[tjsi]

Introduction

I wanted a kind of a car that I could drive in the city, on the highway, over craters of New Delhi and into waterlogged roads of Gurgaon without compromising on maneuverability, mileage, ground clearance and comfort and I do all of that with this car.



The Hyryder is very good at doing a lot of these different things and that's something that as you progress into the car world, you generally have to accept that its either going to be a good car to run up a mountain or crawl through narrow roads of Lajpat Nagar market.
I sort of refused to accept that there are no cars that can manage all of my requirements but the good people at Toyota heard my thoughts and prayers and they did whatever they could to make this car streetable yet travel hundreds of kilometers without breaking a sweat and your wallet.


Chapter 1: No Country for Old Sedans

The market and roads are being dominated by cSUV's. Owning and driving the Fortuner, I believed that these cSUVs aren't real SUVs, "pseudo SUVs" if you will, but they work better in daily-ing scenarios.
So do I now believe that they're real SUVs?
No. But credit where it's due, they get the job done without the price tag of a real SUV.
Low maintenance, relatively affordable, feature rich and high GC helps to anticipate traffic flow.
People buy these cars to compensate for the government's incompetence to build decent road infrastructure and streamline the traffic flow. Even though sedans are highly practical, stylish and fun to drive, it just doesn't make sense to drive them anymore in times like these, at least not to me.



During the rainy season my heart aches to take the City through the water logged roads in my route and I, being a doctor, can't afford to miss work. I never take the Fortuner because my dad has to go to work and only the City has the doctors parking access sticker and more importantly it’s a fuel guzzler which gives the same amount of drivable kms in double the amount of fuel as the City. It was never bought to save money or fuel but in my case it just doesn't make sense to daily it almost 85kms a day.
My sister is a surgeon and has started work elsewhere she now needs her City back. I did consider buying a used Creta but in September 2022, a colleague who was driving his Creta got into an accident and passed away on the spot.
I had always had known about Hyundai's notorious cost cutting on safety because most wrecked cars that I see on my route are Cretas and Swifts so that drove me clear of the decision.



Chapter 2: Rage Against the Machine

Why not other brands or diesel or EV alternatives? There are a lot of choices in this segment and it's rather overwhelming. I had requested TD for Seltos, Kushaq, New Brezza, Thar, Nexon EV and harrier.

Long story short-
-New Brezza - strong contender. Would've gone for the top variant if I hadn't liked the Hyryder.
-Creta - poor paint, always peeling from edges, questionable safety. I see at least one creta every day with a shot DRL or tail light.
-Seltos - see Creta.
-VW/Skodas - I know 2 people who own top of the range Skoda's, none of them are happy with their cars. They suggested I look elsewhere since my running is quite a lot.
-Nexon and Harrier - they felt quite soulless. Also that ancient 407 truck logo is a major ick. They can change their whole brand image if they modernized their logo like Mahindra did.
-Thar - My nearest Mahindra SC is almost 20 kms away, It doesn't have the refinement that I'm looking for in a daily and the interiors felt like a gulag torture chamber.

-Diesel alternatives - I can't stand the diesel KHADKHADKHAD noise. Also with the recent nuisances of DPF issues and all, I don’t have the time or energy to deal with any of it. Diesels are cheap only at the gas station. (not anymore)

-EV alternatives - limited choices and expensive choices, EV infra is still missing in most places across the country, it's super slow and doesn't work most of the times. Range anxiety is the proper term.

I wanted something that will start every morning without fail and get me to the hospital parking and back to my driveway.



Chapter 3: High Hopes

The Hyryder Hybrid was an instant choice for these reasons.

1. Japanese trust and Toyota reliability
2. SUV form factor with best in class ground clearance (210mm)
3. Godly mileage for my daily usage
4. Latest and greatest comfort features to stay relevant for up to next 5 years
5. Good road presence and aura so I wouldn't get bullied by the bigger cars anymore
6. The 'HYBRID' badge feels exclusive.

