Kpl overall, but this motor surprised us with its frugality (for a 2.7 petrol + slushbox combo). As per MID readings, the FE we achieved is as follows:

• City ECO: 9.2 Kpl
• City PWR: 6.1 Kpl
• Highway ECO: 13.4 Kpl
• Highway PWR: 8.3 Kpl

This MUV has a 65 liters petrol tank. Even after covering 613 kilometers, we had a range of 119 kilometers being displayed in the MID, this translates into 11.23 kpl fuel economy overall, so the ARAI figure of 10.83 is quite reliable for what is on offer.

Ride and Handling: In terms of ride and handling, there is not much to differentiate. My friend claimed that the petrol steering wheel is a bit lighter, maybe he was right; I couldn't make out any considerable difference. where actually the difference lies is the way the nose behaves on uneven surface. Where the diesel feels nose heavy, it is the petrol which feels livelier (Maybe because the 90 kilos it loses over diesel is from just above the front wish bones, or ahead of them) and lighter. You can feel the suspension working (And I like that feeling), though it feels a bit tinny (diesel has that heavy feel) but overall, it's well acceptable, a really nice, and comfortable riding vehicle in all type of conditions it is supposed to be driven under.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Test-Drives Section. Thanks for sharing!

[vishy76]

An excellent write up on a versatile car with an equally versatile petrol engine. Attention to detail was also very good.

The 2.7 is definitely a good option for those who still hate the 2.8 diesel's clattery nature and want something more refined for city commutes as well as the highways.

Unlike the Fortuner, I find this motor to be better mated to the Innova. After all, no one can forgive the fact that the Fortuner weighs more and is only available in 4x2 with the Petrol.

Thus prospective Fortuner petrol owners could look at the Innova for the following reasons:

- A much lower price point gives you the same features
- Better ride quality
- A slightly faster car (The Innova's lighter)
- Better Fuel efficency

The only thing going against the Innova petrol are the van like looks and image for a 20+ Lakh car. However, if you ignore this, the petrol is almost as capable as the diesel.

Sorry for the back to back posts mods. Please merge this post with the one above.

Here is a short video of the NVH of the Petrol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsvsrhF706k

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by vishy76

The only thing going against the Innova petrol are the van like looks and image for a 20+ Lakh car. However, if you ignore this, the petrol is almost as capable as the diesel.

I think that is the biggest selling point of the fortuner, many owners are buying it just for the butch SUV look.The rest doesn't really matter.

[gauravanekar]

A very good writeup, Innova petrol makes much better sense for enthusiasts indeed. Redlining a square bore petrol is a FUN indeed! The cruising rpm is very good, looks like gearratios are selected for good cruise ability rather that outright commuting, makes proper sense for a MUV.

[Shanksta]

Awesome review with great details. The 2.7 is frugal as well.

Not easy achieving those figures with 166horses resting under your foot. I am not surprised by the NVH of the Crysta 2.7. My uncle bought a used 2006 2.0L G4 Innova last year and compared to my diesel Innova, the petrol engine is very smooth and NVH is on a different level. Not to forget, even the previous one was a sleeper MUV with 136PS. But fuel efficiency of the old one is around 7.9 - 8.2kmpl in city and 9.2 - 9.8kmpl on the highway.

Also I observed the same thing in my uncle's car, the petrol Innova felt livelier and the suspension was felt a little more. But steering feel remained the same.

I'm digressing here, but his petrol Innova is his daily driver and he has fitted a Lovato gas kit in the car. His fuel cost is ₹3.50 per km. Almost ₹2 cheaper than running my diesel Innova.

Maybe Toyota should've launched even the previous generation with the 2.7 engine they had on sale in other countries.

[viren83]

Awesome review!

Originally Posted by Shanksta

Maybe Toyota should've launched even the previous generation with the 2.7 engine they had on sale in other countries.

We had a previous gen Innova with a petrol 2.7 motor for almost a year. Frankly, I never liked the petrol motor compared to the present diesel offered. The petrol motor becomes noisy at times, mainly because of the slow gear changes. I see that it's the same tranny bolted in the Indian version too.

If I were looking for an Innova, my choice would be the diesel.

[VKumar]

Thanks for appreciation guys.

Originally Posted by vishy76

The 2.7 is definitely a good option for those who still hate the 2.8 diesel's clattery nature and want something more refined for city commutes as well as the highways.

Indeed, the 2.8 diesel feels crude in front of this petrol if you are in for a city drive. The petrol feels near silent when you are driving under, say 60 kph with a light foot. Additionally, as I have already mentioned above, anyone in NCR who has a monthly running of 500-750 kms, does occasional highway trips and plans to keep the car for a long term, this vehicle makes way more sense than the 2.8 D.

When you buy a 2.8 today with an yearly running of 10k kms, you have actually put your 25 lac on stake for a 10 year or 1 lakh kilometers ownership, after that your vehicle has only scrap value left. But, if you buy a 2.7 an want to keep it for, say 10 years, you can. It will get a better resale value than 2.8 at that time and you can actually live a better and more peaceful life with a more silent cabin. Install a CNG kit on board, and a cabbie will happily buy it from you.

