With Innova, Toyota South Africa has once again expanded its
people carrying portfolio, and possibly unwittingly
opened up a new taxi industry. Just as
it did with Venture and Condor before, the company has launched
a very attractive proposition for those
who seek to carry more than the usual five people.
Built in Indonesia, Innova
has been around since 2003 and this
is the facelift of that model. But like a couple of other recent Toyota South
Africa introductions (Aygo, FJCruiser), its local launch comes very late in its lifecycle. Regardless, we do expect it to sell in good numbers;
over 500 a month in fact. Target audience?
Fleet buyers like government and car
rental companies, big families and of course those pesky taxi operators. Mind you
this car does not replace the existing Avanza at all, but rather compliments it,
according to Toyota.
The Innova – flat o, like in revolver – measures 4.6
metres long, 1.6m in height,
1.8m high and has a massive wheelbase of 2.8m.
Ground clearance is 17cm, making the car almost SUV-like in appearance. Those who
like the command driving position
will appreciate it. As for the styling, not much can be said, as this is quite
subjective. I must say though, opinions seemed to differ, depending on the
audience. Younger people did not
seem to appreciate it much, while taxi drivers nearly broke off their necks checking it out. Buyers can
choose from a list of 7 exterior colours,
including ones called Glacier White and Dark
Steel Mica.
Although there’s an optional third row of seats with enough space for three or even four extra
passengers, the last two seats are probably best left to the shorter set. Also,
the hook-on-the-side solution for hanging them up is too old school. A new
solution, such as hiding them under the floor or something of that nature,
should be considered.
Lots of great space utilisation options are available for
the interior, including the usual deep cubby hole, an equally deep centre storage console, cup holders, and other
storage for smaller items such as cell phones. A USB port for memory sticks and auxiliary jack for iPods and other portable MP3 players is clearly visible, and works flawlessly. I really
like Toyota’s simple, no fuss style.
Every gadget, including air conditioning
dials and window controls, is where it should be and works with no issues. First
for this segment is a touch-screen
infotainment system to access radio, music and other functions. The steering
wheel is multi-functional too, adding extra
value for money.
Getting things going is a 2.7 litre naturally aspirated 16 valve VVT-i engine. If it sounds
familiar then it’s because it is. You’ll find the same motor beneath the Hilux and Fortuner. The four-cylinder produces 118kW at 5200rpm, as well as 241Nm
of torque at 3800rpm. During our launch drive the engine showed much character,
reaching some way over the 160km/h mark.
On our everyday normal trips the car proved a thirsty character, averaging a rather
heavy 15.4 litres per 100km from the compact 65 litre tank. The 5-speed manual
gearbox is easy to operate but probably needs an extra cog to lower that
consumption. Toyota SA is not selling the 2.5-litre
diesel, even though some markets such as the Philippines offer one.
Comfort is a common
theme amongst the entire Toyota product line, and the Innova is no exception. Seats
are of soft cloth in the standard 8-seater, obviously durable though, while the
7-seater comes standard with leather
cover on the seats. Weirdly the 7-seater is more expensive. Adding to the ride quality are 205/65 R15 6JJ high profile tyres all around.
Toyota is covering a market higher than the Avanza through
the Innova. As you can see, it’s packed
with a large menu of features, lots of them standard, but at a price. As a form
of family transportation it is
recommended, as long as those trips
aren’t too long, no thanks to the unsatisfactory fuel consumption. This footnote detail will probably not deter
the thousands of customers currently queueing up at dealerships.
Toyota Innova
Pricing
8-seater (R249 700)
7-seater (R265 500)
2 comments:
Another ugly Toyota taxi
Avanza anyone?
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