It was on 27th July when I booked the car in Gaming Grey. My dad was quite reluctant to go with the Black colour so I picked the lighter shade.
However with a change of heart I ended up changing it to Café White because the other 2 cars in my garage are also white so I didn't want any other colour messing with the theme of my fleet.
So in that space of time I discovered internet forums about hybrids and this became the car I would take to my work place the very next day after delivery.



It's kind of famously a unique system to drive with a electric motor to help initially propel the car along with the engine to remove the need of a bigger fuel guzzling engine or a turbo charger that could fail on you, and Toyota has spent over 20 years refining it just to provide you with a reliable and pleasant feel, and it is a car that will take off easily if you put the pedal to the metal depending on the situation, but if you can control your intrusive thoughts to highway battle every turbocharged Korean/European car you see zooming past you, the benefits of this configuration are pretty significant.
And if you can learn to use the B mode on the lever properly then it becomes a very effective tool to extract every single kilometer from each Liter of petrol.

Attachment 2401334

Chapter 4: Until I Found You

Test drove it as soon as it was available and felt satisfied with my choice.

For the Hyryder I had originally opted for the G hybrid variant but after experiencing the latest tech like ventilated seats, 360° cam, etc and the lack of leather seats and leather steering wheel in G variant I decided to bump my booking to top V hybrid without any extra waiting period. The car feels like a generational leap compared to the other 2 cars. The only things that I wish the City and Fortuner had is the car play or android auto.

I used to commute in my sister's City CVT total 80kms in one day from Delhi to Gurgaon since the past 3 years and I am thankful to it every day for keeping up with me and not giving me any major problems. I take care of the car like it's my own child.



Chapter 5: Kickstart My Heart

I will not be sugarcoating my views about the any of these vehicles or defend any of the quirks. Manufacturers should be questioned about what they did and why they did it.

Here's my experience compared to the Honda City and Toyota Fortuner, a rather odd comparison, but an interesting one to provide a good contrast between the dynamics of these vehicles.


1. Special Abilities

City - rolling acceleration is phenomenal.

Fortuner - with one flash of my lights people would clear up the way for me.

Hyryder - is best of both worlds. Toyota sure knows how to make a good looking car with an unique aura. People give way just to get a look at the car, it's quite a head turner!
I get out of congestions quicker and end up with a better mental health at the end of the drive.


2. Looks

All of them are the best looking cars in their segment. No one can convince me otherwise.

Honda city 4th gen is one sexy looking car that still holds up. I'm sad to see it being discontinued. I'm not a fan of they newer one since it looks reminds me of the Verna which reminds me of the Audi A3.

Fortuner has always been a pretty and chonky looking car. My mom really loves the pre-facelift version with the hood scoop.

Where engineering, design and function come together and Hyryder is a fantastic meeting point for me.



3. Ride quality

Hyryder - takes the no. 1 spot, absorbs bumps like a champ and feels very comfortable. Its best of both worlds.
The 115 bhp doesn't sound too much by segment standards but all of the real work and the genius of this car is in the hybrid system and the suspension. Power looks great on paper but suspension is what really gets you around and this is car does a fantastic job because of its suspension.

City - I can feel every bump but its otherwise okay. Predictable and stable at high speeds.

Fortuner - feels like a boat. My legs feel funny because I feel like I'm floating on air. On broken roads Fortuner is unbeatable and glides over broken patches, potholes and what not. It's great for the kind of route I drive on otherwise.
Did high speeds on a highway. Very scary. Never again!


4. Build quality

Fortuner on top, both Hyryder and City are on par, and the City is a damn tough car. I have no idea what kind of tanks people are driving around in to call this car "light" and "flimsy". It feels quite solid to me.
The doors not closing with a lighter force is definitely annoying but you get used to applying a bit more force. The back doors don't have this characteristic.
Overall I'm satisfied with the Hyryder.


