Toyota River Drive: Kaveri: Day One Blog

The second edition of the Toyota River Drive has begun and this time we’re taking the plush Toyota Innova Crysta to some unchartered territories of South India. We’ll be charting the course of the Kaveri river for the next few days.

We explored the rural areas of South Eastern Tamil Nadu and also took on the unexpected. In the morning, cyclone Gaja made its landfall near the coast of Tamil Nadu. Poompuhar, a small coastal town where the Kaveri river merges into the Bay of Bengal, was our starting point but due to torrential rains and violent winds in Poompuhar, we had to start our drive from Kumbakonam, a small town 60km away from the coast. It was set up by the banks of the Kaveri in the medieval ages. Meanwhile our Innova Crysta, under the ‘Touring Sport’ skin just kept us grinning all day. A powerful 2.8-litre engine and a sublime ride quality makes it an extremely capable vehicle for comfortable long-distance tours.

The road to Tirucherapalli took us by surprise with the flawless tarmac quality, despite of being in the remote parts of Tamil Nadu. But it was a bittersweet moment as the cyclone had caused a lot of damage to the villages, through which we passed by. However, the rescue teams were doing a great job and the obstacles were cleared in a couple of hours. After reaching Tirucherapalli, our drive was officially flagged off and we rode with some proud Toyota Innova Crysta customers to Mukkombu dam, which is built on the Kaveri river. The water from this reservoir is mainly used for irrigation and fishing.

Meanwhile, the Innova Crysta’s third row and the luggage space just gobbled all our luggage and equipment in one small bite. Also, its mammoth 4.8-meter length is not cumbersome to manoeuvre, thanks to the parking sensors, rear view camera and large ORVMs. We can’t wait to take it back on road. Stay tuned for more blogs on Toyota River Drive.