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If you are the sort who reads balance sheets for fun, you don’t have to read this road test. A glance at the big book from Toyota will reveal that they have, more or less, got a grasp of building what we call cars and selling them for good money. Study the Mahindra numbers and you will realise that they have a lot more catching up to do. In short, you will know that Toyota has more knowhow, more money to spend on research and development and hence they make better cars than what the rest of the world manages. They are so good that they regularly invite other car companies to come and learn the art they have perfected. Lots of car companies try hard and fail since they cannot stomach the fish soup that Toyota force-feeds their employees every morning. Alright, that was a very poor joke. But the fact remains that Mahindra (or any other car maker in the whole world) was not going to design and develop a people mover from scratch that can beat the Toyota Innova, first time out.
And we have news… they haven’t. But Mahindra knows something about ‘frugal engineering’ (as lauded by Carlos Ghosn and Renault) that Toyota cannot concentrate on thanks to the global nature of their thinking process. That means Mahindra was able to coax their suppliers to bring the price down without sacrificing on quality and pass it on to buyers. The difference between the cars you see in these pages – the top-end Xylo and a well-loaded Innova – is close to Rs 4 lakh. Even the cheapest Innova on sale is more expensive than the most expensive Xylo. Phew. Sure, even the top-end Xylo does not offer airbags and ABS, but otherwise it has almost every bell and whistle that the Toyota has… and then some.
Toyota seemed to have sensed the new-found competition and did spruce up their ace during the recent facelift. New grille, new front and rear bumpers and lighting fixtures have resulted in a more ‘personal’ looking Innova – especially in metallic greys and dark red (two of the four new shades on offer). New instrumentation, a multi information display, a 12-volt charger unit (at last) and steering mounted controls for the audio system make up the changes inside the Innova. And the reverse assist helps you park the bulk more easily now. The Innova is a better, more complete form to look at, while the Xylo looks truncated and influenced by too many thought processes and design schools. In short, the Innova is a good van to look at while the Xylo tries to be an SUV and an MPV at the same time and falls into a deep crevice somewhere in between. Both cars feature good fit and finish and it is indeed creditable that the Mahindra offering can stand up to a Toyota in this front. The Toyota interior may look plain Jane, but there is a certain degree of quality that is omnipresent. In comparison, the Xylo interior is over designed and is not in the same quality league when it comes to plastics and finish. The arm-rests, for example, are not aligned to each other and are operated by a press and pull mechanism that is not human friendly. Where it excels though is in the interior space department – the Xylo was designed inside-out and it shows. Unlike the Innova, the third row occupants do have adequate head and leg room while the third row of the Innova is only for the benefit of children or not-so-tall people. The seats of the Xylo are comparable to the Innova and are equally comfortable over long runs.
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