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.

I will update the ownership thread as it progresses. Could not find any 2.8 thread being regularly updated.

Happy motoring.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

But as it turned out the hotel person at Keylong goaded us to change our mind and we proceeded to Leh also.

BHPian bangarchand recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Background

I have been doing road trips for 30 years now. It was in 1993 I embarked on a trip to Mumbai from my place, Puttur in coastal Karnataka. We are agriculturists and then the tour was done in our maruti omni. After many small trips, we did a tour of north India up to Manali, Rohtang pass in the same omni in 1999. Then in the year 2000, we had brand new qualis and in it, we went to as far as Nepal and many north Indian places and the tour spanned full 20 days. We have visited almost all the hill stations of Himalaya many times in different vehicles. One such tour was in 2013 when we as family went to Leh. Laddakh in Nissan Sunny with five passengers. After we bought Innova crysta in 2020, the frequency of tours just increased but since my elder daughter and son in law are employed they are just not able to spare enough time for road trips. So presently my team just consists of I, my wife, and our differently abled daughter Chandini (30 years of age now). During the last four years our Crysta took us to Sikkim side once, then to Nepal, then Badrinath side and finally to Leh this June.

Presently I am explaining this particular tour to Laddakh.

I am presently 64 years old and my family opposes my long tours with only two above mentioned passengers because of age. So when i proposed Leh as the destination my elder daughter put her foot down firmly, pointing to my age etc. Finally we decided to go to Manali and then go up to baralacha LA to see the snow and ice. But as it turned out the hotel person at Keylong goaded us to change our mind and we proceeded to Leh also. The decision was taken at Keylong. Even though we had winter clothes as we were to go to Baralacha la, we had no other preparation. We did not even have post-paid SIM also and we had not much tools and such other items for that kind of a tough tour. But as it turned out, the tour was a very smooth and had no hiccups at all.

Preparation

Having done long tours many times, we no longer do thorough and detailed preparation nowadays. Actually I had taken my crysta for a 70,000 km service and that evening I suggested to my wife about a tour up to baralacha. Within three days, our tour actually started. I did not fix any new tyre as the two fronts were pretty new and the back ones were about 60%. However I bought one new tyre and fitted that to Stepney as a precaution. But I had no punctures all through the tour and we did not have to bring out the new tyre at all. Since crysta always has alignment problem I did it in puttur prior to our start and twice on the tour.

Day 1 June 19

We left our home by 5 am which is our normal practice and headed towards Mangalore, Udupi. We had our breakfast near Bhatkal in a small place called Shirali at Hotel Pakashaale and then took the road to yellapur. This time we did not wait till the actual deviation and took right turn much earlier on a village road going via Agasuru. The road was narrow but was very lively due to its rustic ambience.

At Kalaghatagi we took right towards Hubli and skipped it on bypass and headed towards bagalkot. We had our lunch at kolhar near Vijaypur. Then we crossed over to the state of Maharashtra at 3 pm and crossed Bheed. By night we were in Aurangabad and with some difficulty found an ordinary hotel for stay. For that we had to take a detour from the highway and enter the city.

Aurangabad is a big city and since we had entered the city, finding direction turned out to be tricky. However we were in our room by 7.45 and had our dinner by 8 pm in the same hotel consisting of Roti and Alu mutter.

The road was by and large very good and the distance covered was 1025 Kms.

Day 2

We left Aurangabad and the famous ellora caves was visible on the right side and where we had been last year. We had our breakfast finished at a very good food joint at Aurangabad and near our hotel. The joint is called Appas tiffin.The maharashtrian brand item vada pav was the main item in our tiffin

Then we headed towards Dhule and climbed up and down a beautiful Kannad Ghat road and then entered the rushy town called Chalisgaon. Police stopped us to check the document. When i was fumbling in mobile phone to show the insurance and could just find the previous years copy, the police was convinced and told me to go without worry, but asked me to delete the old insurance and keep the new one in an easy folder. Had vada pav again and crossed over to the state of MP and passed the city of Sendhwa and had our lunch in a food court on highway. Then we proceeded on a state highway which was bad and reached Ratlam. By 4.45 we joined Delhi Mumbai express way (8 lane). But then realised that we were very low on diesel and climbed down to state road to refill. After that we rejoined the express highway which is butter smooth and the drive was very fast. But again we deviated to get to the Kota road and by now it was 6.45. We found a hotel at gopalpura which was about 30 kms before Kota. The rooms were very good and dinner was excellent.

We did 723 Kms for the day..
KANNAD GHAT

Day 3

We left the room at 6.30 and went towards Jaipur. On the way we had our breakfast at a place called Beoli. By ten, we passed Jaipur on ring road and after a while got onto a good road. At 12 pm we were stopped by police for a bribe of 400/ (he had asked for full 2,000/) for so called over speeding. Had our lunch in a Sukdev dhaba.

By 2.30 we got into the trans haryana expressway and drove for two hours. We had come in this road a year back while returning from Shimla. We crossed Ambala and Chandigarh on bypass. But after Chandigarh, and at a place called Karat, we were asked to use a village road as there seemed to be a big block on highway. After crossing Mohali, We found a lodge( sahil palace) in Roopnagar and had our dinner there.

This day we did 745 kms

Day 4

We left Rupnagar and had our breakfast in the famous Pardesi dhaaba. There are many new tunnels on this road towards Manali. Road was good. By 1 pm we had our lunch in a hilly highway at kullu by the side of river Beas. After that the road through Manali was very rushy with vehicles. We bypassed Manali and headed towards Solang valley which had a massive horde of tourist people. Then we passed the famous Atal tunnel and reached Keylong without any issues. We also had our dinner there.

As our destination was only Baralacha la and Shinku la we did not enter Manali, as we knew we were returning on the same road and can do site seeing then. As it turned out we proceeded to Leh and Manali sightseeing just did not occur.

The hotel person at Keylong told us that we can easily go to leh and need not go to shinku la because there is a lot of snow and ice on baralacha la road itself. I booked my permit to nubra and pangong side online by paying 1650/rs for 3 persons and converted my jio SIM to postpaid. But as it turned out the online conversion does not help. So our phones did not work in j&k for five days.

We covered 300 kms for the day..

MANALI BYPASS

Day 5

Keylong was very cold, especially in the morning. As the air was pretty thin we were getting tired pretty quickly. After Keylong comes jispa and darcha and then we climb the baralacha la. Some where in the middle a road deviates to Shinku la. The road was pretty okay up to Baralacha la. But the melting of snow had made the road extremely slushy. There is massive snow and ice all over and everywhere. The Deepak talk is on our left side. Although it is small it is very beautiful. Lots of tourists were at baralacha la and play on ice. It was milky white till yours can reach there. The very famous suraj tal is magnificent and looked heavenly. We climbed down and reached Sarchu. and had our lunch there. We met three bikers from Bengaluru there.

The road after baralacha la is very bad. It is not only potholes, there are many ditches and then few water crossings on the road. The water streams are also quite tricky. We passed zing zing bar, pang , whiskey bridge and gata loops on the way. The road continued to be bad up to Morey plains. Even though the road surface was smooth around morey plains, it was very bumpy. We then headed towards Taglang la which is very high. The road there also was very bad and and the temperature was 0 degree when we reached there. The cold breeze which was whipping past our face made our stay there very tough. The road is again slushy on the descent and with difficulty we reached Uspshi which is about 50 kms from leh. The road now turned out to be good. But since our phones were dead and with no maps we reached leh asking here and there for directions. At the leh gate we proceeded further and luckily found a decent hotel on the right side on the leh-kargil road and also had our dinner there.