Unlike the Fortuner, I find this motor to be better mated to the Innova. After all, no one can forgive the fact that the Fortuner weighs more and is only available in 4x2 with the Petrol.

Although the TBHP review has covered the Fortuner 2.7 just perfect, still, I am putting the Fortuner 2.7 under grind for 1000 kilometers by this weekend (until some final moment commitment screws up), shall post a minor comparo on this thread between the two - in terms of performance, FE, comfort and dynamics.

Here is a short video of the NVH of the Petrol:
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=GsvsrhF706k

Here is the video I recorded (I haven't used GoPro here as it doesn't record sound that well, but Sony Alpha - it's the master of video and sound recording)

The video is shaky at points - I have done that intentionally so that you know where the car had his the had patches. In the diesel, the engine clatter gets mixed with the sound of small pebbles hitting the wheel well at inside (Crysta has no wheel well inner plastic insulation after all). But in this video, you can very well experience the NVH, suspension noise as well as the noise of small pebbles hiting the wheel well (Minor tak tak sounds when the camera shakes). And you don't need to put on headphones too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5s0A4fneHs

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

The cruising rpm is very good, looks like gearratios are selected for good cruise ability rather that outright commuting, makes proper sense for a MUV.

Indeed, it's at around 80 kph when the car takes the sixth cog - that's when you realize the smoothness of operation. Both the diesels feel clattery in font of it.

Originally Posted by Shanksta

Also I observed the same thing in my uncle's car, the petrol Innova felt livelier and the suspension was felt a little more. But steering feel remained the same.

Previous gen Innova had a sharper turn in and was dynamically better than the new car. I too have driven the 2.0 petrol, it was indeed a fun filled MPV, but it used to drink a lot.

I'm digressing here, but his petrol Innova is his daily driver and he has fitted a Lovato gas kit in the car. His fuel cost is ₹3.50 per km. Almost ₹2 cheaper than running my diesel Innova.

2.7 will also enjoy similar running costs, cabbies are gonna have it for sure - thanks to NGT and our govt.

Originally Posted by viren83

We had a previous gen Innova with a petrol 2.7 motor for almost a year.

Of it was a manual, then I can make out. That runs at a higher rpm. Additionally, this engine is slightly noisy too (But I loved that noise, others can't - personal choice) initially while picking up. The best way of silent operation is to be light on throttle and let it gain the speed calmly without revs going over 2000.

[Alfresco]

My 2005 petrol Innova is still going strong. I opted for petrol because I lived in a small town with only highway trips racking up the mileage. In almost 12 years, my Innova has done around 130000 kms only, justifying my choice. It still drives very well, nvh is low and maintaining good speeds is a breeze. I am still getting an overall average of around 9 kmpl.
Powerful, NA petrol engines have a charm of their own. I would again go for a petrol Innova if given a choice.

[Turbanator]

I believe new Petrol Innova benefits from Six Speed Auto as far as mileage is concerned. We have the older generation which gives us 9-11 regularly so after a reasonable running in, it will be fair to expect 10-12 easily even though the engine is larger now.

But it pains to see a 2 Million Rupee Toyota without an Engine cover, don't know how they leave such small things. BTW I was very close to picking up an LC Prado around this time last year and even LC Prado was missing engine cover

[GTO]

If I were ever to buy a big UV, it would be diesel for sure. More torque, better fuel-economy, longer tank range and - in some cases - superior reliability.

That said, I experienced this engine in the Fortuner Petrol and must say that it's a decent alternative for those who have low monthly running and are looking at absolute refinement - the petrol is so smooth compared to the diesel. It's got sufficient power on tap too. Those who buy the petrol will save well over 6 figures (but they'll also lose big bucks at the time of resale). In my driving style, I saw merely 6 - 7 kmpl with the Fortuner Petrol!

Superb review. Thanks for sharing!

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Those who buy the petrol will save well over 6 figures (but they'll also lose big bucks at the time of resale). In my driving style, I saw merely 6 - 7 kmpl with the Fortuner Petrol!

Here is the number I attained in a Fortuner petrol on a trip to Nainital and now midway to Delhi.

But there is a trick, its not even 540 kms yet and the fuel level needle is already touching the 'E' marking. In other words, even for an early morning drive which had some hilly terrain, some rough roads and then 4 lanes, this vehicle is displaying 9.5 kpl but the actual number doesn't look like it's even 7. And yes, this is when I tried to keep the things economical, sluggish acceleration and not even once went past 100. In fact, it doesn't accelerate too well either and eco mode is just unbearable at times.

If anyone is looking for petrol one, I would any day suggest Crysta only (Fortuner petrol isn't 4x4 after all and what's and SUV without a 4x4? A van in SUV guise). Crysta offers better comfort, way better ride (believe me, Fortuner is still bumpy), better performance and better FE.

[Boomerang]

Vkumar, thank you for spotting 'behind the flap' and 'rubber stinginess' by Toyota. People love the brand because of their quality and tank-build. Really, the new innova to me looks like a Greedy output production. Hope there was more competition is this space.