Test Drive : The new Innova

Anamit Sen drove around town in the 2012 Innova for a couple of days to check out all the new features of the 2012 model.

Question for you...If the car you drive is an extension of your personality, what sort of image are you projecting if your vehicle of choice is a a) a Porsche 911 or an Audi R8 b) A Mercedes E Class or a BMW 5 Series c) A Toyota Innova? Well, if you drive the last named one, I know exactly the sort of image I would be portraying judging by the questions I was asked by people who know me and I happened to meet – “Are you starting a car rental service”?, “Call centre cabs make a lot of money, you know” and “Look! He's driving a bus!!”. I wasn't really fazed by these comments because I myself had run through those notions mentally as soon as I was offered the Innova. I did get a taste of what it feels like to be driving a commercial delivery vehicle – I actually had to deliver a package from one end of Gurgaon to another.

Toyota came into India with what was (so everybody thought) one of the ugliest vehicles on Indian roads, the Qualis. There was a method in this seeming madness - the Qualis was actually an old South African model (phased out there) selling under a different name but Toyota was more intent on delivering quality and stamping the Toyota brand firmly on the Indian psyche - that was suggested by the name and borne out by the fact it was bulletproof reliable. The Qualis did it's job which is the reason so many commercial operators (including the call-centre cabbies) opted for the Qualis. Having established the reputation Toyota took the next step by phasing out the Qualis and bringing in the super-stylish Innova (compared to the Qualis) which was actually an MPV. By the way, MPV stands for Multi Passenger Vehicle and not Multi Premium Vehicle as the ad copywriters would like you to believe. But for some high net worth individuals, the Innova is looked upon as a very customisable car, with a couple of armchairs, a private bar and lounge fitted with a premium music system and TV screens. Take a look at the specifications of the Qualis. It is powered by a 2494cc, 2KD-FTV Diesel with an intercooler and a turbocharger. The inter cooler cools the intake air resulting in more oxygen going into the engine and promotes better burning of fuel while the turbocharger just sucks more of this charge in than the engine can suck in on its own, thus creating more pressure inside the combustion chamber of the engine and thus a bigger bang results when the fuel ignites. That leads to more torque, which for this engine is 200Nm and is spread from 1400rpm to 3400rpm. The power output is 102ps at a peak of 3600rpm. This is transmitted to the wheels by a five speed manual transmission. The Qualis is 4585mm long, 1760mm wide and 1760mm tall (which is why from the rear it is a bit of a box when viewed). The wheelbase is 2750mm and the Innova rides on 165/80 R14 tyres.

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