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-   -   Luxury meets power with my Toyota Innova Crysta 2.8 Z (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/189878-luxury-meets-power-my-toyota-innova-crysta-2-8-z.html)

It all began an year ago, when our faithful servant started ageing, after all it had completed 2,00,000 kilometers and 8 long years of service. The search began for a new MPV, there were a lot of competitors but it was her cousin who was chosen.

What I liked about her?

Everything, from top to the bottom she is flawless beauty. She is so beautiful that I would be cursed if I number its magnificence.

In the words of Shakespeare

Anyways, some characteristics won over my heart and here they are:

• Very aggressive front styling, it has a great road presence.
• Luxurious interiors.
• humongous engine, its the most powerful engine ever owned by us.
• The slushbox makes it an ease to drive in the city.
• FE, it is not a fuel guzzler, I get 9 kmpl on the highway and 8 in the city which is good for a 2 tonne MPV.
• Topnotch safety, 7 airbags, BA, ESP, HAC, EBD etc. I cannot believe that this is the same car that didn't even have EBD in its previous avatar.
• Cruise Control, a boon for the e-ways.
• Ambient lightning, it makes the car feel a segment higher

What I disliked about her?

Well said, by Monsieur Havelock Ellis,

Farewell to our old faithful servant

Towards the end of 2016 we had made plans to replace our car, it was put up for sale in April but there was no customer for it:Shockked:. Strange, actually very strange that there was no customer for an Innova!!
I think it was the ODO that deterred everyone:

My father thinks that it was the car's age but anyways it is still a mystery.

We ended up giving it to ToyotaUTrust, they quoted 5,20,000 for the vehicle. They were very much impressed from our car, I lost the count of how many times the words 'Well maintained' were quoted. After all, it was a BHPian's car.

Fast forward to the farewell

We were asked to provide the car to them a few days before the purchase of new car, so our faithful servant was handed over to them on 18th May.
Parting Memories
Parting spot

The aged exterior...but


The young interior

I had tears in my eyes when she moved away from me.
Fare you well, my dear.

Options considered

Only this..........nothing else



Quoting from a very well written review by moderators GTO and Rehaan,
I must say that the competition is tough out there but the Crysta has a segment of its own and cannot be compared to any other MPV.

Exterior
The Innova has put on weight(just like me:uncontrol) and this is completely expressed by it.The exterior looks excellent for an MPV, it gives competition to its SUV counterpart The mighty Fortuner, it is now becoming the 'neta's car'. My neighbour, a politician has bought a Crysta as a replacement of his old Fort.
I still think that the sides have that MPV look but Toyota has tried every trick in the book, which has worked up to a great extent. The car now portrays a completely different meaning from what it portrayed earlier.
According to my sister, the earlier avatar was feminine and cute while this one looks completely masculine and aggressive. This car has faded the lines between an SUV and an MPV.
The most SUVish angle of the Crysta, I love that piano black grille on the front.

But anyways, considering the huge amount of power on the tap. Most other vehicles are seldom going to see its front. This is what they get to look at (Disclaimer: line stolen from the official review:uncontrol). The rear styling makes it a looker, I love the way those vertical indicators meet the bumper, it somehow feels extremely japanese. You cannot find Toyota written anywhere

The best angle to look upon the crysta.

I would have preferred the traditional square design for the fuel lid., this somehow looks bad.

The garish ORVM, thanks to the chrome. The puddle lamps which are housed in the ORVMs give a premium feel but I would have liked to see them when I get close to the car rather than when it is unlocked.


These plastic mudflaps are set very low and break too often, rubber would have been a better choice for these.(broken for reference in this picture)

The shark-fin antenna is much more feasible than the earlier pull type antenna

The huge and very expensive headlamp, a single unit costs 40k:Shockked:.

The kink in the windowline looks swell but sacrifices the view of the third row passengers

The rim design is simple. I wanted the 17" version but now thank my stars as many BHPians are suffering from problems with the same.

The chrome plated foglamp does not suit the car so well.

Ending with the picture of the best exterior part, the rear

Interior

The best I have seen till date, it was its interior which truly won my heart. Everyone who sat in the car commented that the interiors feel very luxurious. One mentioned that it was Emirates First Class (although he never travelled on itlol:)
I cannot understand how Toyota could bring such a plush feeling without using any soft touch material. No doubt it wins the competition hands down. The interior is very well thought of and there are many bits which make up your day. The person who chose the upholstery colour had a great taste and provides another dimension of feel and liveliness to the otherwise mundane black upholstery(in the lower variants).

The front doors open wide and close with a thud sound.

The Asymmetrical cool dash with an awesome mix of shades of plastic (Yes, that’s plastic, not wood). The gaping hole at the bottom looks weird but provides a place to keep your smartphone and other knick-knacks.

The dash is long, really long.

