Toyota Innova -The Incontestable MPV Emperor

The early-mid 2000s are considered to be a specifically prosperous period in India's automotive history. The era saw the establishment of the futuristic (at that time) fuel injected technology which replaced the old school carburettors and India was a great place to be for several car manufacturers who pitched and marketed their products in the Indian car market with the prospect of succeeding. Toyota as a car manufacturer needs no introduction. Toyota cars have, over the years gathered a global reputation of being extremely reliable, well-built and capable of running for aeons.

Their journey in India began in the year 2000 with the Toyota Qualis, which despite being a boxy and dated car was a massive success and firmly established Toyota's mark in India. The Qualis' success made way for other cars such as the Camry and Corolla which were best sellers the world over.

The discontinuation of the popular Qualis in 2005 meant that Toyota had to bring something new to the Indian car market to help maintain their level and overall sales figures. That is when the Innova came along.

The Toyota Innova made its first appearance in India in March 2005. It looked identical to its South-East sibling the Toyota Kijang Innova. The Innova looked like any other Japanese MPV with its curvy design language. Although Japanese MPVs are often criticised for their so-called ‘Drab looks', the Innova was quite a sleek looker for us Indians and was a welcome change over the boxy designs we were used to seeing for decades on end.

At the time, Toyota offered two engine options for the Innova which were mated to a 5 speed manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. A 2.0 litre 4 cylinder fuel injected petrol engine and a 2.5 litre 4 cylinder turbo-diesel engine were available to the customers. Prices started at about 6.5 lakhs and went up till 10.8 lakhs ex-showroom Mumbai for the Innova as of 2005.

DIESEL

PETROL

While the petrol engine variants found very few takers, it is the Diesel engine variants that were responsible for the Innova's success story. The Innova's 2.5 litre Turbo-Diesel engine made about 102 bhp and returned an impressive fuel economy of 11-15 km/litre. The engine was very refined for a diesel engine at the time and was capable of cruising along without the need for the driver to downshift frequently. The Innova had great visibility, high seating and was a very comfortable car to be driven around in. Independent front suspension and real coil springs gave it amazing ride quality and ensured it could glide over the potholes and undulations on many Indian roads without causing any discomfort to the occupants. The interior was rather simple and had a typical Toyota-like layout with a hydraulic power steering, plenty of space and practicality. It also included bells and whistles such as Climate Control, 6 CD changer + Tape + radio music system, Steering mounted controls along with safety features like ABS and Airbags for the top variants which were not offered by several manufacturers in India back then. Both 7 seater and 8 seater variants were available, with the option of rear captain seats and a bench seat respectively to ensure the occupants were comfortably seated and not huddled up one on top of the other.

Due to its toughness, reliability and fuel economy, the Innova became the car of choice for families who wanted a reliable car for family runabouts and road trips. It also found a major audience in the commercial vehicle and fleet operators and very soon became the most obvious car of choice for someone who wanted a tourist taxi ride in comfort. As far as maintenance went, the Innova never made any fusses. All it required was a regular service at the given intervals and it was happy to continue munching miles. There are several older Innovas going strong to this day, under the ownership of both individuals and fleet operators that have well over 4 lakh kilometres on the clock and refuse to give up. As a result, the Innova rose to fame and became the undisputed ruler of the MPV segment. Competitors tried their luck to dethrone it, Nissan got the Evalia, Renault tried with the Lodgy, even Maruti Suzuki had a go with the Ertiga. But none of them stood a chance. The Innova was indeed the Chuck Norris of the MPV segment in India- unbeatable. Which it continues to be to this day.

Over the years, Toyota made some minor cosmetic upgrades to the Innova and gave it a refreshed look in the years 2009, 2011 and 2013 respectively while the car remained the same mechanically and continued to win hearts. By 2013, the Innova's price had been hiked by almost 70% from what it originally was, but that too didn't cause any hindrance to the sales. Another reason why the Innova succeeded is due to its brilliant resale value, ensuring that the Innova is a slow depreciating car and can often be looked at as an investment!

It was after a decade of success and prosperity in the Indian car market, that Toyota discontinued the Innova and brought in the new boy-the Toyota Innova Crysta.

The Innova Crysta was an all new generation that was launched by Toyota in May 2016. The exterior and interior of the car both received a complete makeover and displayed Toyota's then new design language with plenty of perpendicular angles and straight lines involved.

The Innova Crysta was all a completely different car mechanically. It received two Diesel engines options- a 2.4 litre 4 cylinder turbo-diesel engine and a 2.8 litre 4 cylinder turbo-diesel engine were offered to the customers. The 2.4 litre engine was mated to a 5 speed manual transmission,while the 2.8 litre engine was mated to a 6 speed torque converter automatic transmission making the car easier and more convenient to drive than ever before.

In late 2016, Toyota released a 2.7 litre 4 cylinder petrol engine for the Innova Crysta with both automatic and manual transmission options available.

Toyota priced it in between 13 and 24 lakhs respectively, ex-showroom Mumbai. Just like its predecessor, the Innova Crysta ensured that it kept Toyota's flag of reliability, durability and economy flying high which made it an instant success, especially among the customers and those who felt that only an Innova could replace their old Innova. As expected, it also found its place with the fleet operators and continues to be a preferred car of choice.

In 2020, the Innova Crysta was given a facelift and the 2.8 litre engine was discontinued due to BS6 Emission norms and a 2.4 litre Diesel engine mated to an automatic transmission was introduced.

So that was a quick lesson on why it is safe to call the Toyota Innova the undisputed ruler of the MPV segment. It is a car that has stood through thick and thin and contested against all odds and still never failed to prove its worth. Today, the Innova Crysta is Toyota's bread and butter car in India and will surely continue to play the role for years to come.