You keep what made it reliable, and change what made it ordinary.
There is an old tension in the story of the automobile: the gap between the car that endures and the car that delights. On Indian roads, the Toyota Innova has long occupied the first category — trusted, tireless, unremarkable. Now, through the hands of designer Dilip Chhabria, one Innova Hycross has been quietly reborn as the second — its utilitarian interior dissolved and replaced with a private lounge that asks nothing less than whether reliability and luxury must remain strangers to one another.
- The Innova's reputation for dependability has always come at a cost: an interior that asks passengers to endure rather than enjoy the journey.
- DC's intervention is radical — the third row is removed entirely, a partition erected, and the cabin rebuilt around two reclining Lex Lounge seats, a 43-inch smart TV, and a surround sound system that turns the vehicle into a rolling screening room.
- Every surface, every detail — ambient lighting, soft-touch finishes, an 8-litre fridge, wireless chargers, foldable tables, independent roof climate control — has been engineered to dissolve the boundary between automobile and sanctuary.
- Crucially, the stock powertrain, ADAS safety suite, and original infotainment remain untouched, meaning the transformation adds luxury without dismantling the trust that made the Innova worth modifying in the first place.
- The result lands as a pointed answer to a quiet frustration: for those who spend their lives in the back of a car they rely on, this modification offers the rare possibility of actually wanting to be there.
The Toyota Innova has earned its place on Indian roads through decades of dependability — but dependability, as any frequent passenger knows, is not the same as comfort. One owner set out to close that gap, commissioning DC, the design house of Dilip Chhabria, to transform their Innova Hycross into something the exterior gives no hint of: a private luxury lounge.
Step inside and the familiar Innova disappears. The third row is gone, replaced by a partition that seals off a rear cabin built around two Lex Lounge seats — electrically reclining to 160 degrees, with undercalf support that cradles passengers into a cocoon more reminiscent of a first-class aircraft seat than a family MPV. Facing them, a 43-inch smart television paired with surround sound completes the transformation into something closer to a screening room than a vehicle.
The details are immersive: ambient lighting tuned for atmosphere, premium soft-touch surfaces throughout, an 8-litre refrigerator, wireless chargers embedded in the door cards, foldable tables, and independent roof-mounted air conditioning — each element chosen to ensure that no surface, no moment, reminds the occupant they are sitting in a car.
Yet the modification is disciplined in what it leaves alone. The hybrid powertrain, the ADAS safety suite, the ventilated front seats, and the original infotainment system remain exactly as Toyota intended. The Innova's reliability — the very quality that made it worth this investment — is preserved intact.
What DC has built is not merely an exercise in excess. It is an answer to a specific and honest question: how do you make a car you trust into a car you want to live in? The answer, it turns out, is to treat the back seat not as an afterthought, but as the destination.
The Toyota Innova has long been the workhorse of Indian roads—dependable, spacious, and built to last. But reliability alone doesn't cure the ache of sameness. One owner decided to transform their Innova Hycross into something altogether different: a rolling luxury suite that rivals the cabin experience of a Mercedes-Maybach.
The car's exterior gives nothing away. From the street, it looks like any other Hycross. But step through the door and the illusion dissolves. The customization work, executed by DC—the design house of Dilip Chhabria, widely regarded as India's premier automotive customizer—has gutted and rebuilt the interior into an entirely different proposition. The third row of seats is gone. In its place, a partition now separates the driver's compartment from what has become a private lounge.
The centerpiece is a pair of Lex Lounge seats installed in the second row. These are not ordinary car seats. They recline to 160 degrees, electrically adjustable in multiple directions, with undercalf support that rises to create a recliner-like cocoon. The engineering mirrors what you'd find in a high-end luxury sedan—except here, you're sitting in an Innova. Surrounding this seating is a 43-inch smart television mounted in the cabin, paired with a surround sound system that transforms the space into something closer to a private screening room than a vehicle.
The sensory details accumulate. Ambient lighting runs throughout the cabin, tuned to create atmosphere rather than mere visibility. The flooring has been replaced with custom materials. Every surface that touches skin or sight has been upgraded to premium soft-touch finishes. An 8-litre refrigerator sits ready for refreshments. Wireless chargers are embedded in the door cards. The roof carries its own lighting and air conditioning vents, independent of the front climate control. Foldable tables emerge from hidden storage. Smart compartments have been engineered into every available space.
Yet the transformation is not one of pure indulgence at the expense of function. The Innova retains its stock features: the 10.1-inch touchscreen, ventilated front seats, a powered driver's seat, and an ADAS safety suite. The powertrain—a 2.0-litre petrol hybrid producing 184 horsepower and 206 newton-meters of torque, paired with an e-CVT gearbox—remains unchanged. This is not a car that sacrifices the reliability that made the Innova famous in the first place. It simply asks: what if that reliability could be paired with first-class comfort?
For owners of the Innova who have grown weary of its utilitarian character, or for those who spend enough time in their vehicle to justify the investment, DC's modification offers a path forward. The work is not subtle, nor is it cheap. But it answers a specific question: how do you make a car you trust into a car you actually want to spend time in? The answer, it turns out, is to turn the back seat into a bedroom and the cabin into a sanctuary.
Notable Quotes
This is one of the most luxurious Innovas we've come across.— MotorOctane reporting on the customization
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would someone gut a perfectly good third row to make room for two reclined seats? That seems like a step backward for a family vehicle.
It's not about families anymore—it's about how you actually use the car. If you're spending hours in traffic or taking long drives, that third row sits empty anyway. Two people in complete comfort beats seven people in compromise.
But doesn't removing the third row defeat the purpose of owning an Innova in the first place?
The Innova's purpose was always reliability and space. This modification keeps the reliability and trades space for an experience. It's a different use case—more about the journey than the destination.
The 43-inch TV seems excessive. Why not just use your phone?
Scale matters. A phone is a distraction. A screen that size, with surround sound, in a reclined seat—that's immersion. It's the difference between watching something and being inside it.
Who actually needs an 8-litre fridge in a car?
Anyone who spends enough time in their vehicle to justify the investment. Long drives, business travel, people who live in their cars for parts of the week. Once you've had cold water at hand, warm water feels primitive.
Does all this luxury make the Innova feel less like an Innova?
Only on the inside. That's the whole point. You keep what made it reliable, and you change what made it feel ordinary.