Toyota Innova has tasted unprecedented success in India. As such, here’s everything you need to know about all generations of Toyota Innova in India.
Though Toyota launched the Innova in 2005, the story of Toyota Innova starts 5 years earlier, when Toyota launched the Qualis in India as a competitor to the Tata Sumo and Mahindra Bolero.
Toyota Qualis
As mentioned above, the Toyota Qualis was launched way back in 2005. Before Toyota even launched the Qualis in India, many automotive journalists believed that the Toyota Qualis will fail in the Indian market as the MPV was based on the older third-gen Toyota Kijang and the model sported a very outdated interior.
However, the truth couldn’t be any further as the Toyota Qualis dominated the MPV market. The spacious interior, supple suspension, and reliable powertrain quickly proved to be irresistible for both taxi operators and large Indian families. However, the Toyota Qualis did feature numerous changes compared to the third-generation Kijang to make the MPV a bit more modern.
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Coming to the powertrain, the Toyota Qualis came with a 2.4-litre, 8-valve, SOHC diesel engine. This engine produced 72.4bhp of peak power and 151Nm of torque. Other than this, there was also a petrol engine which produced 92bhp of peak power and 150Nm of peak torque. Prices for the Toyota Qualis started from Rs 4.58 lakh (ex-showroom) and went all the way up to Rs 7.40 lakh (ex-showroom).
Toyota Innova
The Toyota Innova was launched in 2005 as a replacement for the ageing Qualis in India. Despite the model looking nothing like the Qualis, the Innova immediately gained popularity in the Indian market. In fact, the Toyota Innova was essentially the fifth-generation Kijang and Toyota completely skipped the fourth-generation Kijang for the Indian market.
Moreover, the Toyota Innova appealed to a much wider customer base as the model was not only bigger than the Qualis, but it was also a lot more upmarket and luxurious than the model it replaced in India with features such as throttle-by-wire, ABS, Airbag, and much more. Moreover, the Toyota Innova prices started from Rs 6.74 lakh (ex-showroom) at the time of its launch in the country.
Powering the Toyota Innova is a 2.5-litre, turbocharged, 4-cylinder diesel engine with 101bhp of peak power and 200Nm of peak torque. Moreover, there was also a 2.0-litre, VVT-i petrol engine on offer with 134.5bhp of peak power and 190Nm of peak torque. However, despite numerous updates, Toyota Innova always came with a 5-speed manual transmission in India.
Toyota Innova Crysta
Though Toyota Innova established itself as a very comfortable people mover in India, before the end of its life cycle, people started demanding more of everything. Just at the right moment, Toyota launched the Innova Crysta MPV in India. The model was not only bigger and more luxurious, but it also come with more powerful engine options and most importantly came with an automatic gearbox on offer.
Speaking about the powertrain, the Toyota Innova Crysta came with three engine options. The new 2.4-litre, turbocharged diesel engine produced 147bhp of peak power and 343Nm of peak torque. While this engine was initially launched solely with a 5-speed manual gearbox, later this engine also came with a 6-speed automatic transmission.
The next engine option is a more powerful 2.8-litre diesel engine from the Toyota Fortuner and this engine produced a very healthy 166bhp of peak power and 360Nm of peak torque. Moreover, this powertrain came exclusively mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. Finally, the 2.7-litre Dual VVT-i petrol engine produced 166bhp of peak power and 245Nm of peak torque.
Toyota Innova Hycross
The Toyota Innova Hycross is the latest model to carry the ‘Innova’ nameplate in India. Moreover, it is the first Innova with a monocoque chassis, hybrid powertrain and a front-wheel drive setup. In fact, this iteration of the Innova looks more like an SUV than an MPV.
Apart from that, the Toyota Innova Hycross is larger than the Innova Crysta and offers a lot more space along with a long feature list. In addition to these, the Toyota Innova Hycross also comes equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) – Which incorporates numerous active safety features to avoid an accident.
In terms of powertrain, the hybrid powertrain in the Innova Hycross consists of a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder, naturally-aspirated, Atkinson cycle petrol engine and an electric motor driving the front wheels. In combined form, this powertrain produces 184.8bhp of peak power and 187Nm of peak torque.
Thoughts About Toyota Innova
Toyota Innova established itself as a very comfortable people mover in India and with the launch of the Toyota Innova Hycross in India, the Japanese automotive giant will be looking forward to further strengthening its hybrid model lineup in the country. Also, the improved performance figures suggest that the upcoming Innova Hycross will be quite good to drive as well.
Keyword: All Generations Of Toyota Innova – Everything You Need To Know