Leh city hasn't changed much since our last visit. Today we covered 360 KMS

DEEPAK Tal

BARALACHA LA

SURAJ Tal

Day 6

We got up leisurely and had our breakfast in the same hotel. Around 10 am, we went towards the hall of fame of the military. But since it was monday it was closed. We took few photographs and then went to leh palace with the help of offline Google map that I had downloaded on previous night. The palace is on a rocky hill and car parking is tough. The palace is built with logs of wood which is normal here. From there we went to the famous Shanti stupa. Therewe met a a team from Karnataka and we had a brief chat with them. By the by I went to a jio shop to ask if I can get the postpaid jio new sim. But since the aadhaar OTP comes to my airtel number which is dead, it failed. Then went to the airtel office who directed me to another branch who told that she can do that with my driving licence. But then the licence number did not work properly and that attempt also failed.

In the evening we went to leh market which was very neat and immaculate. We had some pakoda,ice cream and then retired to our room, had our dinner in a different hotel and slept....

SHANTI STUPA

Day 7

This morning we left the room at 6 am and started our climb to khardung la. The road is OK or so it seemed in the beginning. but as we climbed higher, roads became tough, the weather chilly and heavy snowfall also. It was very difficult to control the car and make it climb. At one point I even thought of returning. Since it was early morning it happened because when we returned in the evening things were pretty normal.

At Khardung la we had few photos and since the chill overpowered us we quickly left the place and started our descent to North Pullu. Here also the road was full of fresh snow.

KHARDUNG la

khardung la road

But once we reached north pullu, things improved. Had our breakfast in a small roadside hotel and reached Diskit at noon. We climbed the hill where we find the famous statue of Maithreyi Buddha. The statue is very beautiful and the surrounding area was very neat...

MAITREYi BUDDHA

sand dunes hunder

Then we went to Hunder sand dunes which is about 9 kms from there. The camels were taking rest. The place is completely different here. We had few photos and then started our return trip to leh.

We stopped at a place called kalsar, had diesel for the car and food for us. From here you can deviate and go to siachen base camp. The road was very good and by evening we came to the same hotel and had the same room. We did not intend to visit pangong as we had done it earlier and mainly because of its high altitude and remoteness. Since my daughter, Chandini, is slightly disabled we did not want to take risks again.

We did 240 kms for the day

Day 8

This morning we left the hotel and headed towards Srinagar. The road was smooth but Chandini was vomiting and head ache. This could have been due to mild AMS. I washed the car on the way. We went to lamayuru monastery which is on the way and one which we could not go during our last trip. We had our lunch at Drass, passing kargill. We stopped at the famous kargil memorial and spent some quality time. The place hasn't changed a bit in last ten years. As Chandini was omitting and dull, we just forgot to stop at Magnetic hills even though it is on the road itself.

Then comes gumri and then at 2.15 we were at Zo zilla. Here the vehicles are allowed on one way with a shift of 6 am and 2 pm up to Sonamarg. Luckily at 2 pm that day vehicles were to climb down from kargil side. We were just there when the road was opened and we were in front of most of the trucks. Cars are normally allowed to break the queue and go further. At Zo zilla there was not much snow. The road, as expected, was rushy but the surface was pretty okay. But it was very tough to make way for our ar among huge number of trucks, probably more than 5,000.!

We reached Sonamarg by evening. Viewing the beautiful scenes on either side, we proceeded towards Srinagar. Last time we had a brief stay at Sonamarg itself. There was a roadblock on the way and reached Srinagar by 7 pm. But we had a lot of difficulty there as the hotel I had marked in google turned out to be non-existent. It was already 8 pm and we were on a narrow one way road. The local youth, sensing that we were outsiders, asked us to turn around on the road itself even though it was one-way and forced the local vehicles to make way for our crysta and guided us till we reached Dal lake gate. We thanked them profusely. Once we were on the banks of Dal lake, we easily found a good room in hotel malik which is on the frontside of dal lake. We had our food there and went to the room. The view of dal Lake is very impressive from our room itself.

The days journey was pretty tough and we did 445 kms...

Day 9

This morning we left the room at 8.30 and headed towards Gulmarg. Since it is summer we did not expect to see snow there. We had our breakfast on the way and reached Gulmarg at around 10 am. The lush greener was an excellent view for us. The road is good and traffic was not heavy as we had come much earlier than the routine flow of tourists.

In Gulmarg we hired a Scorpio and he showed us around the gondola, hindu temple, places where film shootings are done, golf ground and Raja's palace. I had a short horse ride(100/) and then returned to our car after an hour and half. I paid 1700 for the Scorpio, had tea there and came down to Srinagar. We had our dinner in a so-called udupi hotel on the way. Before going to the hotel, we went to Lal chowk which is very neatly maintained now unlike 10 years back. Had some juices there and then came to our lodge. After parking, we ambled across to the lake side and bargained hard for a boat ride for 15 mnts only for 300/.

Then we took some rest in the room. In the evening we went to the other end of Dal lake and visited Nishat bhag garden. The other garden namely shalimar was also nearby but din’t go there as we had been there earlier. By 7.30 we went to a Punjabi dhaba near our hotel for dinner, met a Kerala couple and then slept early.

Day 10

This morning we left the room early and headed towards Jammu. We knew that it was the first day of Amarnath yatra vehicles arrival and were expecting blocks enroute. Before Banihal there indeed was the road bloc by local administration to facilitate the flow of yatra vehicles. The block was on since 5 am and we had to wait till 12.15 at qazigund in the block with thousands of vehicles. It was an exasperating wait for nearly six hours and then we were allowed to proceed further. We had our lunch at Banihal and fresh roadblocks stopped us on the way. We initially wanted to reach Amritsar for the night halt but finally by 8 pm we found a good hotel to stay on the outskirts of Jammu only. We had our dinner also there.

Today we covered only 250 kms

Day 11

The morning traffic was very sparse and we sped past Pathankot and headed towards Amritsar. On the way we had our breakfast near Gurdaspur.

We reached the temple premises around 11 am. The surrounding areas of the temple have improved vastly over the years. Here we have to park the car in the parking complex where it was very daunting to enter and then find a slot also.

We went inside the golden temple, passing the famous jallianwala bagh. The temple was thronging with devotees. It is still very magnificent. The queue was serpentine. We spent useful time there and went to the langar to have our food. While going inside and also while coming out we had famous Punjabi lassi....

golden temple AMRITSAR

From there we got onto the express highway (amritsar-jamnagar) and alighted it after driving vigorously for nearly four hours. By 8 pm we got out of it to proceed to Bikaner and found a beautiful lodge/resort which was booked by our daughter Padmini online from Bangalore for us. Our dinner was done there

Today we covered 840 kms

Day 12

This morning we got up leisurely as the fort was opening at 10 am. We went there early, visited the museum at 9.30 and were ready for the entry into the junagarh fort. Fort is very big and well laid out. Chandini was not feeling quite well and we had some rest there for some time.

After that we had no other agenda at Bikaner and headed towards our home. The road again continued to be the express highway and we deviated from it by evening and got our rooms in Palanpur in Gujarat. It was raining copiously all through the evening. Palanpur seems to be a big city.