5. Comfort

Hyryder - ventilated seats are very comfortable. The highest setting is very loud but 2nd and 1st sound better and ventilate sufficiently. I love it.
The back seat however when sitting relaxed feels a bit cramped to me. Honda cars really spoiled me in this department. Even fortuner can't match them. That being said, I wouldn't want to fit 3 adults back there.

City - is comfy to sit for long drives. It has leather seat covers installed so I'm sure the original seats underneath are even more comfy like they were in my old CITY 2005 ZX, 2013 Brio and 2009 CRV AWD. All Hondas are overkill in the comfort department.
In the back seat Hondas have space, and then some more.

Fortuner - somehow gives me back ache. It needs a better lumbar support. 3rd row is almost functional but it's not for adults and I'd rather have them removed to liberate more boot space for trips.


6. Practicality

This is the car's weakest point and this has been emphasized upon by every automobile journalist/youtuber. Big families that make many trips to the airport may not find this appealing, but I think those kind of families would anyway be looking towards higher budget and segments.
I think that people tend to forget that this car comes with functional roof rails, and they're also available as a genuine accessory so if you're planning to carry more you can always have a rack installed up there.



I know this a very bad example and i'm obviously kidding with this picture. That being said, you shouldn't be carrying delicate instruments in the boot, unless you really, really have to, then detune the strings. So always remember, just because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Anyway, here's a picture of all my hobbies fitted into the boot for reference.



The middle seat belt comes in handy securing items like this.
bottom line is, you can either fit a full sized golf bag or a guitar with its hard case but not both.
On a serious note, fitting in a check in luggage is not a problem if you're carrying only two.

I'm still waiting for the day when I have to treat patients at 9AM, make a Tee time at 12PM, click wild life at 4PM and play a gig at 7PM...
(P. S- I'm looking for hobby buddies so PM me if you happen to be into photography or golf or play any instrument )

That being said, Center console storage, cup holder position and glovebox storage is a joke. Like why did they even bother? They should've just put another seat in the middle like HM Ambassador!



If you were to remove the 3rd row completely in the Fortuner then you could easily save money on packers and movers cost, and to add to that, it has roof rails up there.
I love that it has an abyss worth of space in its center console. Cooled glovebox is great to keep your documents cool in case you get pulled over on a hot day.

All Hondas are the most spacious vehicles in their respective segments. Period.


7. Driving experience

The Hyryder in sport mode feels faster and punchier than the City CVT normal mode, mind you the City is also an agile and fun to drive car.
Hyryder has a better E-CVT system that eliminates rubber banding compared to City and Fortuner.

There were countless times when the City wanted to crash into the cars in front on a slight tap press of the accelerator so I mostly kept it on eco mode to avoid that.

Fortuner doesn’t react like that but overtaking on D mode would shoot up the revs up to 4-5k rpm. This was overcome by using the manually shifting on S mode. 2nd and 3rd feel amazing on uphill mountain passes and 3rd and 4th gears feel amazing while overtaking at high speeds.



8. Engine Sound and Performance

All cars today have enough power to carry 5 people and their luggage and still drive at the limit of the road. They're just designed that way.

The fastest expressway in India is limited to 120km/h which cars with NA 1.5L engines can achieve with no problem.

The general rule is that overtaking should always be done at low speeds only. I believe that If you're looking to overtake a person driving the limit just because you don't like to have someone in front of you then that's an ego issue that no amount of displacement can solve. Been there, done that. Drive safely, responsibly and respectfully.

Fortuner The petrol has a beautiful bassy engine sound. It sounds like a huge cat purring aggressively. Sweet spot is around 3-4k RPM where it gets really torquey and purry. I love launching it every time I'm the first person at a traffic light.
It has 3 power modes Eco, normal and power. It's sufficient to drive in eco mode and on highway it gets eager to bully the fastest cars ahead.

