[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Toyota has taken 15 years to get to this stage with hybrid technology.

Hybrid is a combination of an EV and and ICE car with seamless switching between the two and the ability to also combine the two power sources - so inherently more complex.

I think Hyundai/Kia are sitting ducks about to lose market share in the segment rapidly. We know how much we Indian car buyers dig fuel economy.

Hybrids appear to be a matured masterpiece of technology, and very promising. Had they been introduced a decade or so earlier in India, there would have been an alternate reality (far fewer diesel cars )

Even today, if offered for the mass market segment that is hovering around 10L, they can offer a solid alternative and displace a lot of competition.

For me, a boomy 3 pot hybrid at 20L is a downer, and I am still open to the idea of a 4 pot strong hybrid at this price point.

I think a 3 pot strong hybrid can give some really tough chase to the segment where every other car is a 3 pot, i.e. smaller automatics and compact taxies.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

I agree ACI has become very biased, but this a departure for them to choose something else over the de-facto Creta and Seltos which have been their benchmarks for a few years now.

I feel Autocar generally gives the winner tag to the newly launched cars (wherein the manufacturer too wants the winner tag for their car and can afford to give in few bucks to Autocar for the paid promotion). The kind of compromises one needs to make for the Toyota/Suzuki twins, (read- higher price tag, much lower performance, abysmal NVH, smaller boot space) all that for a near comparable running cost of a Diesel Creta/Seltos, and yet they crown the Grand Vitara as the winner is little hard to digest.

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

I have seen this in-person with my own car as well, I have driven my Creta (albeit 1st gen with supposedly better build quality than the 2nd gen Creta and 1st gen Seltos) on the Bandra-Worli Sea-Link and the cross-winds affect the car really badly, meanwhile doing the same in my now sold EcoSport felt a lot more confidence inspiring, the cross-wind didn’t even affect the EcoSport, it was one heck of a solid car.

So I think this is what they mean by “drives with confidence” .

Your experience is of the first gen Creta which was notorious for high speed ride and handling. If TBhp review is anything to go by the current gen Creta is very close to the German twins in terms of ride and handling. So I don't really understand if "Drives with Confidence" is a such a major Pro point for the Grand Vitara. For that to be counted as a Plus point, it needs to be significantly better than the Creta/German twins, which I don't think it is.

[sparks4077]

Had the chance to test drive the V variant Hyryder today. Coming from a pre-facelift XL6, here are some observations -
1) Vehicle was super silent in EV mode and even with the engine coming on, engine noise was really less compared to my XL6
2) I was able to get good driving position pretty easily with the seat height adjustment, reach and angle of the steering wheel.
3) With 3 people on board, I felt the power was sufficient and I was able to take the car up to 80 km/h. Will look for a longer TD with my better half another day
4) The suspension felt a little stiffer than my XL6, but the body roll and potholes were covered better.
5) Both me and my son felt the seats were a little on the harder side, but nothing to complain.
6) Found the HUD to be distracting and it was at a weird angle when the seat was all the way up.
7) Since I am not used to a 360 degree camera, I really cant say much, other than the fact that it did not feel to be of great quality.
8) The soft touch material on the dash are not super soft, but quite firm.
9) Loved the interior color combination for the V variant.
10) Rear bench is comfortable, but is strictly a comfy 2 seater or a 2 adult + 1 infant
11) Boot is small, no other way about it. But looking at it for sometime, I still believe it can be used with some clever packing.
12) I am 5'6, so did not have any issues with the height.
13) Sunroof was really big and seeing it in real, I did'nt feel the cloth partition to be bad.

Signing off with a pic of a black Hyryder (always been partial to black!)

[Audik75]

Test drove the Hyryder in Chennai today. I received confirmation that the car has been allocated and is in the dealer yard but was unable to test drive earlier.

I am happy with the handling of the car overall. The steering response was good and the car handled bad patches well. It doesn’t feel out of place in the city and I can see why Toyota wanted to retain the longish name urban cruiser - this will comfortably meet the demands of a city driver and has enough features to be competitive.

One thing that was a dampener (other than the boot space, rear seat and the higher NVH levels which I was prepared for) was the whine from the brake vacuum pump. I am hoping this can be improved. There is no such thing as a perfect car. I have delayed buying a car long enough and will go ahead as it meets my use case well.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Abysmal? What is the basis for that? Do you have decibel reading for comparable cars to arrive at this? Another thing that you need to keep in mind with hybrids is that you get used the quietness of EV propulsion so much that anytime ICE engine kicks in, it is going to "sound" which is to say that your expectations are reset.

