[libranof1987]

The Toyota Innova Hycross is now available in showrooms across the country, and TDs should follow in a week or so, while RTO formalities are completed.

The Hycross got a whole bunch of people excited when it was showcased during the media drive. Here are some comments by BHPians:

Damn!

- Ventilated seats
- 9 speaker JBL audio
- Ottoman seats
- Multizone AC
- Panoramic sunroof with ambient lighting
- Powered tailgate
- 0-100 km/h in 9.5 sec
- Claimed fuel efficiency of 21.1 kmpl
- Tank range of more than 1000 kms
- Toyota safety sense

All this while having Crysta on sale by the side - This ain't gonna be cheap!

This is awesomely power packed.
Performance and economical, trumps in both worlds.
0-100 less than 10 seconds,
21 odd kmpl.
1097 km in a tank full translates to 50L tank capacity.
Panoramic sunroof with ambient lighting.
6 airbags extending till 3rd row.
ADAS, Auto High-beam lights & much more.

Aditya and Vid6639 reviewed the car, and were mighty impressed with the vehicle. To the extent of goading me to swap my Crysta for the Hycross!

It was now all down to pricing.

Someone said,

If Toyota can price this right (which they won't) they probably don't need to announce any new vehicle for next 24 months.

This is such an important product for Toyota and at the same time has the potential to disrupt so many categories above and below, if priced sensibly.

And then, Toyota actually did! A *very* reasonable pricing, by Toyota's standards. It surprised everyone!

Toyota has certainly delivered a sweet surprise, the prices are easily 2-2.5 lac lesser than what people actually expected.

That's some excellent and Sane pricing from Toyota which is really surprising. I was thinking of replacing my harrier with a 7/8 seater and the pricing of this car is the only barrier stopping me to date. After seeing these prices, it will be very difficult to resist this purchase.

By Dec-end, the waiting period quoted by every dealership was about a year! As of now, each dealer in Pune has about 500-700 bookings. And a stunning majority for the ZX(O), that too in the Blackish Ageha Glass Flake shade.

[libranof1987]

Now for the litmus test. With the car finally arriving in the showrooms, the Hycross has to live up to the excitement it has generated.

Not only does it have a strong legacy to uphold, of Toyota and that of the Innova moniker, it also has to stand up to constant comparisons with the Crysta. While the debate may rage on whether the Crysta and Hycross are competitors, there is no denying that there will be a lot of cross-shopping between the two cars.

With the Crysta now back on sale, albeit in a way that doesn't seriously affect the Hycross, does the Hycross have enough muscle: not just to sway people from the Crysta, but also bring in customers in this niche segment.

With the car having been in the showrooms for a few days now, first reactions have been a slight disappointment.

Mind you, these are just visual observations, since there are no TDs yet. But the first impressions may cause a slight discomfort at Toyota India HQ.

The first impressions by BHPians:

From what I saw today, the quality of the interior was at least on par with crysta…if not better. I think the price is justified for the features we get.

For a difference of around 3 lakhs, we get-
- New design (looks much better than crysta IMO)
- Ottoman seats
- Panoramic sunroof
- Higher mileage
- Faster acceleration
- Ventilated seats
- ADAS features
- Electric power steering
- Auto hold
- Semi digital cockpit
- Extra bits of soft touch on the dash and door
- Better ingress and egress
- Larger boot, especially when the third row is down
- No dpf issues
- No ad blue required

In my case, the Hycross is going to be mainly used in the city. Therefore, the body on frame chassis and the torque from the diesel crysta will not be missed.

Positives:

1. The signature colour looks much better than what was seen in few review videos under overcast sky conditions.
2. Car has good road presence and looks proportional externally.
3. Quite spacious in line with expectations from such a crossover
4. Alloy wheels look much better in person

Could have been better:

1. I didn't believe when few reviewers pointed out that the interior plastic quality was subpar. However, now that I have verified it in person, I am in total agreement with their view. The plastic quality around dashboard, gear knob, armrests on doors, area below the seat, feels quite ordinary for a car costing 35L on road.
2. Confirmed that there are no backlight illuminated switches on doors
2. Confirmed that there are no request sensor/s present. (Even my swift has it on both front doors)
3. Alloy wheels and low profile tyres really create visible space between wheel arches. Could not help noticing it.
4. IMHO exterior body appears stretched a bit to create an impression of a big car (SUVish stance), especially in front and back end.

