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My Toyota Innova Crysta 2.8Z at 1.75L km: Still drives like brand-new

26th September 2024, 15:14 by Kanad Kalasur

There are not many cars in India that can match the reliability, travel comfort and blissful ownership experience that an Innova can offer.

BHPian jonesanto recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

We have a few Crysta ownership reviews available in the forum and we have an excellent Official Review to know everything there is to know about this car. It's commonly known as “The National Highway Car” and the title was not served on a silver platter. The Innova has earned it.

Someone once told me, "For an Innova, 2 lakh km means run-in period."

Coming to my Crysta, I was happily cruising in a new-gen Fortuner AT, then I got an onsite project in the Middle East. With me visiting India once in two months for a week or two and paying huge EMI for a car which I hardly use did not make any financial sense. It took a painstakingly six months to sell my Fortuner. One thing I learnt from this is, that the higher the price, the more difficult it is to dispose of the car, irrespective of which brand it is.

Once the Fortuner was sold, I was using my trusty old Innova, still munching miles like nobody's business. But after getting used to the convenience of an AT, I was sorely missing it, be it in the city or on the highway. My brother moved abroad and his 2017 Crysta 2.8Z was available for grabs. I purchased the same. I got my AT and I am EMI-free too.

The current odo reading is at 1,75,000 km. It still drives like a brand-new car. There are not many cars in India that can match the reliability, travel comfort and blissful ownership experience that an Innova can offer.

Since I own first-gen Innova, a lot of my points will be based on that car and other general observations for this 1,75,000 km.

The Bad:

The ride quality compared to the old Innova - it is a little better in the Innova, reason one: tyre size. The old Innova came with 15 inch wheels on all variants, while the Crysta came with 16 and 17 inchers. The old Innova is a 100 BHP car and no matter what you do, it is gonna pick up speed at its own pace and also stop like that. The Crysta 2.8 is a 172 BHP car. Even in city limits, it reaches 80 km/h in no time, and it stops better too. So, this stopping part, I don’t think many have discussed it. From 80 km/h, the Crysta is going to stop much better than the old Innova. Obviously, if you are not a sedate driver, passengers are going to notice that. The suspension setup is different in both cars. There could be other reasons.

Brake pad wear is higher in the AT, which is not really the car’s fault. You don’t have engine braking and in a car this heavy, the pads are going to take a hit. We get about 30-40 km out of the pads in general.

Behaviour of the AT - it is not for spirited driving. You will hate the car if you try that. I mean, it’s no DSG or F10 8-speed gearbox. If you are a sedate driver, you will be happy. Then again, this is a van. We BHPians are expecting too much from a people mover. On the highway, use Sport mode and this so-called van will become something else altogether. The fact is, you don’t need Sport mode unless you are aiming for a quick overtake. Eco and Normal modes are more than enough for our roads.

Much debated tyre issue in the 17-inch wheel - got 215/60 R17 tyres. I have been using this particular size for 1.5 lakh kilometres and have not had any burst. We had bursts in the initial years. Michelin and Continental tyres aid comfort, but their life is short. The maximum we got was 30K km. The new set is JK. Tried Yokohama and easily got 40K km. Tyre noise above 100 km/h is much more acceptable.

Compared to the Innova, the rear glass gets murkier in the Crysta to a level that you can’t see anything if you are not using the rear wiper and even with that, only a small portion of the glass is cleared, making it kind of irritating to drive on muddier roads in the rain. On normal roads and highways, it’s okay-ish. I am referring to 6-lane work-in-progress roads in Kerala. But Innova, in the same conditions, is much more tolerable.

For some reason, the Innova feels more abuse-friendly. Not that I have had any problems with Crysta, but it’s just a feeling one gets when you drive both the cars.

That horrendous spare wheel removal process - wish they had changed it in Crysta. Even to fill air in the spare, you need to bring the wheel down. Is there any other option?

At this price, Toyota should have provided Android Auto and an auto-dimming IRVM.

While stationary, vibrations can be felt on the driver side floor when the A/C compressor kicks in. It is a common behaviour. I checked it in other Crystas (AT) too.

The Good:

At 1.75K km, the car is extremely solid with no rattles or squeaks, which is very important to me. I can never stand a rattling car. Maintain it well, and it will cover 4 lakh km easily.

That 2.8 AT is probably the best engine/gearbox combo for an Innova Toyota provided in India. It's probably the last Toyota MUV with a decently sized diesel engine paired with a 6-speed auto. It's the last MUV built is closer to a proper SUV than many soft-roaders sold as SUVs. Being built on the IMV chassis/platform shared with Fortuner and Hilux helps (credit to GTO and Sankar).

Good mileage for the size and big engine. I get 12+ km/l in the city and 16-17 km/l easily on the highway. Unlike other cars, with age, the performance and mileage do not take a hit. My old Innova gives 11-12 km/l in the city, no matter how I drive. I never got for more than 14 km/l on the highway.

Excellent service from Toyota and cheap to maintain. Apart from one full suspension job, I have not had any other big expense. Suspension work is a part of normal wear and tear for a car that has done this much mileage.

Easily manoeuvrable in traffic like it’s almost unbelievable (AT).

Quality of the switches and indicator stalk is supreme. Nothing has failed/faded even after heavy usage.

One of the safest highway tanks you can travel with your family, the 2.8Z (credit to GTO again).

Some complain that the steering is heavy at low speeds. I find it all right. Hydraulic steering is a thing of the past. Enjoy while it lasts. Heck, even cars like this are a thing of the past.

The game has moved on and changes are inevitable. Mostly, we are not going to see body-on-frame diesel MUV’s for long. Diesels are on their last legs. In almost 20 years of being in the market, the Innova Diesel AT was available for 6 years. Need an Innova diesel AT? The used car market is the only option now. So again, enjoy it while it lasts.

70mai A510 HDR 3K Dual Channel Dash Cam, STARVIS 2 IMX675 Sensor, ADAS. A good dash cam is a must today.

154W 9-in-1 car charger adapter with 20W Type-C PD 2 x 18W QC3.0 3 x DC outlet cigarette lighter splitter sockets.

Fun facts: My family consists of three. The question I am frequently asked is, why do I need a 7-seater? Different people have different requirements. For me, in life I got to a point where I needed a fill it-shut it car with good ground clearance and the Innova slowly grew on me with its practicality. I never liked it at the beginning. Let it be 1 year old, 5, 10 or 15 years old, you don’t have to worry about its reliability or parts availability. Why is it favourite among politicians, govt. officials, businessmen, celebrities and cabbies alike and still holds a brand image?

Team-BHP has a thread for Crysta issues, mainly due to brake pad issues, wheel alignment and tyre bursts. It’s not active anymore and this shows Toyota is serious about fixing customer complaints.

There’s an Auto Expo thread for the Crysta on Team-BHP. It is interesting to read how right and wrong some of us were back in 2016 about the Crysta. Many had issues with its price and said it’s not going to sell like the Innova. Even if it did, the resale was not going to be like the Innova, while others justified the price and said it’s going to live up to expectations. The rest is history.