While the Toyota Innova Crysta has caught
the hearts and minds of many private car buyers alike, a substantial chunk of
the successful MPVs sales come from commercial car fleet owners. However, while
the BS6 updates to the Innova Crysta’s powertrains brought about cleaner
emissions, they also brought a substantial premium along with it. While the
Toyota Innova Crysta petrol line saw a price increase between INR 30,000 to INR
40,000, its diesel lineup saw a higher increase of INR 30,000 to INR 61,000.
However, in order to increase sales, and cater to the commercial car buyers and
budget-minded private buyers, Toyota is planning to launch a bi-fuel
CNG-powered version of the Innova Crysta.
The first pictures of the Toyota Innova
Crysta CNG version were first spied in January 2020. Now, newly released
pictures from GaadiWaadi.com show the prototype undergoing development tests.
The prototype in question was based on the 2.7-litre petrol G variant of the
Innova Crysta and was spotted completely undisguised. The CNG-version of Innova
Crysta will only be available with a petrol motor and in all likelihood, be
available in just the base-trim of the Innova Crysta. While there are chances
of Toyota offering its factory-fitted CNG kit in mid-spec trim but the chances
of that are slim.
The Toyota Innova Crysta will be a budget-biased model and it
makes sense to offer it at the most affordable price tag possible. While there
are no pictures caught of the interior, the cabin design is likely to remain
identical. What minute change Toyota is likely to make is add a CNG-level meter
reading for added convenience.
In its regular trim, the 2TR-FE 2.7-litre
petrol motor develops 164bhp and 245Nm of torque. However, supplementing the
convenience of petrol with the fuel economy of CNG also has its downfalls. The
petrol-CNG version of the Toyota Innova Crysta is likely to suffer a fall in
power, in exchange for a higher fuel economy. We estimate the Toyota Innova
Crysta is able to achieve 15-20 km/kg. In terms of pricing, expect to pay a
premium of INR 80,000 to INR 1 lakh over the regular version.