After careful consideration of all above points, I have asked the dealership to proceed with cancelling my booking. In my opinion, its not worth investing said amount, just for strong hybrid technology since I already have XUV500 automatic in top shape.

Visited the Auto Expo and experienced the Hycross first hand.

With a heavy heart called up SA to cancel my booking. Family not willing to spend near 35L for this level of interiors.

[libranof1987]

So, BHPians, what do you intend to do with your Hycross booking? Please vote with your decision, preferably if you have an active booking, or are in the process of.

As an owner of a six-month old Crysta, having booked the ZX(O), here are my thoughts:

+ The styling is pretty contemporary
+ The feature list is very 2022/2023; there's nothing you'll miss, esp in the ZX(O)

~ The Ottoman seats: They're a party trick and I feel they're going to be just that. I don't see real-world application. Even with the front seat at the forward most position, you need to be in the lower 5' bracket to have your feet comfortably up

- Given that the second row doesn't tumble, ingress/egress is a slight challenge since the available space has reduced.
- The drop in quality is noticeable; eg. in the a/c, or the window controls.

For me: are these points worth cancelling the booking. Maybe not. Are they a dealbreaker in a 35 lakh car. Maybe not.

For now, I have decided to retain my booking, and experience a few longish TDs / usage of the car before I commit to buying / cancelling.

PS: Once the Hycross TDs are available and BHPians have had some ownership experience, a Crysta vs. Hycross comparison thread should make for an interesting conversation given that both cars are likely to have a similar customer base (not considering the taxi use case here), and more importantly, neither car seems to have a USP that the other car absolutely doesn't possess.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[poloman]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

So, BHPians, what do you intend to do with your Hycross booking? Please vote with your decision, preferably if you have an active booking, or are in the process of.

As an owner of a six-month old Crysta, having booked the ZX(O), here are my thoughts:

Are you exchanging Crysta with Hycross? Either way I feel booking Hycross does not make much sense. If you own Crysta and exchanging it, I feel Hycross is not worth that since your car is already an AT. If you are keeping Crysta, still I feel you should have booked something out side Toyota, something more premium. You should wait for the real ownership reviews if the requirement is not urgent.

As many pointed out VX is the most value for money variant in the Hycross. But Toyota purposefully skimped on the airbags only to boost ZX variants.
Having said that, for a new buyer looking at 30-40L segment, Hycross is the best option currently. If I had not got my Crysta last year, most probably I would have gone for a ZX/ZX O variant of Hycross. With some better color and bolstering of seats, the interiors can be salvaged. But that may add upwards of 50K on top of premium pricing.

As a 2022 Crysta owner, I have no intention to move to Hycross. Some have called out that 2022 Crysta owners suffering from buyers remorse. But they forget that the car will give me a cool 1-1.5L profit in under a year, if I exchange it now.
I love Crysta and keep it just for the torquey engine and go anywhere, built like a tank construction. My Polo is completing 13 years and running with zero issues. I prefer accumulating built to last cars like these rather than running behind fancy features and new tech.

The only concern I had was the rumours of Toyota discontinuing Crysta altogether. Now with relaunch of Crysta in MT avatar has alleviated that fear. At least for 3-4 years this car will be still around.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Initial feedback has been pretty mixed in terms of plastic quality, fit and finish and seat comfort, and often in contrast with the official review. The car is expected to arrive in the showroom in a couple of days, so I will be in a better position to judge after seeing it in person. What goes without saying is that this is a 35L Rupee car, and Hyryder type plastic quality will be a deal breaker.

