Kerala MLA explains why he still uses a 20 year old Toyota Qualis

Toyota Qualis is considered a predecessor to Innova. Before Innova, it was the Qualis that was the best selling MPV. It used to compete against the Chevrolet Tavera. Soon, Qualis would be everywhere on the Indian roads. Even still, you can sometimes see a Qualis running on our Indian roads. Here, is an MLA of Kerala that is still using a Toyota Qualis even after 20 years.

The name of the MLA is K.B. Ganesh Kumar. Earlier, he used to be an actor, but now he is a politician. Ganesh is a Member of the Legislative Assembly representing the Pathanapuram in Kollam, Kerala. His Qualis is more than 21 years old and is still well kept. He bought the Qualis in 2000 when he used to be an actor.

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The MPV impressed Ganesh when he sat in one of his’s actor friend’s Qualis. He was impressed with the ride quality that MPV offered. In the end, he ended up buying one himself. When he bought the Qualis, it was a rare sight because Ganesh’s political rivals spread a rumour that Qualis was an expensive vehicle. The political rivals said that the Qualis costs around Rs 20 to 25 lakhs whereas, in reality, it would cost just Rs. 6-7 lakhs.

Ganesh opted for the blue colour of the Qualis. Due to this, everyone knows that the MPV belongs to him. People are now so familiar with his Qualis that he does not even have an MLA board on his vehicle. He has developed a special bond with his vehicles, especially the Qualis. He says that the vehicle has been full of joy and sorrow and he would not sell it at any cost. He is using the same Blue Qualis for the last 4 election activities.

The Qualis has been maintained properly with the service being done at proper intervals. He takes care of him as they are living beings. This helps in keeping the vehicles in good condition and well maintained. All the electricals of the Qualis still work and Ganesh is still using the MPV as his daily driver. Ganesh said that he will not be selling the Qualis even if someone makes him a very tempting offer.

Toyota used to offer the Qualis with a petrol and a diesel engine. The petrol engine was a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated unit while the diesel engine was a 2.4-litre unit. The petrol engine produced 92 bhp of max power and a peak torque output of 150 Nm. The diesel engine produced 73 bhp of max power and a peak torque output of 151 Nm. Both the engines were offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox that was used to drive the rear wheels only.

The Qualis was the first vehicle to be sold by Toyota in the Indian market. There was a time when Qualis and Innova were on sale together. Because of the Qualis, the sales of Innova were taking a hit. So, Toyota decided to discontinue the Qualis and carry on with the Innova. Now, the Toyota Innova Crysta is one of the highest-selling MPV in India.

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