After much deliberations Bought an Innova last week. Here is my experience with the vehicle till now.
USP: Practicality
Innova's unique selling proposition is certainly its practicality. It lends itself well to a full family (husband, wife, kids and parents). It also serves the purpose of a regular run-around vehicle and drives well enough within the city. Ofcourse turning this vehicle in a narrow galli (street) is a bit tricky, but, leaving out small cars like Alto, Wagon-R and Santro, almost all other vehicles (above B+ segment) have similar problems. I had an Indica (petrol) before and I should know!!
The other selling proposition for this vehicle is Toyota Badge. I know it isn't a good practice to buy in to a name, but if my experience with Indica has taught me something, it is that, International names like Toyota have a lot to loose if they release an untested vehicle (Such as Indica V1) in to the market. You don't want to buy a new vehicle and lend yourself to be a guinea pig to some corporates experiment. Today, it is well nigh impossible to find a buyer for my vehicle, though it is still in good condition, and never had an accident.. Reason - poor reputation. I am sure a toyota won't have that problem.
Diesel vs Petrol
I bought the diesel unlike my old Indica - the resale factor. A diesel second hand car finds demand in the taxi trade, due to higher mileage (and also lower fuel costs in India). The other reason why taxi trade prefers diesel is because - the life of the engine. Since diesel engines operate in Lower RPMs than Petrol (Petrol engines can be revved really hard and typically have much lesser engine life). An engine like D4D in Innova will have an engine life of 300,000+ km without any problems. Add to that the body-on-frame construction, you can expect a life time service (20years easy), though I'd get bored of the car much before. But, taxi trade knows this, and that makes it easy to sell when you need to.
I also test drove the Petrol. Petrol is certainly the way to go, if you don't care about a loss of about 2lakhs over 5-7 years, in resale value (not to speak of additional fuel savings). It is silent, powerful, has higher pickup and smoother city drive. It also gives about 8km/ltr, which is damn good considering my Indica-Petrol gave 9.5km/ltr. I'd have settled for petrol, only if I was assured selling it was as easy and depreciation isn't going to kill me... :-(
Ride Comfort
The most important factor in buying Innova was the Ride Comfort it offers. It is comparable to vehicles which are almost double its price. It offers excellent ride upto 8 people in comfort (if you don't have too much luggage) or about 6 people with reasonable luggage.
Diesel engine is not bad. While the ''fun to drive'' factor is a bit more tempered, It provides reasonable pickup and good pulling capacity (especially once the turbo kicks in). The diesel engine RPMs are such that you'd need to get to 3rd gear to experience smoothness. In third you can drive between 20km - 70km, while in 1st you'd have to change gear by 20km, and in 2nd 30-40km. So, in stop and go traffic you'll need to shift between 1st and 2nd gears (can manage with first if you are patient), and in slow moving traffic you can manage by staying in third.
Sitting posture is one of the important reasons I went in for Innova. You sit like you'd in any regular sofa. This makes it possible for you to drive long distances without any stress. The sitting position is very high, and you feel like the king of the road, surveying the road!! It helps in cities also, as you can see much further than a typical sedan. I was worried about the width, but I realised the width of Innova isn't much more than Corolla and is lesser than Camry!!! So, within 2 days I was driving it as if I was driving my old Indica... It is only about 100mm (10cm or 4.3inch) wider than Indica, though length can be a problem at times.
It has lovely load grip, you feel very safe in the car (you are). It is especially useful for Indian conditions, with its high ground clearance, and fantastic suspension (with ladder frame build). Badly made out humps and speed-breakers are not a problem!!! Though Innova isn't meant for Off-Roading - THIS CAR IS MEANT FOR BANGALORE ROADS.
Engine
The petrol engine is as good as they come and is quite powerful (Can keep up with any sedan in sheer pickup and top speeds). Petrol version also costs about 75K cheaper in Bangalore.
However, Diesel is the more sensible option. It is quite smooth for a diesel. You rarely feel the lack of power; the turbo-lag isn't noticeable. You certainly don't feel the rush of blood as with Petrol, but power flows in a sedate but smooth fashion. The engine is certainly a bit noisy (Especially if you keep the windows open). Even with Windows closed, you can make out it is a diesel as the clatter is audible.
Speeds:
0 to 80kmph is pretty fast, the speeds above this is achieved in a bit of relaxed way.
Interior
Well anointed. [period]
Everything is nice. The dashboard feels very good. All controls have nice finish, and all are within reachable distance to the driver. I still haven't fixed the stereo, so haven't checked the built-in speakers.
Seats are very nice, should be getting the leather seat covers they deserve.
The Middle row seats are the place to be. Though the Captain seat of ''V'' model is nice, I felt having a bench like seat is more appropriate..
The last row seats are a bit of trouble to access unless you are athletic. It is obvious it is meant more for younger folks and kids. It can be folded to release huge Luggage space. Since it is split seat, even a single seat folded releases a lot of space for luggage.
One worry I had was the Air conditioning. I did not go for the dual air-conditioning, after much calculation. I have to wait till summer to know if this is a problem, but most guys who have used it in summer told me it isn't a problem to have single blower.
Nice touch is the water bottle holders for each seats in Front row and middle row. Very useful in long rides.
Exterior
A bit of a plain vanilla finish. I have gone in for the rear spoiler to enhance the visual appeal. Planning on putting some Roof-Rails. However, if you have a look at it overall, it looks exactly like any mini-van you'll find on streets abroad. It is something new in India and people have to still get used to such looks (like it was the case with Santro and Wagon-R initially).
Fuel Efficiency
I have observed that Diesel gives just above 10km in Bangalore City (Stop/Start traffic, average 20km/hr, AC always on). Haven't tried long distances yet, planning to do so in the coming week. But, expecting about 3km more than the city run-about.
A colleague owns a Petrol Innova, and told me he gets 8km/ltr and about 12.5km/ltr in long-highway rides.
Conclusion
Innova Diesel is a nice vehicle, that should be seriously considered by a family man. It isn't for youngsters (bachelors/Singletons). Ideally this should be a second vehicle, with a smaller car for city run about - I have a Wagon-R for that purpose, and replacing Indica with this. It can be driven comfortably within City, however, parking and turning in tight corners can be a problem, so better to rely on smaller car, Better still a two wheeler for shorter (and safer - less crowded) distances. But, for long rides, there are not many vehicles in India that may come close to the comfort Innova provides.
