Toyota Innova (2005-2016)

Born and brought up in a country that loves stuffing as many people in the public carriers would make one believe that MUVs are suited the best for this country, but that's not the case.
The market is evolving, and so are the products. Toyota Innova is one of the frontrunners of the change. It successfully made MPVs more desirable (and more successful, in certain aspecs).
Now, after a couple of facelifts (none of them were path-breaking!) Innova still soldiers strong, so much so that the new entrants have to keep this Toyota as a benchmark when taking on the segment. The well-sorted overall package, the Innova is, has continued to garner sales with very much the same ingredients from the Toyota Qualis, and a bit more.

On the outside, the age old silhouette hasn't changed, not a single bit. The front end now gets a more prominent radiator grille, with horizontal slats. Looks are a very personal thing, and unless you are turned off by garish designs, the new grille won't take time to grow on you. The sides and rear remain almost unchanged. It's an overall decent looking design, so it shouldn't really concern even if you use it as your daily driver.
The side profile is one of the most simple but effective designs. Even with the length and rather large footprint, it doesn't look out of proportion. The side skirts, the alloy wheels and a very balanced design make the Innova look good from the side. Chrome on door handles and side beadings, and the new sticker job is a welcome touch. The tail-gate mounted spoiler is almost vestigial. But the addition of the new reflector strip is not. It looks good and gives the rear design a lot more character than before. It looks more Nissan Evalia like but while retaining the overall design that we are so familiar to. The 15-inch alloys look small but since Innova's made for ride comfort and not out and out cornering pleasure, it's well understandable.

Being an MPV, and a very capable one at that, special care has been taken for things like practicality and comfort. All three rows get their own AC vents, a set of bottle holders and a decent amount of legroom. The second row gets captain seats, which is a great place to be in, should you decide to ditch other forms of transport and use Innova for long distance touring.
Third row isn't bad either, and since the vehicle is wide enough, two people can sit here without awkwardly nudging each other's shoulders. As in the case of most MPVs, the rear bench can be folded to accommodate more luggage. The top-spec variant comes with things like reverse parking camera, a 2-DIN touch screen entertainment system, steering mounted controls etc. The dashboard layout might be the same as before but quality, fit and finish look good.

The Toyota Innova gets a 2.5-litre diesel engine (available in both BSIII and BSIV versions) that makes 102PS of power and 200Nm of peak torque. The common rail diesel engine is refined and quite drivable in the city as well as on highways. The 5-speed manual geabox feels apt, but since max torque is available early on, an extra gear would have helped in bettering the cruising abilities of the Innova.
Unlike the FIAT-sourced 1.3-litre diesel and the Renault 1.5-litre dCI (K9K) engine found in competitors, this is a bigger engine, so ideally it would be less stressed on longer journeys (or carrying more load). The diesel clatter is present, but it's not very intrusive, and shouldn't hamper the comfort levels of passengers inside.

While the Innova can seat seven in comfort, its respectable fuel efficiency figure makes it a great mode of transport too. Expect the vehicle to deliver about 11kmpl of diesel in varied conditions. Light use of accelerator and brakes would see the figure improve, but even if fully loaded and driven at moderate speeds, the Innova will continue to impress.

The overall stability of the vehicle is high, and that's one of the reasons why it's considered to be one of the best long distance people movers in the segment. The Innova feels quite planted, but at the same time remains docile, ready to listen to driver inputs.
On the braking front, it gets discs up front and drums at the rear. ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) is standard across the model range. That, along with the stability, should take care of helping the driver stop within the available space and time. Driver airbag is available on all variants, while the higher ones get a front passenger airbag as well. Apart from the active safety features, the structure of the Innova is made in such a way to increase the occupants' safety.

There's something special about Toyotas. First it's difficult to make out how many kilometers they've run and second they have such aura around them as if they are going to last forever.
The Innova is powered by a 2.5-litre diesel engine, which produces 102PS of power and 200Nm of torque. All that to pull this 4.5 meter vehicle? The engine doesn't feel underpowered, it pulls cleanly and with the level of smoothness that won't wake your passengers up. The delivery is very linear and that's what makes driving the Innova very easy. The gearbox, a 5-speed unit, works well. And unless you want to drive quick, it doesn't disappoint. It can cruise easily at well over 100kmph but if you want to rev hard in every gear to reach there, expect the vehicle to disobey you. The best option is keep it to upshift at around 2k rpm, reach the fifth gear and enjoy the slightly laid back driving experience. Torque is widespread between 1200 and 3600 rpm, which further enhances the drive. Handling-wise, Innova feels quite sorted too. The stability is good, the drivability is decent, and on-road manners are respectable too. There's some body roll, and that's expected from a suspension setup tuned mainly to aid comfort. Having said that, it must also be mentioned that the roll isn't too high and for an MPV, it manages to offer decent dynamics. Enthusiasm is best kept under control, because given the size of the vehicle, one should keep in mind the mail purpose of the Innova, which is being a safe and fast people mover.

This 7-seater Z variant costs close to Rs. 15 lac, ex-showroom, Mumbai, which is a lot of money. The mid-spec Innovas make more sense instead. If you want something that's easy to drive and capable of seating seven or eight people in comfort (depending on the variant), Innova makes sense.
There are automobiles that look better (Duster and EcoSport), are more car-like (Ertiga and Mobilio), can handle bad roads better (XUV500 and Storme), but even after the numerous updates, the age-old Innova still proves to be a great vehicle for not only the tour operators but also personal use!

The market includes vehicles like Maruti Ertiga, Chevrolet Enjoy, Honda Mobilio , etc., which might look great for medium-sized families but don't compete with Innova when it comes to being an overall satisfactory package.
The MUVs like Chevrolet Tavera, and MPVs like Mahindra Xylo do the job well, but feel short on desirability and the build that the Toyota offers. SUVs like Mahindra XUV500 and Tata Safari Storme might be in the same price bracket, but they are entirely different vehicles, and while they may excel at off-roading, it's the Innova that does cruising better.