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S. Muralidhar

WHICHEVER way you look at it, the Innova is quite clearly a family van or multi-purpose vehicle. Unlike the Qualis, the Innova does not attempt tricking the onlooker into thinking that it has SUV credentials. So, it's positioning its pretty simple from the styling point of view.

Compared to the dated design of its predecessor, the Innova's flowing lines and balanced proportions should appeal to most buyers in the segment, though customers who expect their people's mover to also have the swagger of a SUV may not find the Innova's design very exciting.

The Innova is longer, wider and roomier than the Qualis and though it is shorter in height than the latter, this new Toyota manages to offer more headroom for even tall passengers.

That has been achieved by giving the Innova a lower floor and shorter ground clearance. While this makes entering and exiting from the Innova extremely easy for most passengers (unlike the climbing into for the Qualis), this also makes this vehicle incapable of handling very rough roads with a full load. Watch out for that monstrous speed breaker!

Another huge plus that the Innova has over almost any one of its competitors and its predecessor is its amazing handling characteristics.

Its rigid frame and chassis with strengthened cross member joints and the high quality suspension set-up give the Innova the handling characteristics of a much smaller sedan.

Body roll is negligible and the chassis' inner frame components improve the torsional rigidity and bending stiffness. The suspension set-up features coil springs for all the wheels, with a stabilising bar at the front and four-link configuration at the rear for improved comfort.

Straight-line stability is excellent, aided also by the wider tread on the 15-inch tyres. Even while cornering, the Innova stays together and the rear tends to step out of line marginally only at high speeds.

The moment you take the Innova out on a spin, its length and size puts you into caution mode.

But the power steering (we tested the `V' variant) is precise and offers excellent control, particularly at higher speeds.

The price range clearly carries a premium and by no means makes the Innova a compelling alternative for the average sedan buyer. The average sedan buyer might find value in the Innova's packaging and pricing only because of the Toyota badging.

The Qualis was cheaper and prices ranged from Rs 5.4 lakh to 8.57 lakh. But the Innova offers so much more in terms of styling, interiors and features.

It is also obvious that Toyota must be hoping that its promise of reliability, longevity and class leading resale value will be a big draw for both the individual and institutional MPV buyer.

The Innova may not draw in sedan buyers by the droves and it will take a while for institutional buyers to understand its value proposition, even while they get over the hesitancy to buy something so stylish.

Many Indians in joint families, not to mention our pampered politicians, also tend to buy a SUV simply for its people carrying ability.

Now they have the best and really the only alternative. The only other vehicle in the MPV class, the Chevrolet Tavera, pales in comparison.

So, while everybody has been left perplexed by the company's move to withdraw the Qualis at a time when it was clocking decent sales numbers, Toyota is probably plotting the Innova's long-term positioning strategy.

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