Good thing is that I will be taking delivery only in the new financial year, so there is time. For me to evaluate the car in detail and take multiple test drives and for Toyota to make adjustments, if any.

[RoadTiger]

Had posted my initial impressions after a showroom visit.

I agree the Hycross has done some cost cutting esp with many hard plastics, halogen bulbs in the cabin, sub-par ambient lighting, under profiled tyres etc. It is feature rich though and provides best-in-class space & practicality.

When it comes to cars, I have always placed greater emphasis on how well engineered a car is, how it feels to drive, quality of components, how well it rides & handles, practicality etc. These are best judged - at least for initial impressions - only after a test drive.

Some context :
One of the cars I own has superb interiors but has a poor AC, hardly feels robust over bad roads, poor headlights for highway driving etc. Feels premium but cost cutting done in areas that arent apparent in a showroom visit. In contrast, one of the others has acceptable interiors and an ordinary music system but fantastic driving dynamics, solidity & reliability, excellent AC, no squeaks & rattles after nearly 12 years of ownership and brings a smile on my face every time I drive it. No prizes for guessing which one I would buy again, given a choice.

[Behemoth]

I booked my Hycross on the 9th December as I wanted delivery only post April 2023. The variant booked is Zxo hybrid in Ageha snowflake black. Since the past 2 months I have been following up with the dealership for the arrival of the display car and it has still not come at the Gurgaon showroom. The Toyota sales persons are least interested.
I am waiting to see the car in person and in case I don't like the interiors I may just downgrade my booking from Zxo to Vx 8 seater in the same colour. Though I would miss the 6 airbags as I feel that is most important, but the rest of the things like sunroof and electric tailgate and ventilated seats etc are also nice to have but not necessary for me
In fact in our Hector Plus Diesel manual Sharp which we got for 22 lacs on road just a year back has all the bells and whistles so a 33 lac Hycross Zxo does not appeal to me. I feel the Vx will be much better value for money as it is around 28 lacs on road in Gurgaon.
However Toyota should have been sensible and provided 6 airbags in the VX variant. I may just wait till Oct 2023 and get it when the 6 airbags become mandatory and hopefully Toyota should add it to the VX variant too.
Sitting on the fence for now and holding on to my booking and will decide to cancel/ keep / convert at a later stage.

[amit_2025]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

In fact in our Hector Plus Diesel manual Sharp which we got for 22 lacs on road just a year back has all the bells and whistles so a 33 lac Hycross Zxo does not appeal to me. I feel the Vx will be much better value for money as it is around 28 lacs on road in Gurgaon.
However Toyota should have been sensible and provided 6 airbags in the VX variant. I may just wait till Oct 2023 and get it when the 6 airbags become mandatory and hopefully Toyota should add it to the VX variant too.
Sitting on the fence for now and holding on to my booking and will decide to cancel/ keep / convert at a later stage.

Interestingly the car we are considering instead of the Hycross is the Hector Plus 7 Seater (CVT)

Had booked the Hycross on the 25th of November with a lot of enthusiasm but the experience with the SA and showroom has been appalling

Add to that the absence of the bench seats was already a compromise we were making and now the reviews of the plastic quality and interiors has almost pushed us to cancel the booking. Just wanting to have a look at it once before cancellation

The Hector Plus with ADAS is coming at about 26.2L on road against the 33.67L for the Zx(O) variant of the Hycross. Of course there is a difference in technology and potential difference in resale value, but can't seem to find the 7 Lacs difference worth it for the Hybrid power train alone

Not considering the VX primarily owing to the lack of 6 Airbags but the Bells and Whistles are also important as we are upgrading after almost 7 years (if we decide to go ahead with the purchase that is)

I understand the 3rd row space in the Hector plus is non existent but we expect the car to be used as a 5 seater 90% of the time

Any deal breakers on the Hector Plus basis your ownership experience?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by amit_2025

Interestingly the car we are considering instead of the Hycross is the Hector Plus 7 Seater (CVT)

Any deal breakers on the Hector Plus basis your ownership experience?

