New Toyota Innova - Coming Soon

Car to watch out for... New Toyota Innova

It is always best to revisit where the story began before you get to the next chapter. Let’s start with a short lesson from the history books. When the Innova was launched back in 2004 and replaced the rock-solid Qualis, it just took the market by storm. It literally kicked the Chevy Tevera in the face and became the obvious choice of all those family people of wanted to carry their loved ones (I am assuming!) along in sumptuous comfort. It went through some minor cosmetic changes over the years and faced tough competition from the Japanese counterparts – Suzuki Ertiga, Honda Mobilio and the Nissan Evalia. Most recently the French joined the race in the MPV segment with the Renault Lodgy. Apart from the Tata Aria, all the other competitors are considerably cheaper in terms of price. However, they still can’t cut the cake. The overall package that the Innova offers is absolutely brilliant. It can seat 7 people, has loads of storage space and mechanically, like every Toyota product, it doesn’t go wrong. It still is the king of MPVs under the 20lacs mark.

The second generation Innova is expected to the hit the showrooms or at least get to the bookings stage, by February 2016. Even if it doesn’t, we may get a glimpse of it at the 2016 Auto Expo. The Innova was launched in Indonesia recently and it is rumored that the India bound offering will largely be the same in terms of looks, in-car toys and the power plant.

On the outside, the new Innova is a much more exciting car to drool at. This was the only area where the old Innova fell behind to the competition. From the front, it looks like the big bulky brother of the Corolla Altis and the Camery as the styling cues are quite similar. We might get goodies like the project or headlamps with integrated daytime running LEDs. Moving to the side profile of this people carrier and you realize that you can’t run away from the fact it is big van, which is not that exciting. Although the Japanese have tried to liven it up with restyled windows area, a couple of prominent character lines running along the side of the car and a bit more swollen wheel arches.

Interiors look a lot more welcoming and luxurious now. The dual-tone interiors, some faux aluminium accents here and there along with wooden finish and leather upholstery make the cabin feel a lot more premium. There is no shortage of “techy” stuff inside either. You get dual-zone climate control (in simple words, people in the front seats can have the “Siberia” setting and the backseat passengers can go with “Thar Desert” setting – I mean this is a bit extreme but you all get the idea right?), ambient mood lighting, a cooled glove box, a 7 inch touch sensitive infotainment screen across all variants. Apart from these grin-makers, Navigation system, voice command, Bluetooth telephony and SD card support will be variant dependant. The fully loaded top-spec variant is likely to come with onboard Wi-Fi connectivity support, an 8-inch infotainment screen and HDMI support.

Let’s look that numbers list in terms of dimensions of the car. You know what? Let’s not! Let’s just say the new car is longer, wider and taller that the current model. But I know there are those of you who like to know their numbers. Fine… It’s 18 cm longer, 6 cm wider and 4.5 cm taller than the outgoing model. Although, wheelbase remains the same.

Under the hood, you get a new diesel engine. Although smaller in cubic capacity @ 2.4 litres, it churns out 147 bhp which is 45 more than the 2.5 litre old diesel unit. Let’s look at it this way – the power from an Alto 800 has been added to the previous bhp count. Well almost! You will get the option of manual (5-speed) and automatic (6-speed) transmissions, with the automatic gearbox producing higher torque figures. In terms of safety features, the Innova will have Stability control, Hill-start Assist, ABS and Dual front, side and knee airbags.

All in all, the new Innova is all set to raise those standards of a comfortable people carrier. With the new engine in place, a much longer list of in-car toys along with safety features; it will reinvent itself from its predecessor. With the right price, it can potentially kill the disease and heal people from buying rubbish the “so-called” baby SUVs or the ridiculously expensive sedans in the 10-20lacs price bracket.

Fuel Type	Variant	Indonesian Price	Approximately in INR
Petrol	G MT	IDR 282 Million	Rs. 13.59 lacs
	G AT	IDR 302.2 Million	Rs. 14.56 lacs
	V MT	IDR 325.6 Million	Rs. 15.74 lacs
	V AT	IDR 345.2 Million	Rs. 16.69 lacs
	Q MT	IDR 364.7 Million	Rs. 17.58 lacs
	Q AT	IDR 384.8 Million	Rs. 18.6 lacs
Diesel	G MT	IDR 310.1 Million	Rs. 14.95 lacs
	G AT	IDR 331.6 Million	Rs. 16.05 lacs
	V MT	IDR 357.5 Million	Rs. 17.23 lacs
	V AT	IDR 377.3 Million	Rs. 18.18 lacs
	Q MT	IDR 402.4 Million	Rs. 19.39 lacs
	Q AT	IDR 423.8 Million	Rs. 20.43 lacs

  

Expected Features List:

• Dual-tone interior
• Leather upholstery
• Touchscreen infotainment system
• LED ambient mood lighting
• HDMI input and in-car Wi-Fi support
• Push-button start
• LED daytime running lamps
• Chilled glove-box
• LED head-lamps and tail-lamps with emergency braking markers
• Multi-zone Climate control
• Stability control
• Hill-start assist
• ABS
• Dual front, side and knee airbags
• Anti-theft system
• Rear parking sensors
• Auto-shut tailgate
• One-touch middle captain seat fold

Watch the Sneak Peak here...