Today we did 535 kms.

Day 13

We left the hotel early and headed towards Ahmedabad, went in and hopped out quite quickly and sped towards Vapi in gujarat. Just before we entered vapi, we deviated to the right for 15 kms and went to Daman city which belongs to the Goa administration. Daman is a small town and its beaches are very excellent and pretty famous also. Since liquor is very cheap here like Goa, tourists come there in large numbers.

After exiting Daman and vapi we sped towards Thane. But the road blocks were plenty and massive. The rains which had started the previous day continued. Hence we had to stop at Virar (north of Mumbai) where we found a good hotel. On the way I had damaged the front fender of the car while reversing at the hotel and luckily we found a good Denter who rectified it easily to our relief.

Day 14

Today we left the room in the wee hours and passed bhiwandi and thane. Pune express highway was quite easy this time unlike last year when the traffic there was just crawling. Even Pune city did not pose any challenge. But the road since then has been a big let down. Right after Pune and till Belgaum road work was posing serious challenges with frequent blocks, long drives in service roads. It virtually sapped us of our energy and by evening we could just reach dharwad where we had tea.

At dharwad we deviate to kalghatagi, then yellapur and the ghat road for nearly 160 kms. Road surface was good but the rain was heavy and the drive was very slow. So without much thinking, we got rooms at Kumta at hotel Panduranga international where we had stayed on our previous tour also. It was 10 pm and we just about managed to have our dinner there.

Day 15

This morning we left the room at 5 am and raced towards home, passing Kundapur and Udupi. At Baikamapdi we had beautiful idli and coffee and by 9.30 we were in the bypass of puttur and were home by 10 am.

Conclusion

The tour of leh ladakh is very challenging even now. The high altitude, cold weather, bad to worst roads will make you very low in spirit. But the totally different Himalayan mountains there, massive landscape of white and white ice and snow makes it very thrilling and memorable. For the curious tourists, leh and ladakh region in itself is nothing extraordinary. But the roads leading to it and then going toward Kashmir are fantastic and very unique. For that the trip by road is the only option. But it is definitely not for the faint hearted.

Innova crysta behaved excellently and competently. It is in fact it's fifth tour to Himalayas. My fellow passengers had no issues of concern at all although the duration.

more photos are as below...

highway somewhere

SURAJ TAL

LEH CITY

LEH MARKET

HALL OF FAME

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Frequent glimpses of the distant hills and the Kosi river flowing at one side and the dense forest slope on the other side while travelling on an open top Jeep was an awesome feeling.

BHPian haisaikat recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Note: This is Part 1 of our Kumaon journey covering Kolkata to Corbett. Subsequent episodes of this travel will be published as separate threads as and when I get time to compile and author them. Till then, Happy reading !!

Background
The summer of '24 was nearing and so was vacation time. Unlike our last summer's Meghalaya roadtrip where we planned everything only a few months before the travel, this time we wanted to visit Kumaon and planning started all the way back in December of '23. A visit to this region has been long overdue after witnessing so many folks on this forum and outside in known circles venturing in and around this region. However, planning was not easy and Kumaon being full of exotic locations with each place having its own unique offerings, it was hard to exclude one in comparison to others.

Itinerary and Planning
After careful consideration of our vacation schedule - family / travel constraints - seasonal preferences, we decided to drop the Pithoragarh - Dharchula from the itinerary as it was hard to fit into our schedule based on available leaves. We decided to keep the Pithoragarh route reserved in favor of a future spiritual trip to Lipulekh pass for witnessing the sacred Kailash Parvat. Also our previous trip to Jaldapara and Hollong had made us fans of experiencing wildlife by staying within the core area of forest reserves. The worldwide acclaim of Jim Corbett National Park in offering probably one of the best wildlife touring experiences with core area stays compelled us to include Dhikala into our itinerary but it came at the cost of dropping some other prominent areas of Kumaon region.

Our final itinerary stood like this:
Day 0/1: Kolkata -> Lucknow
Day 2: Lucknow -> Ramnagar
Day 3: Ramnagar -> Corbett / Dhikala
Day 4: Dhikala
Day 5: Dhikala -> Kausani (via Ranikhet)
Day 6: Kausani -> Munsiyari (via Chaukori)
Day 7: Munsiyari
Day 8: Munsiyari -> Dhaulchina
Day 9: Dhaulchina -> Binsar
Day 10: Binsar -> Sattal
Thereafter Sattal -> Lucknow and Lucknow -> Kolkata

The above plan leaves out a lot of other places like Muktheshwar, Nainital, Bhimtal and offbeat places like Sheetlakhet, Peora and even does not do justice with places like Ranikhet, Kausani, Almora, Chaukori, etc. Thanks to BHPian Sayakc and BHPian Dgoyle for the information around offbeat places, road conditions and recommended routes and thanks to all the BHPians who have ventured into this route before and have inspired many like me to venture on this journey.

If someone does not wish to cover Munsiyari, they can make Almora as base and cover many of the places effectively in day trips, but of course if someone wants to see the sunrise and sunset on himalayan peaks exclusive to some of these places then nights stays are required. Just adding Munsiyari extends the itinerary by 2-3 nights including 1 additional night stay at Munsiyari.

Misty Mountain at Jhaltola (a popular interim halt for BHPians enroute Munsiyari) was fully booked on our planned return day from Munsiyari since it was a Saturday so we decided to make the night stay at Dhaulchina situated in the buffer area of Binsar forest. The advantage would be the proximity to Jageshwar Dham and also would allow entering Binsar within daytime. We skipped the plan of going to Binsar directly from Munsiyari since the entry gate closes by 630 pm. It would have been risky to assume that we would be reaching Binsar by that time given the practicalities involved in travelling with families who would need a comfortable start from Munsiyari.

For our final destination in Kumaon, where we may have to do some remote office work, we dropped the idea of staying at Nainital since it would be June - July peak tourist season with crowds and congestion. I also learnt that during this period in order to check traffic congestion, local police may randomly deny entry of Self -Driven vehicles into Nainital at a check post 10 KM away if they find out that the tourist has reserved hotel that does not have in-premise parking. The tourists would then be compelled to either turn back or leave their own car at a parking lot next to the check post and take a rented cab instead.

Finally based on several recommendations, zeroed in on Sattal. It promised tranquility apart from being scenic and a major birding destination, but most importantly have good network connectivity in hotels to suit our remote working needs.

The only aspect we missed to account was the heat. More on this later.

The Team
This time it was two BHPians and families in their respective cars.

The usual myself, wife Tania and our little one Pupu accompanied by our dearest friend Baisakhi together riding in our beloved Toyota Innova Crysta

BHPian S_scorpion (Sandipan) with his wife Debasree and daughter Mithi riding in his dashing new Volkswagen Tiguan

An interesting fact about this combination is that there are 4 Pointers and 3 STCETians travelling together in this mix (those who know they know what these mean )

Booking process
A lot depended on the successful booking of Dhikala Forest Rest House, an oasis within the wilderness of the core area of Jim Corbett National Park and 31 Km from the entry gates to the jungle. My sincere thanks to BHPian Ramnath_77 for his extensive thread explaining the booking process and tips and tricks which was our guiding light. Also thanks to our friend Baisakhi whose relentless persuasion and support to our entire group culminated in the form of this booking finally taking shape.

