The Toyota Innova – it’s a car that’s been on top of its game throughout its 11-year life cycle, its popularity never waning despite an ever-rising price-tag. The reason for that is primarily down to the fact that it’s just such a rock-solid product. It’s spacious, it’s comfortable, it will take a bashing without flinching, and it will run hassle-free for hundreds of thousands of kilometres. Replacing it, then, was no easy task, but as you’ll have seen in our review, Toyota has more than succeeded on that front. The new Innova Crysta betters its predecessor in almost every area, but with that improvement has come a significant price premium.

The thing is, many happy Innova customers will be absolutely fine with paying more for the new Crysta, such is the loyalty that’s attached to this brand, and so it’s safe to say, a good chunk of the new car’s sales will be upgrades from the old car. The other thing is, until the Tata Hexa comes along, the Innova Crysta has no direct rivals. In fact, since it’s now priced so far ahead of the other MPVs on sale, the best point of reference is the most familiar one to potential buyers – the old Innova.

ON THE SURFACE

Yes, the Innova Crysta is bigger in almost every dimension than the old car, and that’s not really surprising. This is, after all, an MPV, and the biggest strength of such a car is meant to be space, so naturally, some growth was to be expected. The Crysta is 35mm taller and 65mm wider than the old car, but it’s a more significant 150mm longer. Interestingly, though, the 2,750mm wheelbase has stayed unchanged, leading to longer overhangs, but because this is a body-on-frame vehicle, this hasn’t come in the way of the added interior room.

What’s also gone up is the kerb weight. Where the old car weighed in at 1,700kg even in top-spec guise, the new one weighs a substantial 1,855kg (the automatic is heavier still at 1,870kg). The wheels have gone up two sizes, from 15 inches to 17 inches, and the 205/55 R15 tyres have made way for chunkier 215/55 R17 tyres. The turning circle diameter, however, is unchanged at 10.8m.