Toyota

Innova Crysta

Toyota Innova Crysta

The Toyota Innova Crysta is the king of the MPV segment in India. Despite its rising prices, customers still cannot get enough of its space, comfort, and overall ownership experience. 

How is the Design? 

The Toyota Innova Crysta has a design that is simple yet with oodles of flair. The Innova Crysta still appears contemporary with a good road presence. There are 17-inch wheels for higher variants and 16-inch counterparts for the other variants. The tail lights look clean enough while the dynamic and big grille is another nice touch. The MPV looks imposing overall with its sheer length and huge wheelbase and is the tallest in the category, with ample width alongside. 

How does it perform? 

The Toyota Innova Crysta no longer has the 2.8 litre diesel engine. There is no 6-speed automatic transmission option for the 2.4 litre diesel engine. The engine dishes out good power and torque output although it is not as powerful as the previous 2.8 litre version. Yet, the car does not feel short on power and the engine smoothly churns out both torque and power. The Toyota Innova Crysta can cruise effortlessly on the highways and there is only slower acceleration to contend with, although this is nominal. There are also PWR and Eco modes available with the latter not having as much lag and good drivability overall. The Power mode makes the engine more responsive and sporty and the mid-range is chunky enough, with the 6-speed torque converter doing its job smoothly. There are no paddle shifters there is also a manual and S mode available. The diesel engine has more fuel efficiency than earlier. The petrol engine also drives well with good refinement levels although the diesel engine still feels the best to drive among the two. The DPF however requires cleaning periodically based on the style of driving while the filter may get clogged while driving at lower RPMs mostly. The MID may show a warning asking for the DPF switch whenever the car is standing still. The engine is revved and the filter is cleaned as a result. The engine refinement levels could have been more with lower vibrations overall. 

How’s the mileage? 

• Petrol Manual- 8 kmpl
• Diesel Manual- 12 kmpl
• Petrol Automatic- 8 kmpl
• Diesel Automatic- 12 kmpl 

How’s the driving experience?

The Toyota Innova Crysta offers a smooth ride although the experience is not as luxurious as you would want. There is a bouncy experience over bad roads although high-speed driving manners and stability are both decent. The Innova has a fair bit of body roll which needs to be tackled while cornering as well. The steering feels heavier at lower speeds and it does require effort for maneuvering the vehicle. The feeling improves with speed increases and there is good feedback from the steering as well. The braking is good although rear disc brakes are a big miss. 

What’s the interior like? 

The extra DPF switch and sticker are added to the cabin which also gets good features including a touch screen infotainment unit (no wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), along with keyless go with push-button start, automatic climate control, rear parking camera, and electric ORVMs. There is no sunroof. There are also 7 and 8-seat configurations although the top-end variants just get the 7-seater option. There are two interior color schemes available as well. The cabin offers good legroom and headroom while the seats are comfortable. There is also no wireless charging, front parking sensors, soft-touch materials, and 360-degree camera among many other features at this price range. There are of course automatic wipers and lights, cruise control, ambient lighting, and wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There is also a lot of storage through big door pads and cup holders along with generous shoulder and knee room. There is a one-touch tumble option for the seats. Each row has air conditioning controls while boot space is good with all the seats in place as well. 

Tech and infotainment

The Toyota Innova Crysta feels dated on the feature front and that too at this price point. There is no wireless charging, sunroof, or wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (only wired options). There is a touch screen infotainment unit along with an extensive climate control system, rearview camera, ambient lighting, cruise control, and electric ORVMs. 

Safety equipment 

The Toyota Innova Crysta has decent safety features including traction control, a reverse parking camera, seven airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, vehicle stability control, and hill hold assist. 

Which variant to buy? 

The G and G+ trims are more suited for fleet operators and companies while the former is based on the earlier pre-facelift version. The G+ is the new model. These have only basic features while the G+ has additional chrome door handles and the new styling. The GX is costly and gets more features including the touch screen, connectivity features, steering mounted controls, electric ORVMs, rear defogger, one-touch power window on the driver’s side, and some other features. The VX has additional features like LED front fog lamps, automatic headlamps, front parking sensors, seat back table, ambient lighting, chrome ORVMs, black fabric seats, six speakers for the audio system, push-button start/stop, reverse camera, automatic climate control, keyless entry and go, USB fast-charging, and so on. The top-end ZX version is quite costly and comes with seven airbags and 17-inch alloy wheels along with more safety features, special leather seats, speed-sending door locks, cruise control, easy slide adjustment for the passenger seat in front, and eight-way power adjustable driver’s seats among additional features. The GX seems to be the value variant in this case. 

Which cars compete in this segment? 

The Toyota Innova Crysta takes on the Kia Carnival and also more affordable rivals like the Kia Carens, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, and the Maruti Suzuki XL6, along with the Mahindra Marazzo. The Innova Crysta is bigger than the Carens although the latter has the longest wheelbase. The Carens has slightly less-powerful engines but more options. It has more features than the Innova Crysta and is more affordable. The Mahindra Marazzo and Ertiga/XL6 are also more affordable options with good feature lists although the Innova Crysta outstrips them in terms of its size and engines. However, it is significantly costlier as well. The Kia Carnival is bigger than the Innova Crysta and offers more comfort with 7, 8, and 9-seater versions. The Carnival has only a single diesel engine option though. The Carnival is more feature-packed with wireless charging, a powered tailgate, ventilated and power adjustable driver’s seat, Nappa leather upholstery, three-zone climate control, a dual-pane sunroof, more safety features and even a rear entertainment option. The Carnival is costlier than the Innova Crysta although buyers may find it to be a bigger value proposition with its features and comforts.

Verdict (Value for Money)

The Toyota Innova Crysta continues to offer great reliability, comfort, and overall peace of mind. It has decent features and safety equipment along with powerful and high-performing engines. However, the ride could have been more refined, the steering is heavy and the car is quite expensive while missing out on several key features and creature comforts. Overall, it still dominates the MPV segment and that should not change soon.