City It sounds like a typical Honda as the memes describe. VTEC kicks in whenever the hell it wants to and I love it. I call it the Highway Star. It's a really spirited car and I love accelerating on it every chance I get.
The screaming iVTEC engine redlines at 7K RPM and I get the whole Honda cult(ure) among tuners
It has only 2 modes, eco and power. Normal mode really brings out why Honda is loved by people around the world, it just shows you true the nature of it. Eco mode would sometimes feel sluggish but it's great to drive around in city conditions of traffic crawling and conserving fuel. I merge on highways in normal mode and switch to eco after 60Km/h.


Hyryder Hyryder's engine is a bit hoarse compared to others at low speeds and during initial acceleration while it's warming up but gets quieter after 40. I feel that it doesn't like to rev. The EV mode on the other hand is silent with a very faint cartoonish UFO sound which gives the car enough push to seamlessly transition to engine and pull comfortably till 80Km/H which is the ceiling that I adhere to.
It has 3 modes like the Fortuner, eco, normal and power. It's all fun and games until you switch to power mode and that's when It gets City level quick. It had no problem merging onto the highway from 40-80.
Credit where its due, this 3 cylinder engine by Toyota is as good as any other 4 cylinder. I'm sure tuners will come up with a ECU remap soon and really juice up that power mode.


9. Mileage

-I tried to extract as much mileage as I could while keeping up to schedule.
-I drove my cars from full tank until the refuel light came up.
-I drive with a heavy and a light foot whenever I feel like, switching between different power modes whenever needed.
-I accelerate up to 60-80Km/hr in power mode while merging on highways and put it in eco mode and use cruise control between that range.
-I rarely exceed 100.
-AC on.
-Drives were a mix of both city and highway. (30:70)
-Driving style includes using "pulse and glide" technique and using cruise control whenever I can. Low engine breaking in the City CVT helps it keep rolling.
(Pulse and glide is basically accelerating until you reach a good speed about 80, letting off the gas and then getting back up, rinse and repeat while trying to keep the fuel usage bar as low as possible. Cruise control helps a lot)
-Putting the B mode to use by activating it before coming to a stop, approaching speed breakers and during downhill section of the flyovers. Engine breaking in D mode is stronger than City CVT. Fortuner generates a lot of friction since aerodynamics are basically non existent.

Hyryder - Driven 290kms in 4 days. City and Fortuner would've been at half tank by now. I feel that I would need to refuel it every
ODO Mileage after 360kms- 20.7Km/L and rising. I will update When I get it refueled.




City - 460kms. Refuel on 5th day morning with about 100kms range still left. Final mileage - 15.7km/L
(my personal best right before I retire this car. I could've done a 16 if I hadn't sat in parking with it idling for 30 mins).
(note- the picture was taken on 4th day morning)


Fortuner petrol - 560km towards Jim Corbett national park. Final mileage - City 6.4 - Highway 8km/L.

It's more of a Smiles Per Liter thing with this one


10. Interiors

All three cars feel similar in experience, but if I had to rate, Hyryder and Fortuner are on par with each other and city close second.



Hyryder feels more modern and up to date. I love the full leather steering and the sunroof with its film rolled back really makes it feel roomy. However I feel its door panels and the Roof liner is too flimsy. The left door armrest vibrates when I play bass heavy songs. It was easy to miss and never would've even been detected but I caught it and will get it checked at service.

Fortuner feels more "premium" as per 2018 standards and that's true for all models being made today. The feeling is retro but it's very solid.

City has too many glossy plastics on it so it catches dust and fingerprints easily and is now scratched up quite a bit.

Extra points to Hyryder for digital cluster and the HUD. Initially the HUD felt gimmicky and unnecessary, but ever since I took delivery, I have been using it regularly only because it pops out and goes in all by itself and I never thought I'd like it this much!
I never expected Hyryder to feel premium on the inside, coming from the City and Fortuner, damn it does. It's good enough and I like it.

The sunroof film isn't all that bad honestly, I like some natural light and I have been driving with the film rolled back. Somehow I don't feel like the sunroof will heat the car up more than any other in the parking lot. Can't say much since it's peak winters at time of writing.