I have a few minor things to add on top of what Ramnath_77 has already mentioned:-
1. There is immense effort put by the website authority in cancelling bookings made using auto complete tools, they put them back up for rebooking on the subsequent Mondays.
2. There is an OTP system that comes to the Whatsapp during the initial phase of the booking after selecting the FRH and room type for the designated dates. This OTP is aimed at locking the slot and allows more time to make the payment. The important thing to note here is that OTP does not come instantly and can get delayed up to 1 minute after clicking the Generate OTP button. It is advisable to refrain from clicking multiple times as that may interfere / freeze the screen navigation midway in the process.
3. We used PAN card as ID for the booking as it has shorter length than Aadhar
4. Every family focused on booking for themselves which saved time in form filling and increased chances for getting a confirmed slot (note that this will end up allotting dedicated jeeps for everyone, but we made great use of the 3rd jeep, more on this later). The risk of any one family not getting the booking did come to our mind but it was a risk worth taking.
4. Also there is more rush for slots on weekends than weekdays.

Other hotels were booked directly without using any booking aggregator websites.

The Journey
Prior to the travel we got our car thoroughly checked and serviced including the new Tiguan. We also carried the usual roadside emergency tools like Tow cable with shackles, Jumper cable, tubeless puncture repair kit, tyre inflator, car inverter, torch, swiss knife, mini folding shovel and duly got our cars checked at the service centers prior to the trip.

Day 0-1 / Friday-Saturday / Kolkata to Lucknow
We had an ambitious target to start by 9 pm, but those critical last minute inclusions to the packing after wrapping up a full day office delayed us. While Sandipan started around 11pm we started after half an hour and picked up Baisakhi in another half an hour from Tollygunj and headed for NH-19. There was sporadic congestion of trucks and cars at regular intervals along with diversions due to the ongoing road widening work which slowed us down so much so that we took 4+ hours to cross Durgapur. Meanwhile through continuous location sharing we finally caught up after crossing Bardhhaman and followed each other henceforth.

We made an early morning halt around 5am at the Jubilee Petrol Pump, Gobindapur, Asansol, West Bengal for refueling and biobreaks

The moment we entered the state of Jharkhand, we noticed heighted security since the day was marked for the Indian General Elections 2024 in the state. We were stopped twice in security checkpoints along the NH-19 where we had to share contact number and allow the car to be searched, along with answering predefined questions like if we are carrying cash beyond threshold limit or carrying weapons or explosives. The process was quick and the security personnel were absolutely polite in handling the situation, probably more so on seeing we were travelling with families.

We enjoyed the smooth tarmac of the Jharkhand roads but not without the diversions due to road widening work continued at few places, even in Bihar thereafter.

We halted for a short tea break around 730am at Sakrej, Jharkhand immediately after crossing the toll plaza

In about an hour we halted for breakfast at a rather unexpected find, CM Mithaiwala in Chouparan, did not expect such a nice place amidst the crowd of Khirmohan selling shops. We got excellent hot Puri Sabji here. The owner was immensely cordial, we came to know from him that this family-owned business primary ran on supplying milk from his Dairy Farm having 400+ cows. However during COVID when supply lines were hampered, they switched to manufacturing milk products and resorted to this shop model which picked up pace gradually.

We initially had considered taking the NH-19 -> Banaras Outer Ring Road -> NH-731 -> Sultanpur / NH-330 -> Purvanchal Expressway -> Lucknow but Sandipan was not highly apprehensive of this approach since this would allow him only 100 KM of runway on the Purvanchal Expressway in order to stretch the legs of his new Tiguan. So we stuck to the diversion from NH-19 around Durganti and took the narrow NH-24 all the way to Mardah before merging into Purvanchal Expressway, this would give around 270 KM of Purvanchal Expressway to drive upon. But reaching to Durganti was not smooth as several traffic jams and diversions on opposite lanes throughout NH-19 slowed us down primarily in Bihar. In few congestions we came out to check the situation but hurried back inside our cars soon after as the soaring heat waves were untolerable being above 45 C. Our co-passengers compared our driving with that of slow test cricket batters

We finally reached Durganti past 3 pm. the initial entry to this road from the Durganti diversion was tricky and full of bad patches but we eventually managed to take that, google maps had got confused. The next 60 KM on NH-24 until we reached Mardah took us 2 hrs, primarily due to narrow lanes, frequent bumpers and slow moving goods carriers, thankfully afternoon hours helped keeping pedestrians away. We crossed the Ganga river around Ghazipur.

We had skipped a formal lunch courtesy to some on the go snacks. After some google map search we located one food stop in Mardah named Chat Adda just next to the highway and headed inside. It was past 5pm, the temperature had started dropping but the humidity was still nasty. The food joint, although Non AC, had some good chai and hot chats and tikkis which we finished fast and after an hour's halt here by 6 pm we resumed our journey and soon entered the Purvanchal Expressway.

Daylight was reducing and with the sun setting in the backdrop, the Tiguan set ablaze the tarmac and vanished ahead of us in no time

The evening drive through Purvanchal was steady for next few hours, leveraged cruise control to the fullest. Our two cars met again after few hours. The last one hour on the Purvanchal Expressway was spent on discussing and finalizing the hotel for our stay at Lucknow. Initially we had thought of staying at hotel Maple Leaf in Kaisarbagh at the heart of Lucknow from where all notable eateries are at stone's throw but looking at the watch we decided to head for Gomtinagar where we eventually booked hotel Nestway Inn in the Gomtinagar area.

Sandipan headed for the hotel directly and planning to opt for in-room dinning after the long drive. However with proven foodies on board the Crysta, it was a no brainer, we called the nearby Dastarkhwan and learnt they close entry at 10-30 pm. We hurried to the restaurant without even checking in to our hotel. Parking was ample and inspite of the Saturday evening rush we were lucky to get a seat fast. We tasted their famous biriyani, galaouti kabab with awadhi paratha, kadai chicken and to sum up the evening with their signature shahi tukra. Facing severe protests from daughter Mithi on finding out our hotel serves vegeterian food only, team Tiguan opted for Dastarkhwan too. It was almost 11 pm yet the folks accommodated one last order and we carried along that food back to the hotel. Our hotel was merely less than a KM drive from there and we reached in no time.

We checked in and went to our rooms and crashed soon after. Our room was next to the roads and the moon lit up parts of our room. Fell asleep gradually, staring at the moon, thinking about the last 23+ hours we have been on the move driving 1000+ KM from our home to this hotel, probably next time will improve this timing

Day 2 / Sunday / Lucknow to Ramnagar
We had a filling breakfast at the hotel, their room service was good, and checked out by 9-30 am

We picked up some essentials from the neighboring LDA market of Vibhav Khand and headed for Ramnagar taking the Sitapur -> Rudrapur route with very good tarmac for the most part and scenic surroundings.

On strong public demand, we had to make up for arriving Lucknow late last night and inadvertently missing the opportunity to explore Lucknow's street food. We halted around noon near Lachimanpur (Sitapur) for some streetside aam panna, mint cooler and fresh lime soda along with aloo tikki chat and pani puri. This helped us skipping a formal lunch.

We set a target to reach Ramnagar before 530 pm and the good (if not excellent) tarmac of NH-30 and thereafter NH-309 allowed to maintain steady speeds for us to advance as desired.

