Toyota Innova: Manual or automatic?

So, you have zeroed in on what is inarguably the best people mover around, the Toyota Innova. Great choice. Now given that Toyota Philippines doesn’t offer the Innova in just one trim means there are choices within the range that will make you wonder. The wondering bit continues when you learn that apart from the fuel choice, there is also the transmission to factor in. Suppose your daily driving is not much and involves just dropping the kids off to school or going to the market to meet friends. For someone like this, a petrol automatic makes sense. But, here is the deal. The automatic costs a lot more than the manual. While the drivetrain of the Innova is known to be pretty solid, these are all-new engines and even the automatics are also being widely used for the first time. Will they be as reliable as the company or other users say? Lots of questions and we have got them all answered here.

The Innova range is spread between Php 1,010,000 to Php 1,679,000. That’s a lot of money. The variants are 2.0-litre petrol J MT, 2.8 J diesel MT, 2.0 E petrol MT, 2.0 E petrol AT, 2.0 E diesel MT, 2.0 E diesel AT, 2.0 G petrol AT, 2.8 G diesel MT (pearl white), 2.8 G diesel MT, 2.8 G diesel AT, 2.8 G diesel AT (pearl white), 2.8 V diesel AT (pearl white) and 2.8 V diesel AT. The pearl white as you may have realised is just the colour option and Toyota will charge you approximately Php 15,000 more for that colour.

Let’s talk about the engines now. There are only two on offer, thankfully. The 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine makes 136 PS of power at 5,600 rpm. The torque one gets from this engine is 183 Nm at 4,000 rpm. This motor can be optioned with either a six-speed torque convertor automatic or a 5-speed manual. Then there is the more powerful 2.8-litre 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine that makes 167 PS of power and 343 Nm of torque. In this state of tune, one can order this engine only with a 5-speed manual transmission. Toyota also offers a higher state of tune with this motor. Here, the engine produces 171 PS of power and 360 Nm of torque. This configuration can be opted with a 6-speed automatic only. In other regions, Toyota also offers a 2.4.-litre diesel engine and a 2.7-litre petrol motor. These can be opted with the aforementioned transmissions as well. Imagine the confusion they would have created if Toyota had launched them here. 16 plus variants to choose from. Gosh!

Both the engines of the Toyota Innova will get you seven/eight seats as well as 16 or 17 inch wheels depending on the trim selected. All get three airbags, Hill Assist, Eco mode, ABS with EBD as standard. The top trims get seven airbags in all including one for the driver’s knees. Speaking of top trims, there are projector headlights along with DRLs as well. The lower trims get a halogen bulb.

Back to the persistent question. Is a manual or automatic version of the Toyota Innova recommended. The six-speed automatic is a smooth operator. But it isn’t the quickest of them all for sure. For both upshifts as well as downshifts. Use Eco mode and even the powerful diesel engine feels a tad restrained. The recorded fuel economy is also lower with the automatic. This is noticeable more in the petrol variant. Petrol is highly sensitive to throttle inputs as well as transmission losses. Diesel by virtue of being the heavier fuel is a bit kind in that aspect. The upside of having an automatic transmission is that one doesn’t have to worry about stalling the car or being in the right gear while climbing an incline or taking a turn. The gearbox decides that based on the speed and revs. One has to only concentrate on moving this 4.7 metre long vehicle without picking up any scrapes or nudging other vehicles. It also kind of becomes boring to drive around an automatic if you are going to do long distances. Imagine you having to do nothing except keep a watch on the proceedings with cruise control taking care of the speed on the highway. This may lull many a driver to sleep.

The manual in the meanwhile has its own set of plus and minuses. Let’s first discuss the positives. You get a better control of the car. Engine braking can be had with a manual, more than in an automatic. If your parking brake fails then you can resort to leaving the car in gear while parking. You also determine when to shift and be prepared for it before the corner arrives. A manual requires less servicing overall and by virtue of the same, lower service costs. Efficiency in a manual vehicle is more than that of an automatic. It doesn’t get boring on the highways because one can shift gears up or down to ensure momentum isn’t hampered. Now, on to the not so nice bits of a manual. You got to deal with the clutch. Now, the petrol Innova is equipped with a lighter clutch unit and this one will not give you much problems. The diesel has a harder clutch pedal and this may make it tiring for some. If you live in a crowded place like Manila, then you are better off in an automatic. Also, there is a chance of stalling the vehicle if you aren’t in the right gear or forgot to shift down in traffic.

While there are endless discussions on which transmission to choose, we suggest you go through the aforementioned explanation. Factor in what suits you the best according to your requirements and convenience. The automatics obviously cost more in terms of possession of the vehicle and at a future date, for its upkeep as well. Whichever one you choose, the Toyota Innova is known for its reliability and will keep you happy for a couple of lakh of kilometres. If not, more!