REPLACING A PRODUCT THAT’S LAGGING BEHIND ON THE SALES CHARTS is the obvious thing to do; completely dumping a winner is a bold move. No wonder pundits were surprised when Toyota dropped its best-selling Revo for an all-new vehicle. Even the Tamaraw name, successful for decades, was abandoned.
The wisdom of that decision became apparent the moment the company suits pulled off the covers. The Innova doesn’t look like any AUV that came before it; its minivan designation is spot-on. Toyota didn’t mind copying its own successful Previa, coming up with a sleek one-box design. Details, too, are similar, with slanted eyes, rakish profile, and fender bulges at the rear.
The interior also pulls pages from the Previa’s design book, with soft fabrics, awful fake wood, well-placed switchgear, electroluminescent gauges, a trip computer, and a dozen or so cubbyholes. The dashboard has more curves than a cheerleader.
The Innova even pulls one over the Previa, by having eight seats versus the Previa’s seven. Folding the middle seat for ingress/egress to the third row is a three step affair: push down headrest, pull side lever to fold seatback, and pull bottom lever to flip up the seat. The middle row splits 70/30, while the rear can be folded and flipped 50/50.
There are headrests and lap-shoulder belts for all outboard passengers; the middle seats get lap belts. Seating is comfortable for all occupants. Rear-seat head- and leg-room are suitable for adults, as long as the second row people are willing to share space. There’s plenty of room, so they can slide the seats forward and still have enough to stretch their legs. Toyota has not forgotten the multi-purpose role of the AUV. There’s enough space for several soft bags behind the rear seat, and with all seats flipped up, you can transport large pieces of furniture.
Under the hood is Toyota’s new D4-D common-rail turbodiesel engine. It still sounds like an Osterizer full of gravel, but pulls like a locomotive. It’s refined, smooth, and torquey. 260 Nm at 1600-2400 rpm makes quick work of accelerating the van, even with a full complement of passengers onboard. Run the vehicle to 120 km/h, and there’s a generous reserve of acceleration still available. The common rail system, which uses a high-pressure pump and line to efficiently deliver fuel, sheds the diesel shudder during engine startup and shutdown. Fuel efficiency is quite good, averaging 10.95 km/liter in our mixed city-highway driving.
The automatic gearbox is well suited to the diesel, with smooth, unobtrusive shifts. It’s also ready to kick down a gear on command. Put it reverse and an obnoxious backup indicator beeps incessantly, drowning out the defeatable rear parking sensors.
The Innova may not look like a body-on-frame vehicle, but underneath it is a ladder-frame chassis shared with the Hilux pickup and Fortuner SUV. Sharing chassis is nothing new, of course. What is remarkable is Toyota was able to customize the Innova for its intended use to an unusual degree; for example, replacing the leaf springs of the Hilux with coils for a more compliant ride. Sharing the frame of the Hilux has other benefits, too: resistance to damage from road ruts and potholes, tall eye height, and even the ability to safely traverse 500-mm of water at 5 km/h. Build quality on our 20,000-km test unit was rock-solid.
The Innova is by no means a sports sedan or luxury cruiser, and it has no pretensions of being either. It is a winningly refined and relatively affordable way of transporting eight in comfort. The handling is secure and obedient, with none of the vagueness and hesitation plaguing utility vehicles. The ride is firm but removes all the jolts and unpleasant movements that our roads can dish out. Brakes are strong and easy to modulate. The only sore spot in the Innova package is the lack of ABS, even as an option. For a vehicle clearly meant to safely ferry families, it’s quite a glaring omission.
If money is no object, our family-vehicle vote goes to the Previa. But for the real world of down payments, monthly installments, and fuel prices, no minivan can touch the Innova for the money. The top-line G retails for PHP1,030,000, and there’s a base diesel available for PHP778,000.
The Innova has put an end to the practice of tacking on shinier and shinier bits while retaining the same creaky old chassis and running gear. With one stroke, Toyota has moved the game to a different level. No wonder they couldn’t have called it the new Revo. The AUV is dead. Long live its successor.
By Jason Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang
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