As a construction manager, Mr. Pham Van Huy (41 years old, Nghe An) often has company-provided transportation. In addition, he often has to travel to work in Hanoi and has little time to use a car at home. That is why for many years, he never thought he would buy his own car.
It was not until he had three small children with his wife that Mr. Huy realized the need for a car of his own. At the end of 2023, he decided to buy a Toyota Innova Cross to serve his family.
Hello. The first car is probably the most difficult choice for many people. What about you?
I chose to buy a car to serve my family. I often work in Hanoi so the car is mainly driven by my wife to work, as well as to take our three children to school. I will drive on weekends to take my wife and children on trips.
When buying a car, I have determined the need for a car in that price range of around 1 billion VND and a high ground clearance to research, but there are so many choices in the market that I was really undecided. I had to consult many different car models in the price range before finally deciding to buy this Innova Cross because it is the most suitable for my needs.
What car models did you consider before? What made you overlook those models and choose the Innova Cross?
Before buying this Innova Cross, I researched and looked at the CX-5, Forester, Sportage, Territory, and also considered the BR-V. The CX-5 had a more appealing price. I liked the Forester because of its driving feel and all-wheel drive, but the design was not very eye-catching. I liked the Territory because it was spacious, modern-looking, and had many technologies. The BR-V had 7 seats but the downside was its small size.
Overall, every car model has its pros and cons, but I haven’t found a car that meets all my requirements, so I was really hesitant and couldn’t decide which car to choose.
When I heard that the Innova Cross was coming to Vietnam, I read information and looked up this car model on the Internet for reference. At that time, I saw that this car was the most suitable for me. The design of the car is modern, sporty, and robust. The car has many features, not inferior to other cars in the same price range. It has 8 seats inside, much larger than the BR-V.
In October 2023, when the Innova Cross was released and available for purchase, I went to Toyota Vinh dealership to test drive it. The most impressive thing for me was that the seats were very comfortable, fitting my slightly larger body shape, and the interior space of the car was much larger than most cars I had seen. After that test drive session, I decided to buy the Innova Cross right away.
Previously, there was a belief that many people bought Toyota cars for their good, durable, fuel-efficient, and valuable characteristics. When buying the first car, the Innova Cross, did you pay attention to these factors?
I didn’t pay attention to those factors. That’s why I researched many different car brands. The most important thing for me was that the car had to meet the requirements of serving my family, such as having 7 seats, spaciousness, and many convenient and safe features. What mattered more was that my wife had to like it because she would be the one approving the car purchase and also the one driving the car every day.
However, I have some close friends who sell cars and work in car repair garages. When they found out that I liked the Innova Cross, they also advised me to choose this car. They said that Toyota cars now look completely different from the past, with more features and technologies, but the core is still the same – durable and fuel-efficient. As a simple car user, I just want to have a reliable and easy-to-maintain car.
You mentioned earlier that your wife would be the one driving the car every day. What does your wife think of the Innova Cross?
Which woman doesn’t like beauty? First and foremost, my wife had to like the design of this car before approving the purchase.
Moreover, this is the first car that my wife drove after obtaining her driver’s license. My wife said it was easy to drive this car because of its high seating position and good visibility. The car has many features, from automatic lights to power seats, power tailgate, a large screen that can connect to both iPhone and Android devices. The car also has many safety features like a 360-degree camera and front and rear object distance warning sensors… For women like my wife, this kind of car is easy to get used to and use.
As you mentioned earlier, you will be the one driving the car on weekends to take your family on trips. With the Innova Cross, has your family had any long trips yet?
The furthest trip my family has taken is to Con Cuong (Nghe An), which is more than 400 km round trip. We also traveled to Do Luong (Nghe An), which is over 100 km. These were the farthest trips. For regular trips, we mainly use this Innova Cross in the city.
Based on those trips, how do you rate the Innova Cross?
During the trip to Con Cuong, my family of 8 people sat in this car, including my wife and I, our 3 children, and 3 relatives. Even with 8 people, it was still very comfortable. The seats were spacious, the ceiling of the car was high, and the air conditioning was cool. Personally, even though I haven’t owned any car before, I have driven many cars. Driving this Innova Cross with 8 people on mountainous roads during the trip to Con Cuong, I felt that the engine was powerful. It was able to climb slopes without any lack of power. When driving on highways, the car’s chassis was stable, it felt like gliding on the road. The soundproofing system of the car is good compared to cars in the same price range.
When driving at night, I highly appreciated the car’s headlights. The lights were very bright. For my needs, whether driving in the city or on long trips, I don’t need to upgrade the lights.
This car is also fuel-efficient. I didn’t pay attention to the fuel consumption figures for each segment, but on average, my car reported 8.5 liters/100 km. My wife mainly drove in the city, and I only drove the car for long trips on weekends.
The Innova Cross also has a hybrid version that theoretically saves more fuel than the gasoline version you are using. Why didn’t you choose that version?
Who doesn’t want to buy the highest version of a car? I also liked the hybrid version because it has many more technological features, especially the hybrid engine. However, the total cost of ownership of the hybrid version exceeded the budget of my family, so I chose the gasoline version. The price of my gasoline-powered Innova Cross was over 900 million VND, while the hybrid version would have cost over 1.1 billion VND. The price difference of over 200 million VND is not a small amount of money.
Besides the advantages of the car that you mentioned, is there any aspect of the Innova Cross that you are not satisfied with?
Although I know that every car has its pros and cons, for my needs and within this price range, the Innova Cross currently does not have any flaws to criticize.
There was one thing that made me dissatisfied at the time of purchase, which was the wait for the car to be delivered, even though I made a deposit to buy the car right on the day it was released at the dealership. The price of the Innova Cross was also slightly higher compared to the CX-5 or Forester. At that time, on the market, almost every car had discounted prices to stimulate end-of-year shopping, available for immediate delivery, but the Innova Cross didn’t. I bought the car at the listed price, and then had to wait for another period.
Thank you for sharing.
