New Toyota Innova 2.5 Z Review: Ageless Wonder

When Toyota decided to stop production of the Qualis, it left many flummoxed as why would anybody think of giving up on a product that till date, is recalled as one of the most robust vehicles ever sold in India. Knowing what they were doing, Toyota replaced the boxy blockbuster with a more streamlined MPV called the Innova. It eventually helped people get rid of the Qualis hangover and carved a niche for itself. Although it has been a decade since it was first launched, the Innova happens to be in a league of its own even after the emergence of newer, less expensive competition that just couldn’t match the high popularity of this family mover.

So when Toyota sent us an example of the latest, facelifted version of the already popular Innova, we were left scratching our heads. The reason for that being; perhaps 8 in 10 Indians must’ve sat inside one, among them, maybe five must’ve been inside one on more than one occasion, and there must be countless who own one themselves or have an Innova in the family. So then, how do you review something which is already one of the most popular cars in the country? What do you figure, when there are people out there who know more about this MPV than we could figure in the couple days we spent with the car?

However, if there’s a job to be done, somebody’s got to do it anyways. As I headed towards the pick-up point to fetch the Innova, a phone call from a family member involved a conversation where I was boasting about a fancy motorcycle I had ridden. My cousin almost rubbished that aside when I told him that I was about to review the new Innova and he suddenly had a plethora of questions to shoot towards me about the car. Although he happens to own a first-gen Innova, his excited inquisitiveness about an almost unchanged model took me by surprise. Borrowing some of my cousin’s curiosity then, I walked into a professionally managed Toyota dealership to pick my ride.

Before we dissect this 7-seater though, allow us to shed some light on the very first place you’d start with, if you happen to buy a Toyota Innova in the near future, or maybe tomorrow. I couldn’t find a single speck of dirt on the floor, and although I walked in dressed at my casual best, the woman at the reception noticed me from a distance, greeted me with a smile, asked me my name and deputed someone to fetch the keys in an instant.

Thinking it must be because of the purpose I was there for, I hid behind an ornamental tree and waited for someone else to enter, and that person too was treated in a similar professional fashion. I swear to the Lord Octane Almighty, I’ve been to some of the swankiest, world class banks dressed in crisp suits, and even they don’t bother to look at you unless you’ve finished admiring the Swarovski hanging from the ceiling and an impeccably dressed woman in her black framed glasses behind the cash counter.

Turns out, more than a review then, this is an attempt to decode the Innova’s popularity and it receives full marks in Round One for making a potential customer feel positive about his purchase, the moment he/she enters the showroom. Getting back to the car then, although he could’ve chosen not to, an attendant jogged me through everything about the car, handed over the keys, and with a smile, showed me the way out. We aren’t sugarcoating things here, Toyota even tops the J.D. Power sales satisfaction study.

I drove the car for some distance, got out and started to stare at the Innova with a puzzled look. Although not much has changed over the years since the MPV was first introduced in India, a lot has still changed. Read on.

Design

Built on Toyota’s Global Outstanding Assessment (GOA) concept, over the years, the Toyota Innova has transformed to lose some chubby curves in favor of a few edgy elements. Flanked by eye shaped headlamps, the appearance of which mimics the observatory accessories of yesteryear Bollywood bombshells whose eyes were made to extend all the way till their ears, the front radiator grille has now grown bigger.

The three chrome slats within the center piece have become chunkier, and surrounded by a chrome strip that looks like a handlebar moustache, the front grille now runs deeper into the bumper. Fog lamps are enclosed in a C-shaped chrome surround and the prominent large air-dam on the earlier model has made way for a curved all-black patch that has a ridge running through the middle. The bonnet now gets a few creases, adding to the crispness.

Sideways, it looks unmistakably an Innova with blacked-out A, B and C-pillars and integrated blinkers in the electrically adjustable ORVMs. There is some more splash of chrome on the side molding, and the top-end ‘Z’ variant we tested comes with body graphics for better discrimination from its poorer brethren.

At the rear, the top variant gets a spoiler, while the tail-light design remains more or less the same as it was on the older model. Another shiny element of chrome runs across the width of the tailgate, hiding two reflectors under its wings, while reflective material is also embedded at each corner of the bumper, with a chrome tipped exhaust peeking out from the right. Spare wheel is still mounted externally at the bottom to liberate additional boot space.

To sum it up, although the Toyota Innova is an everyday sight on our roads, for a design that has been around for almost a decade, in isolation, it still looks alright and pretty savvy for an MPV.

Next page for cabin and features..