The only bugbear in our Hector Plus (in the old design) was the single projector LED headlight which is really very weak. I am planning to get this upgraded soon.
In the new Hector plus they have gone back to the dual projector design of the Hector and that is much better. In terms of interior space, it is quite spacious and even the third row is used by us many times and users don't feel uncomfortable.
The boot space though with all three rows is a bit small (150L) compared to the 300L which the Hycross has.
As this is a hycross thread, I would not digress and if you need more details on my Hector, you can connect with me on my Hector ownership thread.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ip-review.html (Adventures of our Grey Goose - MG Hector 6 seater Sharp Diesel Ownership Review)

[jthomas]

Will go ahead with purchase. Booked the VX variant prior to launch.

After I sold Seltos last July, 8 year old Tata Nano Twist is serving me in city. Hence need one for highway rides asap (before April).

[rajshenoy]

I never put my money until I experience my car in person. I have following concerns today with Toyota

1. Only 2 airbags on VX (30Lakhs OTR) when they boasted of no compromise in safety during Yaris launch.

2. No 2nd row bench seat on ZX. Looks like I need to either choose safety or bench seat.

3. Early feedbacks report niggles and quality issues !! There were a few in Hyryder as well. Looks like Toyota is charging a premium but taking a short cut when it comes to quality

XUV700 feels like a better package(AX7), is easily cheaper by couple of lakhs and is feature loaded. I could live with its overdone looks.

[inwester]

I had booked a Kia Carens (Diesel Auto) March of 2022 and it took forever to be delivered and in the meantime Toyota Innova Hycross was launched so we booked it. However, few weeks back Kia called me and said they have the Carens ready and since its only under 22 lakhs on-road in Kerala I just bought it thinking I will keep it until I get the Hycross. So far Carens has been a pleasant experience, in terms of ride quality, fuel efficiency, interior build quality, decent features, even the engine is not too bad.

Toyota made it seem that they "priced" Hycross well, at least when compared to the old Innova. Then they added all the missing features from like 2015, so it feels like decently priced, but when you pit it against anything else in the market it does feel a bit overpriced.

Another thing I can't get over is that the VX variant doesn't have full safety kit, nor does the ZX variant offer proper 7 seater (yeah I know the last row is supposed to seat 3!). Toyota never added the bench seat to the top variant all these years (18 years!), neither in the original Innova (2004-2015) nor in the Innova Crysta (2015-present). So time will tell if they will add it to Hycross, although I doubt it.

I know duty, GST, road tax and all, but 37 lakhs is a lot of money for any vehicle, in any country. The top end model Hycross is going to be 37 lakhs in Kerala and I don't think its worth 15 lakhs more than Carens top variant, or 10 lakhs more than Hector Plus or 7 lakhs more than XUV 700 2WD top model.

PS - do the Hybrid models get some kind of tax break (in terms of duty or GST), can someone who bought the car confirm what the factory invoice price is?

[paliontile]

My wife and I went on a window shopping spree last Sunday, starting with Tata Safari, XUV7OO and finally Hycross. Somehow the Safari and XUV7OO felt lot more planted and solid, the touch, feel, etc. At first glance, Hycross didn't inspire the same confidence in us, final judgement is reserved until we can do a test-drive and also look at crash test ratings. We already had bookings made for the XUV and Hycross back in 2022 October and November respectively. We didn't book the safari as we felt the seats are a tad size smaller. Even my wife who is 5'5" felt the seats are smaller in Safari compared to the XUV or Hycross.

We will go ahead with the Hycross if crash test ratings come out soon. Else XUV it is, albeit with a roof rack

[MarutiGuy1977]

It’s for “Retain booking and go ahead with purchase”. This is subject to the test drive.

I have booked the VX 8S.

The car has the features I need (except airbags). I couldn’t stretch by 4 lakhs more for the features I want.

First glimpse of the VX was as expected. I just hope that whatever is in there, whether it is the interiors or the mechanicals, function like they should and are fitted well.