Toyota Innova 2012 2.5 VX (Diesel) 8 BS-IV - User Experience Review

The ingress and egress of the Innova is quite simple and easy for adults of all common sizes and shapes. You don’t have to ‘climb’ into the vehicle as is the case with most MPVs or SUVs. Once inside, you would feel the interiors to be quite different as compared to the earlier Innova – thanks to the new colour schemes for the trim. For the first-timer, the new interiors will feel plush and rich instantly. The interiors not only look better put-together than most of its competitors, but the choice of colours also makes the cabin feel roomier.

Carrying forward the colour scheme introduced in the new (facelift) Corolla Altis, the Innova too gets a two-tone combination of a lighter shade of beige (which almost looks grey now) and dark grey. The two-tone scheme flows from the dashboard onto the steering wheel and even the front seats. To prevent the setup from looking too plastic-y, Toyota has made use of a darker shade for the faux wood inserts. The earlier faux-wood trim looked as low-rent and fake as the refurbished furniture for a discount-store. Unfortunately, the plastics are hard and rough even on the top end model – I would have liked soft-plastics on a variant that costs over Rs 15 lakh!

The centre console on the top end model of the Innova gets a new touch-screen infotainment system which is quite similar to the one you get in the new Corolla Altis, save for the different switches and the large, silver coloured plastic moulding that surrounds it. Frankly, to me it looks gaudy and ruins the otherwise no-nonsense appeal of the Innova’s interiors. Complementing this plastic protrusion are the sliver inserts on the steering wheel that surround the additional audio controls. The infotainment system plays DVDs amongst other things and also acts as the screen for the rear-view camera that we spoke of in the Design Review.

Apart from these few design changes and feature additions, the Innova’s interiors and user experience remains more or less similar to the earlier model – since there aren’t any mechanical changes. You can still buy the Innova in varied seating configurations depending on your personal or professional (read: fleet operator) needs, along with additional features like reading lamps, roof rails etc. The seats of the Innova have always been utterly comfortable and are one of the primary reasons for the vehicle’s success as a people carrier. More on this, in the Performance Review of the Innova.

Also Read:

Toyota Innova Design Review

Toyota Innova Performance Review