Toyota cars in India (14)

If you regularly travel with six or seven adults, then the Toyota Innova Hycross hybrid certainly has an edge due to its more spacious cabin. The Toyota will also be a lot more efficient too, thus your fuel bills will be in check. 

On the other hand, if the third row will be used only occasionally, the Mahindra XUV 7XO is the better car to drive. Its diesel-automatic combination is smooth, refined and delivers punchy performance. Also, the top-spec XUV diesel-automatic is much more affordable than a Hycross hybrid, making the Mahindra good value too.

You haven't mentioned your budget, but since you're considering a brand new Toyota Innova Crysta GX Plus variant, it is safe to assume that you're comfortable spending close to Rs 25 lakhs (on-road). Since this vehicle will be used for commercial purposes, it would be better to buy a new car to start with. You will be able to claim tax refunds as well as benefit from asset depreciation in your company's books. Additionally, you get the peace of mind of a new vehicle, and the backing of a company warranty.

To address the second part of your question, the Maruti Ertiga VXI MT or Toyota Rumion S MT costs half as much as an Innova Crysta GX Plus, resulting in a tremendous saving. In fact, you can even buy two cars for the price of one Innova. Both, Ertiga and Rumion are equally reliable. And even though these are petrol-powered, they're quite fuel efficient, and their maintenance costs will be lower than that of the diesel Crysta. 

Between the Ertiga and Rumion, even though they're the same, the Toyota is a bit more expensive, hence purely from a savings perspective, the Ertiga makes more sense.

Overall, all three cars you've listed are reliable, dependable, and are backed by the widespread, strong network of Toyota and Maruti. It is up to you to decide whether you want to buy a new Crysta GX or if you're happy to buy one, or even examples of the Maruti Ertiga and Toyota Rumion.

Whichever you pick, these are cars you can't go wrong with.

The Toyota Innova Crysta is a very popular and reliable car, known to run for several lakhs of kilometres, and it is likely to remain so for a long time. The fact that it is being discontinued in 2027 should not be a reason to sell it. Given particularly Toyota's strong and reputable reliability, and the relatively low maintenance required for a vehicle of this size and sort. 

If you are happy with the car, you should keep it, and the resale value of the car will not drop significantly. Moreover, while the Crysta might not live on past 2027, its platform and engine will be in the likes of the Hilux and Fortuner. So parts availability will not be an issue, and Toyota will support its huge base of Crysta customers for many years to come.

The Skoda Kodiaq would be the ideal choice among the listed options. The Kodiaq has an excellent long-legged nature that makes road trips effortless. The TSI engine is refined, and cabin insulation is excellent. The quality of the interior is high-end, and the build is strong, too.

If you maintain it well with timely service and drive it with care, even maintenance isn't a problem. The Kodiaq is a three-row SUV with lots of space and practicality, and a long list of features as well. 

What is also worth noting is the ride comfort, which is a lot better than that of body-on-frame SUVs like the Toyota Fortuner. Resale value with a Kodiaq is good too, and it is a premium, high-quality SUV on the whole. 

Before you go ahead with the purchase, please keep in mind that the Tata Safari is a heavy vehicle and in its petrol-automatic guise, expecting double digit city fuel efficiency will be a bit ambitious. Yes, on the open roads, at constant speeds and light throttle inputs, the turbo-petrol could deliver good fuel efficiency, but in bumper-to-bumper traffic and stop-go conditions, fuel efficiency will be low. As a family car though, the Safari is a good option, on account of its spacious cabin, and impressive ride comfort. Tata's service experience can be a hit or a miss, and it isn't the best in terms of reliability either, occasionally throwing up a glitch or two. The Mahindra XUV 7XO is slightly better in that regard, however space isn't as good as in the Tata, especially in the third row. Also, the XUV's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol-automatic will fare worse (if not equally) as far as efficiency goes.

Hence, if you want a fuel-efficient family car, the Maruti Invicto or the Toyota Innova Hycross hybrid are the ones to get. Of course, these are very expensive, and as you've rightly pointed out, unless your usage is very high, it will take a long time to benefit from its lower running costs after breaking even. But as far as reliability, peace of mind and a trouble-free ownership experience goes the Maruti and Toyota are still the ones to beat.

The Ebella's prices haven't been announced yet, but going by its badge engineered version - Suzuki e Vitara's pricing, it is likely to be in the same ballpark, i.e. between Rs 16-20 lakh (ex-showroom). The Hyryder G CNG on the other hand tops out below Rs 18 lakh on-road. And while the Hyryder CNG is a manual, the good news is that its clutch and gearbox are light, so even though it isn't nearly as convenient as the EV, it doesn't feel cumbersome to drive. What you need to keep in mind however is that boot space is compromised due to the CNG tank, hence during your 700km drives, it could be inadequate. 

Even the Ebella's boot is small, cabin floor is high (so the seating position is knees-up) and the infotainment's user-interface/user-experience is far from perfect. Also, while we haven't tested the Ebella's range, our preliminary tests indicate a highway range of about 370km, which means you will need to charge a few times on the way to your hometown, so you need to factor that in as well.

Between the two cars you've shortlisted, we'd recommend the Hyryder CNG, which is a tried and tested car. However, if you're open to options, the Maruti Victoris CNG will be ideal for you as it shares its platform, equipment and powertrain with the Hyryder, and thanks to its repositioned CNG tank (beneath the boot), luggage space doesn't feel as compromised as in the Toyota.