Why I booked a Toyota Innova over the Fortuner & Tata Safari

Since I don't like the exterior design of the Mahindra XUV700, I didn't even bother to take its test drive.

BHPian poloman recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

"Head over heart, Practicality over sheer road presence, Comfort over charm, Family over masculine pride".

The decision was much simpler in the end. With a twist in the tale, I booked a pearl white Innova Diesel ZX AT.

Test drove only Fortuner, Innova and Safari. I and my family unanimously were impressed by Innova in terms of its simple layout, minimal but useful features, comfort on long drives & attention to detail.

Fortuner was still pulling strings in my heart. But it was easy for me to let it go. I was very particular about automatic this time. It was too much to stretch it beyond 45L for Fortuner. 'Over priced' is an understatement considering its features. I found spending that much on a diesel fuel guzzler is not a wise decision in 2022. Most importantly I felt it lacked space from inside.

Innova has a much better layout, space and comfort. My daughter felt at home in the Innova middle row captain seats. I could manage the car just like my Polo in the city.

Safari was rejected due to lack of space and top-end pricing was very close to Innova's top end. XUV 700 exterior design was not to my taste. So did not even bother to test drive.

So booked a pearl white, Innova Diesel ZX AT. Delivery is promised sometime in March.

When it comes to finances, I decided to go with a 60:40 cash:loan split to avoid a huge burn in cash. Some of it can be put to better use. I will be left with around 15L from the budget by opting for Innova. Maybe I can buy an SUV with a lower footprint like Jimny or an EV in the future if there is an itch for a car with a better carbon footprint.

Thanks, everyone for your valuable feedback.

Here's what BHPian d3mon had to say about the matter:

Wrong choice, IMHO.

The total ownership cost delta between these 2 cars is probably 1-1.5L per year over the next 10 years. I could be wrong - I haven't done the math. But your posts clearly show that you don't even need to do this math.

You need to be able to reward yourself for the hard work you put in over your entire career to be in this position today. Of course, at the end of the day, cars are just material possessions and only a small part of our overall happiness quotient. But if you don't even choose to spend on the things that you can afford to buy, you are starving yourself of well-deserved happiness & choosing to settle for no reason at all.

Here's what BHPian pjbiju had to say about the matter:

Should I say, almost the "same pinch"? I was watching this thread quite closely. I went through the same dilemma myself and we have reached the same conclusion. At the end of the day, I think the best decisions are made when the head and heart work together. The head is the devil's advocate that brings in some much-needed logic to our decisions enabling us to enjoy the decisions of the heart without having to feel guilty about it. Wishing you a wonderful time with your Innova Crysta in the years to come.

Here's what BHPian jkrishnakj had to say about the matter:

Congrats! The Crysta will serve you very long miles. Bests to you.

Let me say this, the luxury car itch will come back. You’ll probably find it coming in the next couple of years. And it’s good because you’ll do stuff to get the luxury one. It’ll keep pushing you, the universe will conspire to that positive outcome. Look forward to that thread that’ll come up from you in a couple of years.

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