| Re: Toyota Innova Hycross Review
After numerous test drives of different cars and weeks of pondering, finally made up my mind and went ahead with booking the Hycross - ZX(O).
The wealth of knowledge on this forum and the experience shared by members who already own the Hycross really played a big role in making the final decision. I would like to call my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has contributed to this thread.
Other options considered - Mahindra XUV700, Tata Safari, Tata Harrier, Hyundai Tucson and the VW Tiguan. Without a doubt each of these cars are good in their own way and have specific strengths that outshine others. But a decision had to be made and these are some aspects that worked in favor of or against each of these options. This is the order in which I did the test drives
1) Hyundai Tucson - Had very good year end deals when I started looking for a new car and that brought this car under the upper limit of my budget. Diesel was fun to drive but the petrol lacked the same punch. Loved the looks and the cabin felt luxurious. Family did not approve this and the lack of performance in the petrol variant stopped me from pursuing this further.
2) VW Tiguan - Hands down the best sales experience and test drive too. Without a doubt this is a driver's car and I think I kept considering this only because how good the sales experience was and I personally loved the test drive experience. The FE numbers, some anecdotes from friends on parts availability and the impending facelift version that is expected anytime soon deterred me. Once the facelift version hits the market, this would again be way out of my budget. Another car that came close to my budget only because of the year end discounts.
3) Mahindra XUV700 - Visited two different dealers, both promised to share pricing and arrange for a test drive. Surprisingly did not hear back from both. The sales reps were hardly interested in selling the car. Got an opportunity to drive a friend's car for a couple of days and did not feel the right connect with the car, again family did not like the back seat comfort and dropped it from my list.
4) Tata Harrier - The most sub-par sales experience, the first question on visiting the dealer was which car - good question to ask and the second question was which variant are you looking for? Isn't that what the sales rep is there for, explaining the different variants. Got a WhatsApp message with features by variant and the pricing. Test drive was arranged after a couple of follow ups. I had already driven a friends car extensively and loved the way the car handled, the interiors looked great and it is indeed a feature loaded car. Another issue with the sales team - form the time the new facelift was launched Tata had colours locked by variants and was surprising that you get to pick only from four colours or the full black version even for the top end variant. This was changed in Nov last year and I visited the dealer in Dec, they had no clue that it had changed and even when I said that I don't like the colors on offer, they said that is the way it works - chose from what is available for the variant that you pick. This was a bummer and made me look for alternate options.
5) Hycross - Decent sales experience, again did not need a test drive as I had driven another friend's Hycross in the past both in traffic and highways. The only need for a test drive was to see the comfort of getting this large car into my parking spot and it did not fare too badly. I thought once I get used to the car, it should be easier. Overall loved the city driving experience, ease of maneuvering such a large vehicle and the comfort. I think this one just screams comfort and that along with petrol + hybrid making it futureproof got me leaning more towards the Hycross. Couple of points that made me think twice - the interiors did not feel like a 40L+ car and the constant complaints about weak headlights especially considering that a lot of my highway travels are early morning.
6) Tata Safari - Friends suggested that I have a look at the Safari as well and I loved the way the car drove, felt really easy to drive in spite of its sheer size and again loaded with features. One main issue with this car was that the second row felt a little cramped if the third row was folded for luggage. You had to move the seat forward to accommodate the third row and that ate into the second row leg room.
Harrier and Hycross stood as the final two to decide from. Harrier lost out due to lack of petrol option and of course choosing a Toyota over Tata, enough has been said about this.
Hycross was the winner due to the space and comfort, family loved it and it will keep the second row occupants very happy. Petrol + Hybrid and the Toyota badge worked in its favour. This really stretched my budget and all the time was spent justifying the buy to myself. Once this was done, went ahead with the booking, have been told it will take two to three months so the waiting period starts.
Need to start thinking of accessories, will read up a little about that and reach out to this group if any help is required to make a decision. | 
26th January 2025, 20:28
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Thanks
