When the Toyota Innova came out in 2005, it turned out to be a pretty straight-forward vehicle.  Gone was the “luxury” touches of the Revo like cafe-colored leather seats and natty on-board audio-visual entertainment and its place came a product that’s excellently engineered and competitively priced.  Toyota focused on serious product development with the Innova, coming out with solidly executed mechanicals rather than merely slapping on “Banawe special” features on a prehistoric drivetrain.  The result was nothing short of fantastic.  The Innova was received with standing ovation from both critics and consumers alike, praising it as the most practical form of transportation for people with less than a million pesos to spare.

Of course, like any successful product, there are a select few who don’t want to be seen or even associated wit the hoi polloi.  Think those who suffer from Jollibee phobia and you won’t be too far off.  With a line-up that already includes the Hiace Grandia and the Previa, it was almost unnecessary for Toyota to add another luxury MPV into its line-up.  But Toyota being Toyota, they just had to carve another luxury niche.  After all, why settle for “just” 40 percent of the Philippine car market when you can have 45 percent?  This is where the Innova V variant comes in.

With the same naming system as the Camry and Fortuner, the V connotes the highest variant of the Innova line.  Generally, anyone will find the Innova pleasing to look at.  It’s nicely proportioned and modern looking, but elitists will be immediately turned off for one simple reason: you can’t tell the V apart from the G (the second highest variant), except for the solitary badge at the back and the availability of Extreme Black as a color choice.  If fashion sense dictates another color choice besides Extreme Black, then you’re out of luck.  It’s a given that your Innova V will look like your neighbor’s Innova G or E or J.

While the Innova V isn’t radically different from the outside, it’s the inside that’s grabbing the headlines.  Crack the door open and you’ll be greeted by the familiar whiff of leather.  Exclusive to the V are leather seats for all three rows.  Likewise, the steering wheel and shift knob are covered in cowhide.  It’s hard to fault the choice of leather in the Innova.  It feels soft, but durable enough for the long haul.  However, those with kids will cringe at the beige color, which is hard to keep clean even after just a week of usage.  Completing the luxury transformation is a change in the faux wood trim.  It’s been replaced with a wood trim that looks a bit more convincing.

You really can't tell the Innova V apart from the G variant, which may work against the V's favor.  People want to make their range-topping Innova stand out.

2nd row Captain's Chairs offer unparalleled comfort (bottom) at the expense of luggage room (top). The 2nd row cannot be made to tumble and fold like before.