11. Features

Hyryder wins here by a long shot. The TPMS, 360° cam, ventilated seats, Sound system, massive touch screen, android auto and car play, sunroof, HUD, tinted glass, app control and wireless charger.
360° cam is the most useful feature to me because I always have trouble judging the amount of space in front. In the parking people would tightly park perpendicularly and I had to get out myself or take help of guards or a passerby to spot me out of there. The 360° cam fulfilled its purpose.
Just slightly infuriated that the car model in the animation looks like the international S cross.



The Fortuner and City have none of these.
However I believe that these cars are so reliable just because they didn't have much to go wrong with. They still hold up in their own way but the consumer experience is definitely turned up to 11 with Hyryder.

I was particularly disappointed with the Fortuner because it feels so barebones and outdated in the features department for that huge asking price. It felt no better than our 2009 CRV.

Features I Wish They Came With

Hyryder - Adaptive Cruise control that Honda city e:HEV comes with at the same price. It's a huge missed opportunity, at least the V variant should've had it. Electric seats with memory function for times when my sister or father take it out for their purpose.

City - Apple car play/Android auto. Honda updated their infotainments from 2019 which had that. Mine is a 2018 model which came with a buggy Android KitKat based infotainment.

Fortuner- Apple car play/Android auto, 4x4 or AWD, hill hold, hill descent control for petrol engine would've been confidence inspiring during outstation trips. Even our 2009 CRV petrol was full time AWD! But It's 4x2 is no joke and is still highly capable. This picture was taken after getting down a risky and steep and twisty down hill (felt like 30-40 degrees incline), that led to a temple on the riverside in Nahan. You can tell we made it back up because I'm writing this.



11. Annoyances

City

1.Since I drive it the most, there were a few times when the engine would experience power loss even after service was done. It felt like driving with hand brakes on. I turned it off and started it again and it hasn't happened again.
Happened twice in 4yrs of ownership, nothing major, probably just a nervous ECU.

2. The sudden jerk at crawling speeds is scary so I have to keep a safe distance but the downside is that I always get cut off by the person in the other lane. Eco mode solves this problem.

3. The front bumper always has a gap even after getting it put back. It's apparently present in all 4th gen Cities, and a service center agent told me it's because "the bumper is very heavy because of good build quality"
what???

4. The seat belt gets stuck in the trunk latch and opens while driving. Always have to take care when getting in.


Fortuner

1. Judging the left side was a huge challenge, but it helped me become a better driver.

2. Steering is soooo damn heavy. I have to wrestle it just to make a U Turn.

3. Assistants at the petrol pump always confuse my petrol variant for a diesel variant and as a reflex and even after repeated reminders they once even put diesel in it! The car had done only 5K kms on the ODO when that happened and by the time we noticed we had already driven it 2kms. The car became jerky.


Hyryder

1. TPMS is in kPa and there's no way to change it to PSI... What. The... Fix this garbage, Toyota!

2. The doors taking a solid pull to close properly is the most common complaint, along with that not all of driver door panel controls are illuminated. They're just trying to save pennies at this point isn't it Toyota?

3. Steering wheel controls are poorly laid out. Music skip buttons should've been with the volume controls and menu navigation buttons should've been with the cruise control buttons. I always end up changing the cluster menu trying to skip music. I need to know what were they even smoking while designing that.
I hate when manufactures can't follow a basic consistency in their cars to give you a feeling of being in their ecosystem. Fortuner and City controls are better sorted.

4. (IMPORTANT!) Few days ago on the Hyryder official Team BHP Review I had pointed out that I had been hearing an abnormally loud rumbling sound apart from the engine sounds coming from the car that would even vibrate the floor. It started right when I took the car out of the showroom, lost sleep thinking I had been given a dud.

-Long story short, it turns outs that the cold Delhi weather and brand new motors is a bad combination. The sound became quieter as It broke in with more kms on the ODO and as the engine the temps got warmer while running.
There's no mention about this sound in the manual or reviews and I was astounded that no one ever pointed it out.