I have driven the GV for short test drive. In city conditions the Hybrid was extremely good, however once the speed increased and there was more accelerator input, the 3 pot motor made quite a ruckus. This was so bad that my 2018 Ecosport S TDCI sounded much more refined. Not only that, the window insulation is equally worse, and I felt the windows to be typical budget grade Maruti.

[Audik75]

Seeking inputs from the forum:

1. Would sound damping help reduce Engine noise and also help with the whine from the brake vacuum pump? Or is it a case of throwing good money after bad?
2. Is navigation on the HUD a software update or is it unlikely to ever come?

Appreciate your inputs.

[Palio_2005]

Wife rejected the Hyryder as the rear seat is not as comfortable as my Yaris and not as spacious. She loved the Seltos and said back seat is more comfortable and feels like an upgrade whereas the Hyryder does not feel so. Even the sun roof fabric is so thin, the car was not comfortable to drive in the sun. Only redeeming feature is the hybrid engine. So decided to wait for a while

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Congratulations.

Thanks Turbanator Saab for your kind wishes, also sorry for the late reply as I was not in India (reached last night, just in time for Diwali)

It does appear you have some stakes in the Toyota dealership
Must be the first and amongst the handful, if not just the only, allocation of Hybrid at your place[

Not at all Just got the car allocation as I was the 1st in line.

Update;

The car is registered. Will take delivery after 2 days i.e. 26th Oct.

Happy Diwali

[RijuC]

Originally Posted by Djay

Just hope the Government reduces the horrendous GST rates on strong hybrids and makes this amazing technology more accessible to the masses.

Unless the Government seriously do something for the taxation to make these hybrid cars and EVs and other alternative energy driven automobiles; these are never going to be the mainstream solution to the current ICE. Just try to analyse why all fuel efficient, or alternative sustainable solutions are not viable for India. Our H2 solutions are simply not viable due to lack of Government support at initial stage.

[OpenRoads]

Originally Posted by karan561

The car is registered. Will take delivery after 2 days i.e. 26th Oct.

Happy Diwali

Congratulation! Wish you many miles of safe and wonderful travel.

[Cruzn]

Mod note: Post merged, please use Multi Quote [Quote +] instead of back to back posts. Thanks.

So I went on my second test drive of the strong hybrid yesterday. Figured as it was a holiday, the roads might let me "open" the engine a little more. I was wrong. Even at 9:30 am on Diwali, I was lucky to find just 1 stretch where I could hit 60. Funnily enough, this is the same route I take daily and it tends to be quite free.

Anyways, coming to the test drive. As soon as I got into the V variant, I noticed the cabin was warmer than usual. The SA drove to my residence and had the AC on the whole time but I assumed this could be because of the sunroof and the "mosquito net" it comes with. This was quite disappointing as it wasn't a hot day but with it to feel so warm now, I'd hate to imagine what the summers would feel like. I also like to drive with the AC off and windows down, so this was quite a let down.

I managed to take it on some interior roads and also on the main road and was quite satisfied with how it still had a smooth drive (like it did the first time). The EV was spectacularly quiet and even with the AC & sound system off, I could not tell that it had switched to ICE. On the one "open" stretch I found, flooring it hard to get to 60 did get a little noisy but nothing which I hadn't heard before in my Ecosport or my CVT City.

I ended up driving 6 kms this time and managed to get 22.7 km/l (as opposed to 3 km at 23.4 km/l the last time). There were only 2 bars of battery the whole time, so there were switches to ICE quite often.

Overall, I was still pleased with the ride quality but not too happy with the cabin temperature. I have downgraded from G to S variant due to this and will have to do without the sunroof (something my kids were not happy with).

Is this just me or did anyone else have the same experience with a warm cabin? Would like to hear what others think of any alternatives to the "mosquito net".

Originally Posted by karan561

The car is registered. Will take delivery after 2 days i.e. 26th Oct.

Congrats! Looking forward to an ownership review soon!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by karan561

The car is registered. Will take delivery after 2 days i.e. 26th Oct.

Congratulations! Wish you many happy miles!

One question that I have not found an answer to in all the reviews so far is - what is the service interval for the Hyryder? Japanese cars used to have a 6 month service interval, which was a big pain, especially for people who clicked low mileage. I hope Toyota has rectified this issue and extended this to at least once a year or once in 10K kilometres. Could you clarify with the dealership when you take delivery or post a snapshot of the owner handbook with this info?

