Toyota Innova Crysta Petrol Road Test Review
The Innova Crysta has been a runaway success since its launch in May this year. It was introduced with two Diesel engine options (2.4L, 2.8L) and with manual and automatic transmission options. Toyota had told us during our drive that they plan to get the Petrol variant by Diwali. The Diesel ban in Delhi made Toyota get this Petrol version sooner than expected. Now the Diesel ban has been lifted. The Petrol Innova Crysta was with us for our road-test review. Read on to know all about the best seller from Toyota for India in the now in the Petrol avatar.
Food for Thought: The Innova Crysta that India has got is the Indonesian version. Indonesia gets the 2.0 Litre Petrol engine on their Crysta, while we get the larger 2.7 Litre engine. This engine belongs to the Toyota TR family and powers many Toyota pick-ups including the Hilux, Hilux Surf, Land Cruiser Prado, Tacoma, Hiace, Coaster and 4Runner globally.
Exteriors:
In terms of the exteriors and interiors, everything remains identical as that on the Crysta Diesel that we test drove. Follow the link to read our detailed review of the Toyota Innova Crysta Diesel right here. You get a very futuristic-looking design on the outside. Everything has drastically changed in comparison to the older Innova in terms of design, body panels and overall appearance.
The face looks stylish with the unique large grill, projector headlights with daytime running lights, sides look sharp and trendy while the rear looks attractive with the large spoiler, new, crystal-style tail lamps, sharp tail gate and bumpers. The Petrol Innova Crysta drives on on the same tyre spec as the Diesel version that of 215/55 R17 Bridgestone Turanza tubeless radials mounted on multi-spoke silver alloys.
Interiors:
Like the outside, the inside on the Crysta Petrol also remains identical to the earlier launched Diesel version. The quality of plastics and switchgear is excellent and the cabin oozes space and utility. The instrumentation also remains the same as the Diesel version with 3D style twin pod cluster and multi function display in the middle that’s very clear to read. Steering comes with wood finish and leather wrapping, along with the much-needed multi function control buttons for controlling multimedia and phone calls etc. The steering is adjustable for height and reach. You get the engine start/stop button placed next to the steering wheel like on the diesel version.
The dashboard again is ditto like the diesel version and comes with wood inserts and metal inserts making it look classy. Like the diesel Innova Crysta, the petrol version too, gets the 7 inches color touch screen center display unit. The seats get full dual tone leather upholstery. The driver’s seat gets full electric adjust while the passenger seat comes with manual adjust. The middle row gets two captain seats that can be adjusted for back rest, incline adjust and also can be slided forward or back to suit the comfort level of the passenger. Dual zone climate control with individual adjusts and vents in the roof for the middle row same as on the diesel version. You also get AC vents for the third row.
The middle and last row seat configurations on the petrol Crysta are the same as the diesel version with the middle row getting foldable arm rest and foldable trays . You also get mood lighting in the roof same as on the diesel Crysta. There are tons of utility storage bins like the dual opening glovebox, sun glasses holder, closable storage space under the arm rest, between the front seats, can holders in the center console, bottle holders in the door pads etc. Good to see that Toyota has carried all the features and equipment level from the diesel version to the petrol version and not left out any.
Engine – Transmission – Drive:
The older generation Innova did come with a Petrol engine, that was a 2.0Liter motor. Now Toyota has given their best petrol engine for this class with the 2.7-litre Dual VVT-I engine. Dual VVT-I stands for Dual Variable Valve Timing. This DOHC 16 valves with VVT-I engine makes 160 HP at 5,200 RPM and has a healthy 246 Nm of torque at 3,800 RPM and redlines at 5,800 RPM. This motor is mated to a six speed sequential automatic transmission. You also have an option of a 5-speed manual transmission to choose from.
The 2.7L Petrol engine comes from the latest generation of the 2TR-FE 4 cylinder gasoline engines that power a lot of other Toyota models, mostly SUVs and pickups. Push-start the starter button and the big motor comes to life with a high level of refinement at idle. This is a big engine for its capacity, but is extremely smooth at standstill; the cabin is also very well-insulated making things amazingly calm and sophisticated.
Shift to the drive mode and this huge MPV moves ahead in a very civilized manner. There are no jerks or vibrations felt at all at low speeds and its all thanks to the petrol motor. The power delivery is impressive and the gear shifts are good. The petrol Crysta weighs around 75-80 kgs lesser than the diesel version, but the diesel brother has a lot more torque on its motor. Nevertheless, this 2.7L engine does a extremely good job in moving this 1.8 ton vehicle in good pace and in quick time. The torque convertor automatic shifter does its job extremely quickly and without any undue adulation.
You have the preset Power and Economy mode at a press of a button and the difference is felt instantly while driving in the modes. You can also take control of the shifts if you want to by shifting to the tip-tronic mode on the shifter stalk. The engine can be heard to some extent at high speeds, but otherwise it is not audible. The Innova Crysta Petrol Automatic on our test run returned with fuel efficiency figures of 7 kmpl to the lowest, and 10 kmpl when driven in the eco mode.
The drive quality remains the same as that on the diesel counterpart because there is no change on the already excellent suspension system. This vehicle can glide over bad roads, potholes and nasty speed breakers seamlessly. At high speeds too, the Innova Crysta still is the most comfortable vehicle to be in, as a passenger. The steering feedback is slightly on the heavier side and could have been tuned to be a bit lighter.
Safety:
The Innova Crysta petrol comes with all the safety equipment that its diesel counterpart comes with. You get 7 SRS Airbags, Hill Assist, ABS with EBD, Brake Assist, Vehicle stability control etc., in the package.
Verdict:
The Innova Crysta Petrol comes with all the bells and whistles that the Diesel option has, making it the segment benchmark. Of late the car buying trend is going the petrol way too. In this case, you have a extremely capable Diesel version of the Innova Crysta. If you are the one who wants high refinement, but you never bought the Innova because it was Diesel (being a diesel-hater), then this is the perfect vehicle that you can buy right now.
Toyota Innova Crysta Petrol Photo Gallery:
[flickr_set id=”72157675327196235″]