Heck, even all the vents are asymmetrical. They shut down completely but let out some air (which is appreciated)




There are two gloveboxes. Though, one is cooled it is simply useless for keeping bottles since it has a flat floor and they keep moving to and fro under acceleration and deceleration which annoys me.
The cooled one

The usual one

The blue ambient lighting looks good but I would have preferred other colours too.


The ICE, I found the UI of the system to be too rudimentary and the sound quality Underwhelming. More complaints about this later.

Many condemmned Toyota for providing an airbag on light and preferred it to light up when it is off but it has a function.
It warns you against installing a child seat when the airbag is on, look at the symbol.


The speedometer design is just awesome

The steering is still better than the speedo. Huh, Comparing Potato chips to James Bondstupid:

The gear lever feels very nice

I can't understand why the a/c controls point skyward, on a bright sunny day you cannot see anything, especially from the rear. You have to ask the driver to stick his eyes in to look at it(he can’t see it too)

The cup holder is very rudimentary in quality and operates like the door of a haunted house but is not loose at all
https://youtu.be/a0pKlAOsA-o
The timeless timepiece on the car.

The centre armrest, though not adjustable, it is cushioned.

The start stop button looks awesome

The TPMS I installed

The pretty useless puddle lamp

The chrome door handles look premium

The silver accents are prone to scratches, just put your nail there and a mark is visible. Think about women with huge nails.

The second row doors also open wide

The second row is very high set and poses a problem for grandma but once you sit you are basically on a massage chair.

The cupholder on the second row is pretty flimsy. Also, if there are small kids who like to move from the second row to the third through the gap between the seats, then it would take no time to break these.(Thank god we don’t have any :).)

These grab handles get dirty very easily. Note the coat hooks, which are used very rarely.

The doorpad is made of suede material is very plush and is comfortable too.

Interior- continued

You get three reading lamps on the second row



A lever is provided to move the passenger side front seat forward

A useful tray table is also provided

A place to keep your mobile

coupled with the only USB and AUX ports in the whole car

A charging port has also been provided for the 2nd row passengers

Access to the third row must be left for the younger ones only but the one touch tumble makes the cumborsome task a bit easier

The third row is the same as the last innova but with reduced roominess(thanks to the window kink). Also, the weight of the seats has gone down by a lot. In the erstwhile Innova, pulling up the seats was an exercise of its now but now it can be lifted by just a finger.
Here is a picture of the window area

Me sitting on the third row, it is comfortable enough for a maximum of 2 hours but anything more than that should be avoided.

Toyota insists three passengers to sit on the third row, though you would only force your enemy to sit there

some space has been provided to store knick knacks and it is angled in a way that you can use it as an arm rest


The car looks really long from here

The 2nd row has three cabin lights but the third gets none. That is a place where Toyota Engineers really missed out. Even the last gen Innova had lights in the third row

The boot space with the seats up, it is adequate for short journeys. PS: On the side of the boot there is a headrest to comfort your enemy (the third passenger in the 3rd row)

A boot lamp has been provided but it is just for namesake.

One of the seats folded up

ICE
One thing I can say about the ICE is that it is pathetic. Much more pathetic than one can imagine. It must have been developed by a group of four underpaid, overstressed college interns within a period of about 25 minutes.
The display shows a Toyota logo as a startup image(it can be customised). The audio quality is okay to me but doesn’t justify the price tag of the car. The video quality is simply bad.
The navigation is simply useless. It doesn’t even know that Agra-Lucknow expressway exists. We were off roading, according to the navigation i.e a Crysta went off road for 300 kms that too in 2 hours without 4x4. Heck, it’s the best off roader on the planet
The Z variant also misses out on Mirror Link offered by the V variant. That is true cheating, Toyota. Android Auto is also a glaring omission. The Voice Command feature is also some kind of cheating, there exists a button about the same on the steering wheel but it does nothing.
The Home Screen is customisable too

The menu screen lacking the Mirror Link feature offered on the V variant

The cheap looking remote

The receiver for the remote

It also shows the call logs from your mobile

When connected to bluetooth it shows battery level and network quality also

The audio screen has the following options

An eco indicator has been provided on the fuel guzzeler, looks as if Toyota likes sarcasm.

The Driving Part

Since I am not 18, most of the part here has been from the inputs of dad and our driver.
It has three driving modes, these incude


ECO- Best for city commute.
Normal- Best for cruising as it provides the best mix of FE and Power.
PWR- Best for two lane roads where frequent overtakes are needed.

