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Toyota HYRYDER (Strong Hybrid) test drive feedback from a Renault Duster (Diesel AMT) owner:

I was in the market since last few months looking for a suitable replacement for my 2016 Renault Duster (Diesel AMT), though Duster is giving a great service, itch of new car caught up and hence was on the look out. I was delighted when Toyota announced Hybrid SUV for India and made a booking for gaming grey strong hybrid in August and was eagerly waiting for additional details. We know how the teasers, announcement, pre-launch, launch, media drives, price reveal, instalments of information sharing went with HYRYDER.

When I am spending this sum, obviously I wanted a better SUV in most of areas compared to my Duster. HYRYDER looked very, competent, handsome inside out in videos and pictures. I went through a lot of youtube reviews where they highlighted concerns on boot space, 3 cylinder engine refinement/noise etc but I didn’t want to cancel my booking until I see and test drive myself. I was hoping HYRYDER will connect with me and somehow felt I can manage with the negative points.

Though Ravindu Toyota, Bellandur is on the way to my office, I couldn’t visit for test drive due to mismatch of time and heavy traffic on that stretch. I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call offering test drive at home, I couldn’t be happier, because I wanted my wife and son also to experience the vehicle.

Vehicle came at the promised time, I was floored by the exterior beauty when looked at her from the I floor, elegant stance and fresh design too. I test drove with my wife, son along with the SA. We drove a decent distance and below is my feedback mostly comparing to my Duster.

What was impressive:

• Exterior looks are sleek, modern and premium
• Interiors are leaps ahead of Duster’s bane bone cluster
• Silent cabin when engine is idling and at lower speeds
• Overtaking is quick and predictable within city compared to AMT unit of Duster
• Lots of modern features powered by Hybrid technology, safety and economy
• My son is 5.10 and didn’t feel any head room issues at the rear
• Door pockets at front and rear doors to accommodate big water bottles

No so impressive:

• Ride quality on bad roads is not as plush as Duster, suspension is a bit hard
• 3 pot engine was noisy obviously when driven hard, not for enthusiasts
• AC fan and ventilated seats are too noisy to my taste
• Audio is not great in this premium offer (felt loud, not soothing to hear), I felt Duster’s unit is decent
• Back seat is definitely cramped compared to Duster
• Duster boot is 475 ltrs against 250 ltrs of HYRYDER
• As soon as wife sat at back, she said space is less and windows are small
• Even front seats are a bit narrow and my left knee was hitting the center console
• Head up display in front of the driver is not very useful
• Large transmission tunnel hump hinders rear center passenger
• In spite of being new model, surprisingly it didn’t turn heads

Here are some pictures comparing both SUVs in similar angles (It’s not to prove one is better than the other, each has it’s own strengths):

View from the first floor:



Front cabin (Duster's cabin looks 1980s):



Rear seats:



Front view:



Alloys (Duster has Terrano's alloys):



Tyres, headlights, fogs, front grill:



Side profile:



Rear view (Duster's rear is most boring):



Boot space (Duster has the best in the segment):



My key reasons to cancel:

• Boot Space, Boot Space and Boot Space
• I thought my wife and teenage son would fall for HYRYDER’s interiors, especially for panoramic sunroof, ventilated seats, rear AC etc, but I was pleasantly surprised when both told there is nothing significantly better than Duster to consider it as a worthy replacement and they prefer Duster until the one is found. I was happy in a different way.

I had a very pleasant experience with Mr.Manjunath of Ravindu Toyota, Bellandur. Appreciate his patience to bring home the vehicle for test drive and obliging to cancel my booking without any pressure. Overall I had a good experience dealing with Toyota on booking, follow ups, test drive and cancelation as anticipated.

HYRYDER is definitely a great looker and technologically far far superior SUV, just doesn’t satisfy my requirements. This review is purely based on my personal opinion, nothing to offend anybody, thanks for reading !!

That lack of boot space will be why the Hyryder / Grand Vitara will not be the replacement for my 2018 Duster RXZ AWD. More power and more boot space were needed, which only seem to be available in a much higher price bracket if you are looking for an AWD.

Here are my 2 cents on technologically advanced:

It doesn't drive better and the engine feels dead. Advancement is subjective, but in this price bracket, just the promise of mileage shouldn't be enough.

Also, how did you like the build quality? I know duster had a great build.

No offense but according to this logic, even the EVs are not technologically advanced as there is no engine in them, and what is wrong if some other dimension except for power and 0-100 timing is being enhanced. Also, we are not talking Mercedes-level money here.
Drive, ride, and build quality is subjective and after test-driving both these twins I can say Koreans are not even an iota better than these in drive quality.

By dead, did you mean the silence with which this engine starts? Having driven the car for nearly two weeks, I can vouch for the torque at the low end and power delivery is definitely decent till you reach legal speed limits (read as upto 3-digit speeds in kmph). This car offers a combined power output of 115 bhp and power delivery comparisons for cars with a similar power range will show the Hyryder / Grand Vitara as competitive.