Around 5 pm we passed this road sign indicating we were finally nearing our destination

We entered Ramnagar a little before 530 pm, crossed the bridge over the Kosi Barrage and entered into the market area. We could see people getting down on the dried river bed as there was some park down below adjacent to the bridge. If someone has to stay at a happening place in Ramnagar then staying closer to the market is advisable however many of the luxury resorts are far from here, closer to the forest entry gates along NH-309. Usually irrespective of where you stay in Ramnagar the safari jeeps will pick you up from the hotel for some extra pay.

We reached our pre-booked hotel Le Reserve Corbett well before 6 pm. It was around 10 Km from the Kosi Barrage, in the Dhikuli area of Ramnagar among the last 1 KM of hotels and resorts. The next 8-9 Km until the Dhangarhi gate of Jim Corbett National Park there are no Hotels on NH-309. If someone wants to stay even closer to the Dhangarhi gate then Muhan can be an alternative which is around 3 Km after crossing ahead of the Dhangarhi Gate.

We were up north from our usual latitude of Bengal, here days being longer, blue hour comes past 7pm in the summer, so it was still bright day. We liked being welcomed with Buransh juice, a first time for us and we instantly fell in love with it.

Even though the Kosi river during this pre monsoon time has a severely reduced water flow, we had initially thought to visit the nearby Kosi Deck restaurant of Riverview Resort just next door to us. It offers a river view dinning experience. But the hotel turned us down stating outside guests were not allowed.

We made the best of our time sitting together in the open pool view garden of our hotel over some lipsmacking snacks and coffee

Our little ones got along really well

The hotel lit up in the evening with . . .

. . the stage set for the live music and singing event. Throughout the evening one after another yesteryear Bollywood gems continued charming us while our little ones enjoyed a playful evening. We had our dinner thereafter and called it a day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b1-L6g7hDM

We drove a total of 400 KM for the day.

Day 3 / Monday / Ramnagar to Dhikala FRH
It was a leisurely morning, our jeep drivers had called to inform that they would picking us up from the hotel past 11 am and it will take around 3 hours to reach the Dhikala FRH with still having around 1 hour gap to settle down before the afternoon safari starts around 3 pm. The breakfast tables at the restaurant offers nice view of the garden and the pool.

After a filling breakfast we came back to our rooms to packup and get ready. The rooms had a retro decor in forest bungalow theme.

While we waited at the reception for our jeeps, someone was busy exploring the tourism magazines. In the meantime parking of our cars were sorted at the hotel for the next 2 days.

Jeeps arrived but not at the same time, so we departed accordingly, Sandipan and family had a head start while Baisakhi came along in our jeep and asked her own jeep to meet at the Dhangarhi gates. The drivers had also coordinated among themselves. We were surprised to see the additional luggage carrier at the back of the jeep that does not compromise with the seating space.

The NH-309 hereafter was scenic and frequent glimpses of the distant hills and the Kosi river flowing at one side and the dense forest slope on the other side while travelling on an open top Jeep was an awesome feeling. We started to feel for the first time the heat outside in an open jeep but did not realize the effect as the cool breeze was compensating it to some extent.

We went past the Girija devi temple at a distance

https://youtu.be/VzuiDdjUikc

By 12:30 pm we arrived at the Dhangarhi gate of Jim Corbett forest, the entry point for Dhikala zone. Just close to the gate there is ample parking space but these are open parking spaces as our driver had told us before. Hence we had decided to keep our cars in the hotel. The downside being on the day of our checkout we have to retract 8 km and come back again to head towards Kausani (via Ranikhet).

Continue reading BHPian haisaikat's post for more insights and information.

I paid over Rs 12,000 to get the oil imported and feel it was worth every penny.

BHPian g_sanjib recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have a Jan 2017 registered Crysta 2.8 Z and bought it pre-worshipped in April'23. It belonged to a very senior Toyota official at Bidadi and was in mint condition when I got it home. It just needed basic servicing which was done after my purchase. There was absolutely no need for any AT oil change. As I kept reading about Crysta AT reviews in this forum, I went through a couple of notes from GTO and other folks who did recommend an AT Oil change every 5 years of ownership for any vehicle as nothing is necessarily "sealed for life". That prompted me to enquire at the Nandi Toyota Service Centre at Hosur Road about the AT Oil change. As expected, the service folks were not willing to change the AT Oil as it is not readily available and has to be ordered from the plant at Bidadi. They too advised the same thing, that it needs no oil change at all. However, upon my insistence, they ordered the part which arrived in a week's time (imported from Thailand to the Bidadi plant). I had to purchase a total of two cans, 4 Litres each and the final bill was for Rs. 12540/-

My experience during the oil change and the characteristics of the vehicle after the AT oil change was done.

In the attached photographs you will see that when they flushed out the old oil, around 1700 ML of oil came out and what went inside was 4 Litres of oil !! That itself convinced me that I made the right decision to replace the oil. When I asked the service folks as to why only 1700 ML of old oil came out, they mentioned that the AT gearbox gets so hot that over a period of time, oil gets evaporated !! This means the gearbox was running at almost 135% of the deficit oil needed to perform its best. But it was still running quite well and I had no issues. That's Toyota really

Now just immediately after the AT oil change, while performing the road test, I didn't feel much of a difference. However after driving it to my office and back home for almost 2 to 3 days, and around 50 kms, I realized that the gearbox and engine have become super duper smooth and there is almost NO diesel clutter or any other kind of engine noise whatsoever. It almost became as smooth as my Honda City Petrol AT and even better than my Hyundai Tucson CRDi AT

I now finally feel that the money spent was definitely worth it and YES nothing is really "sealed for life" in auto mechanics. Everything needs periodic maintenance and change. Very happy with the experience now and love the silky smooth and very limited diesel clutter noise drive to my office.

One thing to note is that: Only 4 litres of AT Oil needs to be changed, however, you will still need to buy two cans of 4 Litres each, and that is because they put additional oil inside the gearbox and again take it out for testing purposes.

Hope this was helpful, and I will be happy to answer any additional queries.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

After years driving around 2 compact SUV's and an MPV, this fun hatch was a really welcome change for us.

BHPian ramubwoyy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I had made a post (Big cars can be severely underutilized | Sold Innova Crysta, got Glanza | Have you ever "downsized"?) some time back about how my family had decided to downsize from an

Innova Crysta to a Glanza. Here I am now, happily writing about my general experience with the car after a short trip to Trivandrum from Kochi and back, mixed with some city driving. The delivery experience of the car was mostly smooth as we have now come to expect from Nippon Toyota. Finally got a red car after many years in the family as well!

Without much delay let me share some insights about this lovely hatchback from Toyota (actually Suzuki).