-Also, the car would slightly try to move forward when the generator turns on in Park mode. I wonder what's that all about.

-I've done 360kms as of now. ODO mileage 20.7km/L and rising. The sound from generator is now much lower but noticeable during cold starts and gets quieter as you drive.

-I have observed that the engine stays on for a good while even without the defogger on If you've cold started the car early in the morning. Will have to see how it behaves in Warmer weather.

-As you start driving, It takes about 15-20 minutes for the temperature gauge to reach optimal temps, and in that while, the EV battery gets fully charged and warmed up and you can hear snapping/clanking noises many times which Toyota has described as normal. They sound like a small stone that comes flying on to your cars wind shield.

-If you're starting up that car a few hours later the car will turn on the engine to warm up but it will only charge the battery up to 2 bars.

-One way I found to forcefully bring it to use the battery is to restart the car on a stop light. So if you have 2 or more bars it will switch to EV mode quicker. I think it's better to let it do what it wants to.

-I will keep updating on this.

https://youtu.be/ix6AtSqPwZo

If I could remap the buttons I'd do it like this.



13. Added mods

Hyryder - Hella Chrome Dual Trumpet Horn, 70Mai pro+ A500s dashcam, 7D floor mats by hotcarshop.com, doctor stickers (+10 respect, +10 BHP), planning for a rear bull bar like the fortuner.

City - Hella Dual Chrome Trumpet Horn 70Mai pro+ A500s dashcam, CEAT Securadrive 185 65/R15, Honda genuine Seat Covers, Portronics phone holder, bumper guards, doctor stickers (+10 respect, +10 BHP)

Fortuner - 70Mai pro+ A500s dashcam, Chrome garnish on headlights, tail lights, rear bull bar, front bumper guard, 3M PPF.
No need to change the horn, people move out of the way just looking at it!



14. Controversial opinion

This one opinion might upset many but I believe that Toyota should have never borrowed the Mild Hybrid variant and Suzuki the same way should have never borrow the Hybrid variant in this market. I am aware that int. suzukis are available in hybrid.
They could've saved on the production costs and either fulfilled more hybrid bookings quickly or given the Hyryder unique interiors and made both the cars unique products on their own.

Even though Toyota makes both these cars in their Bidadi factory and as much as I hate to say, this is actually a 10.5L rupees car which is later bumped up by the original Toyota power train and other comfort features. My point being, if they had charged a little more towards better quality material or structure reinforcement, they could've gained the approval of the masses looking for safety and quality but they chose the mass volumes route to make it affordable and compete with Creta and Seltos.

The only thing that is "Suzuki" about this car is the cabin. It does not bother me that it feels like a Suzuki on the inside but they could've done it better, like at least the steering wheel could've been original. They did what they did and I honestly like it a lot. I can only complain about the doors, weird steering controls and the roof liner.

I'm kind of glad the interiors are not proper Toyota on the inside. Proper Toyota interiors feel very out dated to me.
Even for Grand Vitara it's a bit cliché to make it feel the same as New Brezza, which is better value for money compared to GV's top model.

We need to understand the cost cutting required to keep them relevant in the market otherwise the base Hybrid model would've easily costed over 20L+ Ex showroom.



Chapter 6: ...And Justice For All

CITY iVTEC CVT -
75k on the ODO and I've loved every moment with it, its spirited and eager to sprint, just a bit low for my usage. I would've driven it till it fell apart.
I realised one thing after completing this post, that I haven't written much negative about the City. There really isn't much to go wrong with the Honda City, or in fact, any of the Hondas that have been in my family. I get why the City has been loved by people for all these years. I would have bought a Honda cSUV e:HEV if they had come out with it sooner.

FORTUNER PETROL CVT -
20K on the ODO. We bought it for road trips and it's been a real pleasure. This one's a keeper.

HYRYDER HYBRID V -
No brainer if its boot is sufficient for you and you can afford to shell out 17.5L+(Delhi) on this car. It's my ultimate daily.

