Toyota Innova Crysta to be launched with a 2.7-litre petrol engine in India by August '16

The Toyota Innova Crysta has been doing rather well here, registering 20,000 bookings in June. This, despite the ban on diesel vehicles displacing over 2,000cc in the Delhi-NCR. However, not knowing when and where this ban could spread, Toyota is introducing a petrol variant of the Innova Crysta very soon. We've spoken to a few Toyota dealers who are accepting bookings for the petrol variant at a sum of Rs 1 lakh. According to Toyota's advertisement, deliveries of the petrol Innova Crysta will begin in August, 2016.

The petrol Innova Crysta will be powered by 2.7-litre engine which has been updated with variable valve timing and now produces 166PS of power and 245Nm of torque. This engine was initially used in the Toyota Innova that was sold in the Middle-Eastern markets, and made 158PS of power and 241Nm of torque. The petrol Toyota Innova Crysta will come with the choice of a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic transmission.

In comparison, the 2.8-litre diesel engine in the Toyota Innova Crysta puts out 174PS of power and a good 360Nm of torque, and comes with a 6-speed automatic gearbox. The 2.4-litre diesel engine meanwhile produces 150PS and 343Nm and comes with a 5-speed manual.

We expect the Toyota Innova Crysta petrol to be priced around Rs 40,000 less than the diesel variants. This means that the Innova Crysta's price range could start from Rs 14.5 lakh for the base G variant with a manual gearbox and go up to Rs 16.4 lakh for the fully loaded GX variant with the automatic transmission (these prices are based on ex-showroom prices of the diesel variants in Mumbai).

We've driven the 2.4-litre and 2.8-litre diesel Toyota Innova Crystas and really liked how much it has progressed from the previous generation model, which had done wonders for the brand. It feels quite premium on the inside and is loaded with almost all the features you'd expect from a car in this segment. This includes a more spacious cabin, automatic temperature control for the first and second rows, a touchscreen infotainment system with video playback and satellite navigation, voice recognition for phone and audio functions, keyless ignition, cruise control, ambient lighting and of course, 22 bottle holders.

A petrol engine didn't work very well for the previous generation Innova in India. However, it might be just what's necessary to further pick up the Innova Crysta's sales, especially with the uncertainty of the diesel ban looming over all of us.

We asked Toyota about launching a CNG variant of the petrol Innova Crysta like it did the last time. However, a spokesperson said that it was too early to make a comment on that. This could mean that a CNG version of the petrol Innova Crysta is in Toyota's pipeline.

The new Toyota Fortuner will be running the Innova Crysta's 2.4-litre and 2.8-litre diesel engines when it is launched in India. Considering this, we also expect it to be offered with the same 2.7-litre petrol motor at the time of its launch to circumvent the diesel ban.