What I liked:

• The car is absolutely a hoot to drive. After years of driving around 2 compact SUVs and an MPV, this fun hatch was a really welcome change for us. Whether it's taking corners or just blasting through traffic, you will love the way this car handles itself.
• The engine is absolutely lovely and loves to rev. Having owned diesel cars for some time now, we had forgotten how fun a petrol engine can get.
• One of the more controversial points about this car is its AMT transmission. While watching reviews, I noticed that a lot of people did not have a great opinion about it and complained that it did not allow for enthusiastic driving. This has not at all been true for me and I have found the transmission to be very predictable and accurate. It's all in the amount of pressure you put on the pedal and the ECU responds almost instantly. Overtaking was not planned and was done quite easily.
• Every time I step out of the car I am amazed at how this car can have such spacious interiors. The cabin is mostly well-done for the price and the sound system is also quite decent. Love the analog dials as well.
• Not something a lot of people talk about, but I like the way the windshield and the area around it are designed. My eyes cannot tolerate very harsh sunlight and I often have to use the sun shade or glasses when driving in sunny areas. But with this car, it blocks out a lot of the harsh light and makes life just a little bit easier for me.
• The inclusion of 360 cameras is a big bonus, making parking too damn easy.
• Wireless Android Auto and Car Play are also just amazing features to have. Don't have to worry about keeping your phone constantly plugged in every time you get in. The device connection is also seamless so far.
• The back row is quite nice as well, although more testing needs to be done.
• Suspension in that sweet spot allows you to corner well and deal with potholes too.
• Very very comfortable seats in the front. The overall support is just very well done and you can clock a lot of distance in this hatch without feeling much of a strain.
• On our first road trip, we got an average mileage of 18 kmpl, which is very good considering the first service has not yet been done.

What I didn't like:

• So even though I praised the AMT gearbox and engine, I have had one issue with it, which is its very low crawling speed and torque when it comes to inclines. This is not a huge problem for me, but
• I certainly felt the difference when shifting from Seltos GT with a diesel engine and DCT transmission. I am aware that it's not a fair comparison, but I can't help but feel that some tuning could have been done with the crawling speed. Since I have not driven many petrol vehicles, maybe they only have this much low-end pulling? Would appreciate some insights on this.
• The door unlock on the key fob only unlocks the driver's door with one click. Unlocking all doors requires a double tap. Nitpicking but I don't know why they had to do it like that. Many times, I would unlock the door and get in while my family members would try to tell me that their doors were still locked, while I was inside absolutely clueless about what was going on.
• The cabin lights do not turn on when you turn off the car and exit. Very irritating at night when you are fishing for your phone or wallet. Don't know if this is how it is in general, or if it's just a glitch in my car.
• The key fob is just tiny.

My only gripe with this car is that I have to rev it a bit when it comes to inclines or tricky parking areas. Other than that, it seems to be a fun practical car to own.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

In this situation, it is not just ideal but essential for Toyota to replace the entire engine and EGR coolant system.

BHPian bravo82in recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Posting on behalf of an office colleague who is facing issues with his Innova Crysta ( Aug 23 model, odo: 12500 kms)

The vehicle encountered significant heating issues, indicated by an error code for high coolant temperature. Coolant loss was detected during the drive, necessitating water replacement every 40 km until arrival at the Toyota service station.

 

The diagnosis revealed a malfunction in the EGR coolant device, which led to coolant loss. Compression tests showed leaks in 2 out of 4 cylinders.

Considering Toyota's esteemed reputation as a premier automaker, it is imperative that this technical fault be addressed with the utmost seriousness. Although the vehicle is under warranty, opening the engine head will severely compromise the vehicle's longevity, increase the likelihood of recurring service visits and future resale value.

In this situation, it is not just ideal but essential for Toyota to replace the entire engine and EGR coolant system. As loyal customers who have invested in the Toyota brand, we would feel profoundly betrayed if the company resorts to a mere partial repair instead of a comprehensive replacement.

Request guidance from follow Bhpians and way forward. The Vehicle is at Pioneer Toyota, Patiala.

Here's what BHPian Sankar said: 

While not common it is not an isolated issue either. I am aware of this happening in the GDFTV engine but that was a few years ago. Since the failure is at the EGR cooler the coolant can get into the engine via the same route the exhaust gas is recirculated into the cylinders and cause damage. One of the reasons why I got the EGR blanked at both sides - the exhaust manifold and intake manifold.

If there is damage in the cylinder/head (as indicated by compression test) they should replace the engine as a whole unit. So if they call it an isolated issue be known that it is not.

Meanwhile, here's what BHPian dhanushs said about this matter:

Feel sorry for your colleague. It's unfortunate but can happen. Do they have a diagnosis on where the failure has happened?

In any case, if there is a damage to the engine block, better to have a full sealed engine replacement.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The Crysta had become a chore to drive in the city and we really wanted some peace of mind with a smaller car. After some research, we went around and test drove hatchbacks and sedans and came to the conclusion that the Glanza is very good for our use case.

BHPian ramubwoyy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

To understand the reason for this decision, I have to provide a brief car purchasing history of my family. Our first car was a Maruti 800 from which we moved to a Hyundai i20 petrol. That car was used a lot and we liked Korean cars, so my dad went ahead and got the Creta 1.6 SX manual diesel variant. Even though the car has been sold for more than 2 years now, it holds a special place in my heart, because it is the car in which I learned to drive.

Towards the last few years of the Creta's ownership, personal circumstances became such that we were managing two households and the lack of an extra car was really starting to be felt. And so began the search for a second car to the Creta. While me and my dad initially started looking for compact sedans and hatchbacks, we thought why not go for a higher price point, so we get the feeling of an upgrade from the Creta?

Up until that point, our family had only owned manual cars, so this next big car would also be an automatic top-end variant. We began looking at various options in the 7-seater category. My father did a test drive of the Tata Safari and liked the car, so he made a booking for it. Somehow, fate intervened and our car delivery began to get severely delayed. This was around the time Sanju Techy (the now-famous Kerala YouTuber who made a pool in his Tata Safari) started making videos about his horrible experiences with the car and dealership.

My dad began to watch his videos and started to get worried about spending a hefty 32 lakhs on what now seemed to be a machine with highly questionable reliability. I told him to wait and see if they would eventually deliver the car. However, I too began to research the car and become more concerned with each video I watched. So, one day me and my dad decided to pay a visit to the Nippon Toyota showroom in Kalamassery, Kochi, to check out the Innova Crysta.

We had initially not considered the Innova because we were turned off by how common the car was on the roads. It also had a supposed negative image of being a taxi car, which did not sit well with us when we were initially looking at big cars. How our mind plays tricks on us! The showroom experience was radically different from all of the Tata dealerships we had visited (we had made bookings at multiple dealerships because of the delay with the first one). Test drove the Innova and we were absolutely floored with how comfortable the car was. Immediately after the test drive, we cancelled all of our business with any and all Tata dealerships and decided to go ahead with the Crysta.

The car was delivered to us within some time and we were quite happy for 2 years. This was all the way back in 2022. Now I will share my experiences regarding the car itself based off of two years of owning the car. Since then, we have also bought a Kia Seltos DCT, which influenced our decision to give off the Crysta.

What I liked:

• The car absolutely excels at long-distance travel and highway cruising. The suspension eats up small or even slightly big undulations on the roads and it just flies through the road.
• Despite being a supposed taxi vehicle, people still check out the car quite often (maybe because it was the top-end variant). So no complaints about it being viewed as a 'taxi vehicle.' Even if there are, the car is so reliable that it hardly matters to me anymore.
• The 2.4L diesel engine is a gem. Loves to rev and the gearbox works decently well with it. Overtaking and accelerating is a breeze on this machine.
• It has little to no gimmicks or unnecessary features. Many people found this a big turn off in the car, but I loved how simple it was.
• I found the brakes to be quite sharp to the point where you kind of have to be a bit careful about how pressure you are applying.
• Loved the fact that Toyota gave bright Halogen beams for the headlight and LED projectors for the low-beam. Makes for a best of both worlds kind of situation.
• As an individual who likes cars, thoroughly enjoyed the sound that engine makes upon cold starts and when revving it out.
• Despite being such a premium offering, the car has little maintenance and our family found most service bills to be reasonable considering the size of the car.
• Interiors are done extremely well and you will feel your money's worth in the cabin.

