Indonesia welcomed the 2021 Toyota Innova facelift in October 2020 and like clockwork, we can expect the refresh to make its way to Malaysia next year. Let's go through a few must-knows before we welcome the refreshed seven-seater MPV to our shores. 

Update: Prices for the facelifted Innova is out. Read all about it here!

Before we begin, a small note: the new Innova is sold as both the Kijang Innova and the Venturer in Indonesia. Both will have subtle differentiating factors.

What's new outside?

The exterior's received a subtle nip and tuck, particularly at the grille area. The 'smiley face' grille makes way for a trapezoidal one which isn't too different from the 2020 Toyota Hilux's. 

Wheel designs are different too - the Kijang Innova sports fresh two-toned 16-inch wheel designs while the Venturer gets larger 17-inch ones. 

At the rear, the Kijang Innova V and V Luxury get a hexagonal black license plate garnish. The Venturer gets these plus a sleek roof spoiler. Other than these changes, the design is largely the same as the pre-facelift Innova. 

What about the interior?

The new Kijang Innova Luxury and Venturer variants come with captain seats in the middle row as standard - something already offered in our Innova 2.0X.

Infotainment wise, the facelifted Innova in Malaysia will very likely retain the 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support. 

Other than that, everything else is about the same, with 7 seats, ambient lighting and all the cubby spaces and cupholders you'd expect from a car this size. 

What about safety updates?

The Malaysian-spec Innova should retain 7 airbags, stability control (ESC), anti-lock braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution (ABS, EBD), brake assist (BA), traction control (TC), hill-start assist (HAC) and emergency stop signal (ESS). 

Even in the facelift, there's still no Toyota Safety Sense suite of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). However, the new Innova still does well enough to net 5 stars in the ASEAN NCAP.

Any changes to the powertrain?

Though Indonesia gets manual, diesel variants of the Innova, it's almost certain we won't. Our powertrain option should remain the same as it is now: a 2.0-litre, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine (139 PS/183 Nm) mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. 

When is it launching in Malaysia?

Expect the facelifted Innova to make its way here early next year, and prices should remain largely the same as it is now. If you're interested in the currently-on-sale Innova, check out a few brief pointers about it in this article!

I want to know more about 2021 cars!

Don't worry - we got you covered. This article highlights upcoming Toyota cars in Malaysia, this one shows you looming luxury cars and this one to see sub-RM 100k cars making their way here next year.