Overseas test drive Toyota Innova，comprehensive feeling is OK

The new eight-seater MPV Toyota Kijang Innova was recently introduced, but the original factory had already invited most of the local automotive media to participate in a one-day test drive from Toyota's headquarters in Shahalam to Banting, Septon, on Thursday. And returned to Toyota's headquarters the same day. The test drive planned by the original factory is mainly composed of straight and flat expressways, but with a mix of rural roads in Banting and congested urban roads in Shahalam, it is possible to experience the control experience and ride texture of the new Innova on the road. The new Innova still comes in two levels, namely 2.0G and 2.0E. The original manufacturer only provides the highest 2.0G for our test drive, but since both classes are equipped with the same engine and gearbox, and the same chassis.

So there is no difference in the driving experience.

It is worth mentioning that in order to let us better understand the differences between the two generations of Innova before, the original factory also specially found a batch of the previous generation of Innova2.0G to let us test drive in the return journey, so we can clearly distinguish the two generations of Innova in addition to the appearance and interior texture, in the feeling of driving whether there is any difference. Since we've just brought you news of the new Innova's local launch, we're going to skip the details of the new Innova's design, engine power data, and onboard specs and get right to the point of actually riding in the new Innova's car, and actually being on the road.

Seats and ride experience

First of all, we started from the seat setting. We sat in the car of the new Innova. I think the new Innova has good seat cladding and the left and right roll performance is not very good. The length of the cushion is sufficient, and the sponge of the seat is comfortable. Considering that it is a family MPV, this seat setting is acceptable, and also meets the MPV's positioning. Is on the second and the third row seat, its setting and the front seat sponge is not a big difference, as is comfortable route, because it is MPV with three rows of seats, so the second row seat besides can collect fold the third row passengers getting on or off, still can slip before and after, so the second row seat passengers on the space also is absolutely no problem. As for the third row of seats, thanks to the second row of seats can slip back and forth, so as long as the second row of passengers are willing to compromise a little bit, sacrifice a little knee space, so the third row of passengers can still have enough space, but the third row of seats have a little thin sponge thickness.

Therefore, the comfort is certainly not as good as the second row, and at high speed, the dynamic performance of the third row is also relatively poor, the bounce will be more obvious, if the long-distance driving is easier to motion sickness. This time around, the Innova still has separate air coolers on the roof of the second and third rows, so while the Innova's car is bulky, it ensures that passengers in the second and third rows will have a good room cooling.

Driving experience

After talking about the passenger experience and feeling, I share my experience of the test drive as a driver, although Toyota claims to have added DualVVTI technology to the engine to give it a slight increase in horsepower and torque over the previous generation, as well as an upgrade from a four-speed to a six-speed automatic. However, the new Innova's initial performance was slightly inferior to that of its predecessor, and the original Innova engineers explained that it was designed for fuel and energy savings.

But this time brand-new Innova's carrying three different driving modes of switching function, below the instrument panel of air conditioning knob has two buttons, respectively select key economic model and movement patterns, if you want to fuel efficient and smooth driving experience, can press buttons on economic model, will shift gearbox computer time early, Turn the engine down to save fuel, press it again to turn off the fuel economy mode and return to normal mode. If you want better acceleration, you can press the motion mode next to you, and you will find that the gearbox will be delayed as it shifts, in order to pull up the engine revs and get better torque. Although the old Innova of the last generation is slightly better than the new Innova in terms of starting power performance, but in terms of body dynamics and handling, the new Innova is better than the old Innova, and the old Innova is smaller in the seat design, both the leg support and back support of the cushion make me feel inadequate. Long drives tend to fatigue me, but the new Innova improves the quality and support of the seats. In terms of dynamic and handling performance, the old Innova's suspension was a bit soft, with two or three heavy swings on rough roads or on bumpy freeways, and heavy roll-over on freeways, while the new Innova performs much better in both areas. The manufacturer says this is because the new Innova has improved a lot in body rigidity and therefore handling performance, but it must be emphasized that the Innova is a high-gravity MPV. So while its dynamic and handling performance can't be compared to a regular RV, I can only say that it's a significant improvement over the old Innova.