Introduction

It is pretty much the most successful full-size MPV to have ever been sold in the Indian market. On sale for more than 10 years now, the Toyota Innova has redefined its manufacturer’s fortunes in the country and pretty much set the standard of what to expect when it comes to an MPV. It is not the longest selling vehicle but one of the most successful when it comes to units sold in the shortest time and easily one of the most recognisable. The honour for the former is held by Maruti Suzuki’s Omni compact MPV which has been on sale for more than 30 years now.

If there is so much success, then what is the need for a new vehicle? This, by the look of things, is foresight by Toyota to be prepared to bring the fight to the competition before they move ahead in the game. The car will go on sale first in MPV-crazy Indonesia (which is pretty much the market it was created for) before arriving in India next year. It will debut at the 2016 Auto Expo before being launched by the middle of next year.

New Innova Vs Old Innova

Front end

There is a sense of familiarity when you compare the new Innova and the current car head-to-head. Everything is there in the same place but now looks a lot more contemporary. With each facelift, the grille of the current Innova got shinier and shinier thanks to the increase in chrome. However, this new car moves to a muscular face thanks to the large double slat grille, wide air dam and combination of power lines on the bonnet with the sweptback headlamps. This model will be the first time Toyota is offering projector lamps and LED DRLs as part of the standard equipment.

Side

The side profile of the Innova is perhaps its most famous feature. It is very recognisable and Toyota has taken this into consideration by retaining a majority of it. The design has moved from a rounded one to angular lines in a bid to bring the Innova into Toyota’s modern design language. Some of the newer features include two power lines, softly flared wheel arches, wrap around tail lamps and a new design for the alloy wheels.

Rear end

Toyota appears to have done a lot of the work on the exterior of the Innova, at the back. The bumper has become bigger and dominates a significant part of the section. The Christmas tree lamps have been ditched in favour of wrap around units with teardrop shaped elements for the indicators and there is significantly lesser chrome as compared to the outgoing model.

Interior

The interior of the current Innova has gone through a significant number of updates in its 10 year life cycle with the last one in late 2013 which saw the addition of a touch-screen infotainment system in addition to climate control. They have, in essence, retained the same layout over the years but just added the features. However, this new model gets a much larger touch-screen system, new AC vents as well as controls and higher quality material. The Indonesia-spec car has been trimmed out in black and grey but we are sure to get it in a beige and silver combination.

Engine and gearbox

The outgoing Toyota Innova was offered with a 2.0-litre petrol mill (now discontinued) and a 2.5-litre diesel engine that produces 101bhp and 200Nm of torque. Both engines were only offered with a five-speed manual. This new car gets a significant update of a 2.4-litre four-pot diesel as well as a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol. Gearbox options include a five-speed manual and six-speed AT. The diesel engine produces 149bhp/359Nm while the petrol pumps 139bhp/183Nm of torque.