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BY OUR AUTOMOBILES CORRESPONDENT
 The Toyota Innova, set to replace the Toyota Qualis in India, was launched in Philippines yesterday. The vehicle is set to be be launched in India by end-February or March 2005.
Go here to read our other stories and photo gallery of the Toyota Innova
Just the same way the Toyota Qualis had cornered the utility vehicle and taxi operator market in India, the Toyota Revo had cornered the automobile market in the Philippines. And exactly the same as India, Toyota discontinued the production of the vehicle there while it was enjoying a
successful run.
 In the Philippines
market, the Toyota Innova is priced to fit within the sedan, AUV and van categories. The low end version of the Innova is expected to cost only R718,000 and the high-end at R1,030,000.
Compared to the Revo, the Innova is miles ahead in design and interior comfort. The Innova is an 8-seater, with generous amounts
of interior space in terms of headroom and legroom, as well as cargo space. There are
second and third row air-conditioning vents for extra comfort in warmer climes.
The Toyota Innova has also an interior seating arrangement that is quite
reconfigurable to suit your requirements. The Innova is based on Toyota's IMV platform, on which the Hilux and the
forthcoming Fortuner are also based.
Measurements: Height 1,755mm, width of 1,770mm and length of 4,555mm.
The new Innova is powered by a new Direct Injection 4-stroke Common Rail Diesel (D-4D) engine system which has better mileage and cleaner emission levels. There is also a petrol variant with a 2000 cc Variable Valve Timing-intelligent (VVTi) engine that provides up to 136Ps/5,600rpm. The car is
available in Philippines in both automatic and manual versions. An automatic version is not expected for the Indian launch right now.
The Toyota Revo, which has been phased out, seems to be an evolved version of the Qualis. IN a way, we should be
thankful that Toyota Kirloskar Motors is not dumping this vehicle on India, and offering the latest Innova instead.
Go here to read our other stories and photo gallery of the Toyota Innova
BY OUR AUTOMOBILES CORRESPONDENT
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