What I didn't like:

• The car is BIG. I know I said my family was looking for a big car, but I think we all collectively underestimated just how big this cars feels on the road. Adding to how horrible roads are in Kerala, I often found myself feeling claustrophobic on most roads. This size also means that parking is a chore. You constantly have to make sure that the tail-end of the vehicle is clear of obstacles and after extended commutes in the city, it becomes cumbersome. Overtakes also require a bit of extra attention as you have to make sure that the tail-end has crossed the car you are trying to overtake.
• Building on the previous point of a big car, the steering wheel also has some heft to it. Three point turns are not something that I looked forward to. Moreover, the vehicle is just not at all agile. It prefers to be driven a certain way and any deviation from that will have you working your entire arm to turn the car the way you want to.
• Mileage is abysmal. I do know that we could not expect great mileage considering just how big the engine and car is. But I was quite dismayed to find out how quickly the engine guzzles fuel after our inaugural Kochi-Trivandrum trip. Our Creta gave us excellent mileage (15-19 kmpl) and the fuel guzzling of the Innova was not something that I was too happy to see. Since the engine is also very eager to rev, I found myself wrestling with the engine to get decent fuel economy.
• Body roll is far too evident and affects driving confidence when ascending hills or taking curvy roads with spirited driving. This is perhaps, a direct consequence of the ladder-frame chassis. A driver's attempt to keep a steady line through a turn will most likely scare passengers as the car tilts to one side like a bus.
• Even though we upgraded to component speakers, the sound system just lacks that punch you want. I shudder to think how bad the stock system on a 32-lakh car is.

The Seltos GT arrives

So almost a year into getting the Crysta, my dad decided to sell the Creta as our trusty machine had crossed 1,20,000 km. And we wanted an automatic variant of a similar size. We both always wanted to check out the Seltos because of how value-for-money it was and it had become an instant hit in India. After a test ride and a few other considerations we decided to go ahead and book the car.

The arrival of the Seltos showcased just how unnecessary the Crysta was for us. Here is a brief review of the Seltos:

What I liked:

• It is just the right size for all of the drivers in the family. Compact enough to drive in the city and squeeze into parking spots, while also not compromising highway stability.
• The 1.6L diesel engine is ample, fun and most importantly quite refined.
• The steering wheel complements the car's zippy nature, with it being light and very responsive.
• Coupled with the above point, the suspension being on the tighter side and you have a car that can hold a good line all day long. The Seltos is really fun to drive around twisties and puts a smile on my face everytime.
• The DCT gearbox is accurate and I didn't think that it was too laggy or unresponsive.
• Paddle-shifters are rarely used, but are a nice feature to have for the occasional burst of speed. Not that you NEED to use the paddle shifters to get the downshift that you need.
• The cabin is spacious and the front seats are ventilated, love that.
• The sound system is probably one of the best stock systems I have ever seen in a car. I will most likely never feel the need for an upgrade with it.

What I don't like:

• Too many features, which don't really end up being used by most family members. Most of the time, they forget about the ventilated seats and connectivity features. Kia could have cut costs by not including so many useless things.
• I am okay with LED for low-beams but feel that could have opted for halong bulbs for the high-beam.
• Suspension can be rough at times and really give quite a jerk if you don't anticipate a pothole in the road. But I am okay with this because it improves handling.
• Certain parts within the interior are where cost-cutting is evident. Not that there are any rattles or anything, it just doesn't feel very premium for having a price of 22L on-road price.
• Kia somehow thought the car needed disco lights around the door's at night and did not provide lights for any of the door controls. Why do they do such things?

What followed after regular usage of the Seltos:

The Seltos very evidently began to become the workhorse in the family. It had ample boot space, handling and performance that was more than enough for what we required. My mother never drove the Crysta, which effectively meant that the Crysta was a joyride for just 2 out of 3 drivers in the family. It was also much superior to the Crysta in terms of mileage, which is how we ironically began to use the Seltos instead of the Crysta for long drives.

I will be moving away soon, which meant that it did not make practical sense to keep maintaining the Crysta for the decreasing amount of rides it was being used for by just one driver.

The decision to book the Glanza

Wanting to put less of a strain on our finances, we realized that what we needed to accompany the Seltos as the primary car was a reliable Japanese hatchback, with good mileage and most importantly, small-form factor. The Crysta had become a chore to drive in the city and we really wanted some peace of mind with a smaller car. After some research, we went around and test drove hatchbacks and sedans and came to the conclusion that the Glanza is very good for our use case. I will post a short review of the vehicle once it finished its first service. We did look at other options from Suzuki, but their service has a reputation of being very poor. And since we had an excellent experience with Nippon Toyota, we went ahead with the Glanza from there.

Lesson learned:

I feel that most of the time, big cars are severely underutilized by most buyers. The Crysta is meant to be a tourer and not for commuting within the city. Furthermore, even if one were to have regular long drives, big cars just don't make sense on Indian roads. Sure we do have expressways and decent highways, but most of the time you do eventually have to go through smaller city or village roads. In addition to that, if you are not a driver who clocks a lot of kilometers with highway driving, most big cars are just a big waste of material and money. Over the entire course of ownership, we hardly had 4 trips for the Crysta where we were able to really unleash its full potential.

For us, we were willing to compromise on that 'Big car' feeling for more relaxed driving. And personally, the whole big car sentiment I think is highly overrated. How long will one keep satiating oneself with that feeling, throwing away money on fuel and glamour? Car driving continues to become more difficult in many Indian cities. I say go for the smallest car possible car that you are happy with and save yourself a lot of cash and headache.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The new mid-spec GX+ trim is available in both 7-seater and 8-seater configurations.

Toyota has launched a new mid-spec variant of the Innova Crysta. The new 'GX+' trim is available in either 7 or 8-seat configuration priced at Rs 21.39 lakh and Rs 21.44 lakh (ex-showroom), respectively.

The Innova Crysta GX+ variant comes equipped with features like a rear camera, auto-folding ORVMs, a digital video recorder (DVR), diamond-cut alloy wheels, and fabric seats. The MPV also gets several safety features including ABS, airbags, VSC and Hill-Start Assist Control.

The Innova Crysta GX+ is powered by the same 2.4-litre diesel engine that is available across the Crysta line-up. It produces 148 BHP and 343 Nm and is paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox. It also offers two drive modes: Eco and Power.

The Innova Crysta GX+ trim is available in five exterior colours: Super White, Attitude Black Mica, Avant-Garde Bronze Metallic, Platinum White Pearl and Silver Metallic.

The head unit switches seamlessly between the stock interface and the CarAbc interface.

BHPian audioholic recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Our 2020 Innova Crysta pre-facelift did not have Apple CarPlay and a few months after we purchased it, they decided to launch a facelift with a completely new head unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Had earlier planned to change the head unit to the facelift version but realised the entire wiring was different and it was not a direct fit. Only one installer in Goa has done this so far and has worked with their own custom connectors.

But now, the long pending problem has been solved with this amazing product I found which was popular in other countries with Toyota head units. Turns out my car's head unit came with a similar interface and operating system. Found the supplier in China ordered this product and installed it as soon as it arrived. Was overjoyed by the results.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now on my stock head unit with complete functionality.

