Raising the standard in automotive technology and value is no mean feat. Thanks to competition and strong corporate willpower, a couple of companies manage to pull off this achievement regularly, to the benefit of their customers and to the detriment of the competition. One such earthshaking event was Toyota’s introduction of the Innova in 2005. In one stroke, the company rewrote the rulebook on affordable MPVs, and single-handedly made the AUV category obsolete.

Then Toyota released the sequel, the Fortuner SUV. If these cars were movies, they would be considered a blockbuster franchise: Spider-man 1 and 2. Following up such a successful act can be tricky. And the unenviable task falls to the Avanza compact MPV. On paper, the Avanza is a great idea: a compact seven-seat MPV for the price of a loaded Japanese hatchback. Does the newest member of the Toyota utility vehicle family deliver the knockout punch? A weeklong drive soon answered that question.

From the outside, the Avanza looks the part of Innova’s younger brother. It’s 435 mm shorter and 140 mm narrower than the Innova, and thus loses a bit of the latter’s spot-on proportions. Details such as the single-piece clear headlamps and tall taillamps are de rigueur for a modern van.

Pull on the tiny door handle and the plot begins to unravel. We can forgive an MPV for being plain on the outside, if the interior is up to speed. Unfortunately, interior plastics and fabrics are suspiciously low-cost in appearance and feel. The center console wobbles, and the seat levers feel flimsy.

Inexplicably, some interior controls are stunningly outdated. One is the fixed steering column. It’s difficult to find a comfortable driving position with a steering wheel that doesn’t even adjust for tilt. Another is the single-mode rear-view mirror. A daytime-nighttime switch on the rear view mirror was standard equipment on Toyotas from 30 years ago; we know because we have one in our garage. The rear hatch is convenient—but why does it lack a handle to open it? To do that, you have to use the key, as you would with a sedan’s trunk—not easy when you’re carrying bags.

The seat layout is efficient and roomy. The middle row can seat two comfortably and three in a pinch. The third row has legroom adequate for 1.7-meter tall adults. With all seats up, there’s barely enough luggage room for a laptop bag. The middle row split-folds and tilts forward for access to the rear, and the rear seat can also be folded and flipped forward. With the rear seat out of the way, there’s enough luggage room for an airport run. With both rows folded up, there’s a huge 955 liters of storage space available.

For all intents and purposes, the Avanza looks like a mini Innova. Though nicely built overall, there are some cheap materials out here like the flimsy door handle.

Don't be fooled.  Though the interior looks great, there are a lot of cheap plastics in here. Steering column's fixed so it's hard to find a comfy driving position.