Anyone opting for this car will have some compromises to make (not unlike any other car) and those are clear as summarised by other Team-BHPians - compromised boot space, rear seating for 3 pax, NVH at high speeds. There are obviously some positives as well that discerning people will be able to see that extend beyond mileage. To each their own I guess.

No offense to MSIL/Toyota owners. I'm biased and unfortunately used to the performance of VAG NA, turbo and honda ivtec.
Coming to the Nexon EV - I was pleasantly surprised with it.
I just can't bring myself to see how a 23 L OTR GV/ hyrider strong hybrid is seeing crazy sales - esp because it'll probably be your last ICE

No really sure that just because MSIL has been known of comparatively cheaper cars, they cannot come out with a product thats ticks a few boxes (and boxes change depending on the person) and at a premium. Every manufacturer is selling cars at a premium. Having said that and having an XL6, I do believe the K15C engine is not the best for the Hyryder. The 3 cylinder Toyota engine has enough grunt with 4 people on board at least in my two test drives.

Have you considered that maybe us enthusiasts are a miniscule population for companies as big as MSIL and Toyota and satisfying our power needs is not their first priority at all because there is no tarmac left scorch anymore in major Metro cities and people just want a car which can take them from point A to point B in comfort and very high fuel efficiency? And even then, these cars have better 0-100 figures than Seltos diesel auto which does not matter to the general car-buying population.
Also, I support the cost associated with the technology and have voted with my wallet for a relatively emission-free technology.

I can’t understand the mismatched expectations of some here! This SUV in the scheme of things is a rival to Creta diesel auto and it’s cousin (115hp diesel) and not really aspiring to compete with VW 1.5DSGs! The hybrid twins are exactly excelling on the parameters being promised and emphasised by it’s makers

Maruti/Toyota are advertising only the Efficiency aspect along with Pano roof amongst other things. They are just quiet on performance like most volume carmakers. Plus the hybrid twins don’t come with the baggage of BS6 diesel issues too nor with the disadvantage of getting banned in NCR

My view - Not every car needs to have a sub 8sec to ton, for Aam junta efficiency is what matters. Plus, the hybrid twins have at par segment standards performance/power too(vs Korean diesel auto not VW 1.5 DSG). Also, most don’t ever care about triple digit speeds, case in point masses -the target for this SUV (even I have rarely driven above 80-90 kmph in my 11 years of driving time, and I drive a lot, highways included). Heck I am a prime example of a car lover who bought a Thar diesel auto but is disappointed by its economy and for people like me, these Hybrid twins are just God sent and I will surely look at them as my second car when the time and vitamin M comes!

I test drove Vitara Hybrid, as I had time to kill and was pleasantly surprised by its quiet fuss free in traffic nature and an efficiency that’s second to none. I have spent good Time in current Seltos and Kushaq but Vitara as package has won me over its rivals. That Fuel economy compared to creta diesel auto is a highlight along with noise free city drive

I came across a few hyryder/grand vitaras on the highway last weekend and noticed all of them were being driven sedately at 70-80kmph. If I were to correlate with power figures, my guess is this will be one boring car on highways.

Haven’t yet taken a TD but not too excited either.

Agree with you that Aam junta wants the best FE. But they will have the below priorities too.

1) Decent boot space ( 380 L at least )
2) Decent second row seating ( Bad space management in second row )
3) Decent head room ( Bad headroom for people above 5'10")
4) Some exclusivity of the interiors. (Swift or Baleno grade interiors )

All the above are provided in the competition where as these hybrids are asking the customers to compromise on everything, just for the sake of FE and restricting the usage as city only car. I am not talking about the power figures as I am the one who booked these twins on reveal day and cancelled after launch with huge disappointment. I am a sedate driver and do not cross the speeds of 100 kmph, just like you do.

True that. Most owners would be running their cars in and given they haven’t even likely completed their first service, I doubt they’d want to go hard. Just part of owning a new car I guess and something I am doing as well.

This is not a racing aficionado’s car for sure - this is a sedate cruiser and seems to handle 80+ speeds decently. Not going faster for reason mentioned below.

Also guys keep in mind that although cars have gotten expensive, 20+ lakhs is still well above what would be considered an "aam janta car". At this point FE is a bonus not a priority and more of a "doing my bit for the environment" thing.
At this price point you are entitled to some amount of luxury and quality and a little bit of performance.

Issue is escalated to Toyota and there are more similar reports. There might be a recall on the faulty HUs. :disappointed

Request Hyryder owners in this forum to check Toyota iConnect and update if its working or not working.

People tend to drive slow with new cars because of the tradition of driving sedately for first 5000 kms to let the engine and other parts break in.

But the other day after leaving the Honda service center I saw a guy giving the beans to the Hybrid GV and it took off quite nicely. Few seconds later he disappeared.
Honestly when i test drove the Hybird Hyryder I didn't feel the power to be insufficient, but on par with my Honda City.

Considering most people will be driving between 60 and 80km/h the car did perfectly fine in the performance department.

Interiors sure are a let down and I would've preferred the ventilated seats over the sunroof in 2nd top model