The control unit is a palm-sized box which has a piggyback interface between the vehicle and the head unit. In addition to that it has a dedicated USB port for wired CarPlay and an optional interface with a rear camera which is not required in my case since the stock camera is used:

It comes with a vehicle-specific harness which will connect to the Toyota harness at three T connectors that then head to the stock HU. The connections hardly take time. We remove the three connectors from the stock HU, connect that to the harness provided and then connect the opposite pins on the harness to the head unit.

Once that's done, the ignition can be powered up and the head unit takes a while to boot since its power is disconnected. After this, to trigger the CarPlay box, we have two options:

• Switch to FM and then Aux
• Hold the Voice command button for 2s and release.

The CarAbc box immediately fires up with its interface. For the initial setup, we can pair our phone with this box(and have to delete the pairing with the stock HU to avoid clashes). Wired car play will work straight away while wireless needs a connection to the Wi-Fi access point.

Turns out, the head unit allows external devices to connect two-way and be able to even access touch screen actions, which allows the Carabc box to offer full CarPlay functionality and for the user to use the Head unit touch screen to navigate. This is common in German cars but given how Toyota electronics is ancient, it was a surprise to me.

To summarise

Pros/Features:

1. Superb integration and installation
2. Seamless switching between the stock Head unit sources and the CarAbc interface
3. The stock reverse camera can be used as usual and the box switches without any loss of audio
4. Very good sound quality and customisable settings
5. Offers both wired as well as wireless ACP and AA as well as a host of other functions, typically rendering the stock HU functions redundant
6. Touch screen lag is comparable to the stock head unit and is only noticeable during scrolling or moving maps
7. ACP graphics performance is very good with a good frame rate

Cons:

1. Screen resolution is slightly lower and since the stock HU does not have very high resolution, ACP somewhat looks low res especially since I am used to crystal clear rendering on my Slavia 10-inch display.
2. The incoming call display on the instrument cluster is lost even though steering calling controls continue to work

Here is a short video showing the performance of the interface and the comparable lag between the stock interface and that of the Carabc box.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I am also thinking of getting an Innova Crysta diesel even though I have a Maruti S-Cross in my garage as well. I feel that I am just getting too emotional.

BHPian Inquilab28 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello T-BHPians

I am unable to decide what's the best strategy for my garage and trying to get help from fellow car enthusiasts. Basically, I want someone to knock some sense into my head as I have come to a point where I am unable to make an intelligent decision and getting too emotional.

Current Scenario

• Have a 2020 Oct S-Cross with the KB15 engine at 38,000 kms. Mostly driven by the driver for the little one and wife's needs like school or visiting in-laws and such. Excellent condition of the car and no complaints from the family. Fully paid off.
• Have a 2022 Mar Thar at 45,000 kms. Always driven by me and have made quite a few highway and ORR runs in Hyderabad. Runs well and this is my baby. Excellent condition of the car and I have no complaints with it. Loan still on.

Then comes the Jimny, and for a person who loved the Gypsy and MM540 all his childhood, my heart is now pushing me towards getting the Jimny 2023, mostly because I am getting a really sweet deal. I wouldn't have been this tempted if it was the earlier pricing, the new pricing just makes me drool and I am trying to consider this only because I have an opportunity to own it, not that I need it.

Another thought process is, I am pretty shocked that I did 45,000 kms in 24 months and I am dreading the thought of my Thar getting used more than it should and I might have shortened the life of my baby. Every time I start the Thar, I feel more guilty for stressing my Thar (I really feel the Thar is my second kid in the family). I have not used the 4x4 on the Thar more than 10 times maybe. Hardly must have put on 1 km on it with 4H//4L. All the running was on 2H.

How will the Jimny help

• I might start using Jimny more and this will reduce the burden on the Thar
• Will have the excitement of getting a Jimny and would fulfil the Gypsy bug
• The 4 seater might make this a family car when I drive. I am not a fan of sitting in the S-Cross as the car is barely adequate for me from a comfort standpoint.

Now I am going with a few scenarios in my heart. My head is rejecting all of them by the way, full disclosure.

Scenario 1:

• Keep the S-Cross and Thar and get the Jimny. Use the Jimny and baby the Thar.
• Impact- will have a new loan to pay off along with the Thar
• Outcome- will have the Jimny at a good price

Scenario 2:

• Keep the S-Cross and Thar and get the Innova Crysta. With the diesels running out of the market, getting the Innova might give me an option for a long-term dependable diesel for family trips as a group. The current options are not really good long-drive options
• Impact- will have a new loan to pay off along with the Thar
• Outcome- Will have the Innova as the luxury//family car and have a dependable long-drive companion which is very comfortable

Scenario 3:

• Sell the S-Cross and keep the Thar and Innova Crysta
• Impact- S-Cross is in very good condition mechanically and I feel guilty about selling it. I am hoping that this might be a good beater car for the future.
• Outcome- Will have a proven diesel MUV for long-term family usage

The only reason Innova has come into the equation is again a heart vs head thing. I am having the fear of missing out on a capable car which can serve the family for a good 15 years or more if everything works out from the Govt regulatory perspective.

I have to be honest, none of my close friends are car people and I am hoping to get some insight and suggestions from this bunch as I am very sure I would get objective help.

How would you respond to the current scenario I am in?

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

First of all, why is a high running on the Thar an issue? If the vehicle is giving you happiness, just continue using it. As long as you are not looking at resale prices, you do not need to worry about high running. Just enjoy the vehicle. Just a fraction of the money you save by not buying another vehicle will be needed to maintain the Thar even once you reach 6 digits on the odometer.

You can always go for the 5-door Thar, that too a 2WD version once it's out, as by your own admission you don't really need the 4WD version.

Regarding the S-Cross being your errand car, it's best to keep it, as there is no loan, there are no niggles. Plus, the peace of mind that even if the driver dings it, you will not be emotionally hurt, something which won't hold true if you give a brand new vehicle to the driver. (No offense to your driver).

Regarding diesels, they may be going out of fashion, but they are being replaced with petrol strong hybrids, and they should, at least in the coming future, be as good to drive as the diesels today. The diesels are loved not because they consume diesel fuel, but because of the low-end torque they generate.

Your post lacks the strong conviction to buy the Jimny, it just sounds like you HAVE EXCESS MONEY and need TO BUY SOMETHING. (I get that you will take a loan, but I guess that isn't a big deal for you)

You wanted some frank opinions, here was mine. Apologies for the blunt approach…

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

Summarised it well. The best way to satiate this feeling is to spend the money on a road trip to throw out the thought of selling any car. Most of us envy people who get to drive more than 20K km a year. And here you are doing just that and wish to reduce it only because you want to 'baby' the Thar? Cars are meant to be driven and there is no upper limit on how many km it should be driven a year to age it. Yes, there will be wear & tear for which we have service intervals based on either km or year.

I don't have anything other than what has been already said by Kosjam. Keep the S-Cross as a beater and put more (s)miles on the Thar!

Here's what BHPian asit.kulkarni93 had to say about the matter:

You have a comfortable family crossover and a good 4x4 SWB SUV. What else do you need? Enjoy the Thar and use the S-Cross for family trips. Why add unnecessary financial burden unless your needs are going to change or your existing cars are too old? You really think you will like the engine on the Jimny after the Thar?

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.