The engine is extremely powerful. It is too powerful for an MPV in my opinion. It can surprise many people by its brisk acceleration
It can do triple digits easily, so easily that even 120 kph comes at around 2200 rpms and the engine is virtually silent at this stage.
The handling is pretty much similar to the older car but the body roll has increased a bit.
The ride quality is marginally better than the old car and irons almost all the bumps easily. Only, the sharpest of all get into the cabin

The Engine

Mind the dirty engine bay. The Z variant gets an engine cover which makes the engine bay look less cluttered.(this was one of the reasons why Z was preferred)
The bonnet gets some kind of insulation

The engine coupled with a turbo is extremely powerful and torquey for an MPV, and considering the badge on the cover it is bound to be reliable.


The Auto Box

This is our first automatic, before the TD of the car, my father was an anti-automatic guy, as he thought that ATs are extremely slow and take hours to shift. They are also completely useless during over takes as they shift up instead of down when the pedal is pressed and a lot of other crap.
It was when he took the TD his mind completely changed, he sat on the driver seat slotted the lever into D and moved very slowly out of the dealership trying to constrict his hand and leg (as they were desperate to change gear). Within a few minutes he got the hang of it.
Then to clear his misconceptions especially about overtaking, he overtook a few cars at high and low speeds, the gearbox responded as per his wish and the power of the 2.8 over the 2.4 made him super happy. He finally sealed the deal for the AT.
FYI, he still prefers MTs over ATs due to better FE, the sense of control you get in the car and resale (yes, no one wants an AT here, ours was and still is the only AT Crysta in the town) but bought the AT only because it had more power and had a properly sized engine (The 2.4 is smaller than the erstwhile 2.5 and downsizing is not a good option in his opinion, after all there is no replacement for displacement).


Sorry, wouldn't write much in this section as there is a huge difference between personal experience and other people's experience (even if it is your dad). I promise to write something about it as soon as I have a DL in my hand (which is still 3 years away). So, I am afraid but I would have to end here.

Other points

• Toyota has come down to such cheap tactics that even the tail lamp is optional in some variants lol:
• The owner's manual has a few typos here and there, not expected from a brand like Toyota

• Quote:

  Why is this area on the B-Pillar scooped in? Observe this image closely and you'll know. The purpose is to allow the front passenger's elbow to move back & forth (while on the armrest) without interfering with the B-Pillar trim (i.e. prevent the elbow from hitting the B-Pillar when moving the arm backward).

  Sorry, dear mods, I disregard this statement as the arm still hits the B pillar when moved backward.

• Puddle lamps on the door are not bright enough, they are more of warning lamps to indicate door is open.
• No comments of reliability yet, although there have been no rattles even after 30k kilometres, we had a huge boulder on our way. Link

• I apologise sincerely to all, I am extremely sorry as I missed every deadline for the publishing of this review but that delay was due to some personal reasons.

It took a while for you to complete this project, didn't it? Good that you persisted and finished it.

The door of a haunted house imagery is hilarious but looking at the video, absolutely spot on! It requires a teenager (or two) to come up with such gems.

Nice review; although you could have polished it a bit to make it more seamless and organic. I am sure your future holds a lot more better cars and reviews in store. Keep writing :thumbs up.

A well written review, thanks for sharing. If I were in your position (i.e didn't have my driving license yet), my favourite place in the car would be that awesome 2nd row captain seat! lol:

I think this statement shows the trust the brand Innova has enjoyed. First the Qualis, then the Innova and now the Crysta. All owners swear by their cars. I never knew what all the fuss about Innova was before 2 instances - once when we went on a tour to RJ/GJ and had hired an Innova and earlier this year when I drove a Crysta all the way from Bangalore to Mumbai. Absolutely no stress, fatigue or any problems. My grandmother, who doesn't know much about cars, is always happy to sit in an Innova over long distances than any other car.

After hearing first hand experiences of Toyota after sales from close friends, I'm sold on the brand. I'm positive in the future, I will definitely have some car from the T brand.

Not to mention, my dream garage does have a spot for an Innova.

Congrats Shreyas on your acquisition. Pretty sure she'll serve your family faithfully for years to come! clap:

This is a testament to what GTO mentioned in the Official review.

Toyota enjoys tremendous loyalty from it's existing customer base and for good reason. A close friend's dad had bought the Qualis in 2001-02, Sold it and bought an Innova around 2008 and another one in 2012-13. His son (the friend) bought the Innova Crysta few months back. All through these years, they hadn't even walked into any other dealership.

Congrats on the new car! This ride should give you even more memorable kilometers.

That is the true testament to the Toyota brand.

I still remember that my dad briefly considered replacing our Qualis with a Tavera in 2007. But one TD in the Innova and the family was convinced that it is the car.

I know three families who have gone from Qualis -> Innova -> Innova crysta.

Although the Hexa is a competent car, people just buy an Innova as the Toyota brand can be blindly trusted.

Hi shreyas,
First of all congrats on purchase of the BIGG BEAST.
Have you tried updating the maps for a better navigation?
If yes, then its really a bad idea from Toyota in such a high priced car.
Will be waiting for your comment.