[Chevyspark]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Congratulations! Wish you many happy miles!

One question that I have not found an answer to in all the reviews so far is - what is the service interval for the Hyryder? Japanese cars used to have a 6 month service interval, which was a big pain, especially for people who clicked low mileage. I hope Toyota has rectified this issue and extended this to at least once a year or once in 10K kilometres. Could you clarify with the dealership when you take delivery or post a snapshot of the owner handbook with this info?

To the point query. I am curious too.

[Cruzn]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Congratulations! Wish you many happy miles!

One question that I have not found an answer to in all the reviews so far is - what is the service interval for the Hyryder? Japanese cars used to have a 6 month service interval, which was a big pain, especially for people who clicked low mileage. I hope Toyota has rectified this issue and extended this to at least once a year or once in 10K kilometres. Could you clarify with the dealership when you take delivery or post a snapshot of the owner handbook with this info?

Originally Posted by Chevyspark

To the point query. I am curious too.

I asked my SA this at the time of booking my vehicle and he confirmed that it will be once or year or once in 10K kms.

[Samba]

Hyryder AWD from a Duster AWD owner's perspective.

The Duster AWD is a thing of the the past now. Though the Compass AWD will be the perfect upgrade or replacement of the Duster AWD, we can't be sure of the future of diesel cars in India. Similarly, though diesel, the ScorpioN 4x4 is a very good alternative too, but unless Mahindra rectifies the DPF issues at high altitude reliability can be a question.

So what remains is the Vitara/Hyryder AWD, the petrol Thar or the to-be-launched Jimny. The Thar is of a different league & it's more suitable for two people than four. So unless the Jimny is launched, I decided to test drive the Hyryder AWD.

A small comparison with the Duster AWD-

The positives of the Hyryder AWD-

A smooth petrol.
Good NVH.
Interiors are leagues ahead of the Duster.
Feature loaded.
The AWD electronics work well.
Toyota/Maruti reliability.
More service centers.
Will be cheaper to maintain.
The ride and handling, though not in the league of Duster, it's good. The steering is light but gives decent feedback. The handling is good. The ride felt a bit on the stiffer side.

The not-so-good part-

Outright performance is lacking, but if worked on gears, the car can go fast. I took the car to an under-construction, closed road. There, in the 4th gear it goes to higher speed without any fuss. Overtaking on single lane highways will need proper downshift.

With 137 NM torque, the grunt of an effortless off-roader is missed. This car needs to be revved out from a tricky situation. Hyryder will be good on snow/slush. Rocky inclines need to be taken with proper planning.

The ground clearance is just okay. Hyryder AWD will suffice the amount of off-roading required during a road-trip to an off-beat location on the hills, but this car is not meant to be taken for the OTRs.

In the video below, the obstacle was crossed with the ESP on & 4wd lock. The Duster AWD can cross this at a slower pace due to it's short gearing and better low-end torque.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stpvWDdTTeg

With my Etios.



ScorpioN 4x4 from Hyryder AWD!



Articulation is comparable to the Duster AWD. Both, being monocoque, this is limited.





The underbelly is well-protected. Unless one is not too careless, there is nothing vulnerably placed in the underbelly. The silencer placement looks fine in the AWD version compared to the 2wd version.





The approach angle, departure angle and the break-over angle is just okay for mild offroading.















Though am not a fan of sun roof, but loved the panoramic sunroof of this car.



The dashboard looks good.



A tried and tested engine. Air-Intake pipe is positioned at a good height. So during rains water wading won't be an issue.



Grass and mud stuck after a mild off-road session.



The radiator is placed in a secure position. Even if the approach angle fails and the skid plate takes a minor hit, the radiator should be safe.









The AWD buttons.



Handrest placement is fine, though would have liked it to be a bit longer.



Headlights off.



Low beam.



High beam. The spread of the head light looks decent.





Overall it's a good package. I would have liked it to be priced a couple of lacks cheaper than what it is now. The AWD costs 19.22L on-road in Kolkata. Something around 17-18L on-road would have been more VFM.

It's a decent package. The overall build quality come across as satisfactory. One must remember that this a well put together Japanese car, & not a German car!
Overall I will rate 7/10.

Can it be a replacement of a Duster AWD? Yes by brain, but Duster still rules the heart!