The car is justified as a proper Toyota simply because it comes with a proper Toyota powertrain and design language. Whether it's relevant or not, I think is irrelevant.

Neodrive/Mild Hybrid - Better go with Grand Vitara, or better yet, save some money and go for the New Brezza.



I will soon make this post into a video!

[Aditya]

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

[BoneCollector]

Congratulations for the new kid on the block.

I have 2 queries -

1. How good/bad are the headlights in extreme fog?

2. How have you routed the wires of your dashcam?

Asking these as we have a new Grand Vitara in family and I have to install a dual channel dashcam in it.

[tjsi]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

1. How good/bad are the headlights in extreme fog?

2. How have you routed the wires of your dashcam?

1. Dense fog in Delhi showed up today morning only. Let me test it out and get back to you with this by tonight if it's foggy.
Night time illumination felt sufficient. Fortuner lights get a boost thanks to the fog lamps.

2. The included wire was routed through the glove box, into the A pillar and tucked inside the Roof liner after being attached to the camera behind the ORVM. The lectrostatic sticker included in the box doesn't stick on the black notch behind it so it's installed a little bit below it to just provide a good view of the led lights on the camera.

The second back camera will be routed through the roof liner only.
It's important to tell the person to not cut any wires to avoid voiding warranty.
Same goes for the horn, strictly no wire cutting. They will detach the bumper and attach an extension cable because the horns are placed quite low.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by tjsi

1. Let me test it out and get back to you with this by tonight if it's foggy.
Night time illumination felt sufficient. Fortuner lights get a boost thanks to the fog lamps.

White LED lights have poor outcome in fog and Hyryder/GV suffer from loss of fog lamps. Had there been a provision for the same, there would have been a workaround.

2. The included wire was routed through the glove box, into the A pillar and tucked inside the Roof liner after being attached to the camera behind the ORVM.

Thanks.

The second back camera will be routed through the roof liner only.

Since yours is a V variant, I'll suggest not to fiddle with the roof liner leading to inadvertent damage to the curtain airbags. Instead take the wire along the floor.

Do post snaps of the dashcam. It'll be great if you have snaps of installation also.

[tjsi]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Since yours is a V variant, I'll suggest not to fiddle with the roof liner leading to inadvertent damage to the curtain airbags. Instead take the wire along the floor.

I haven't installed the one on the back. If I do decided to get the back camera, our Ustaad Ji who usually handles these things will know the best approach.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Do post snaps of the dashcam. It'll be great if you have snaps of installation also.

I've set it to 2560x1920 which keeps a backup of more than 2 days and senses hard braking or shaky "accident" like situations and neatly sorts them to a different folder in the card all by itself.
Picture quality is amazing, it has wireless features, is solidly build, looks low profile and has been super reliable and that's why we have it on all of our cars.
Make sure to use only the recommended cards on their amazon page or it will keep telling you to format the card.

I don't have installation pictures but in one of the pictures I attached to the main post showing the interior you can see the wire from the 12V USB socket going below the dash. That's the way it's installed in the other 2 cars also.

[aryayush]

This is such a fantastic review! We've recently booked the top model of the Hyryder as a replacement for our well aged Verna. The other cars in the family are an EcoSport and an i10, both TC automatics.

Having two cars with fuel economies in the 6–10 km/l range has made us extremely wary of ending up purchasing another car that costs north of ₹10,000 per month in running costs.

Being environmentally conscious, diesel was not an option for our next vehicle, and like you wrote above, the current crop of EVs on offer do not excite the senses at all, and were quickly ruled out.

I've spent the past two weeks test driving multiple vehicles and carefully going over all kinds of text and video reviews, and it became clear to me that there is no car with a better combination of skills than the Hyryder right now.

Heck, I even considered stretching my budget up to ₹30 lac for a split second and see if something better catches my fancy, but with the exception of the MG ZS EV, there was nothing—and that car isn't available in my city.

The only sore point for me is the limited headroom at the back. I'm 180 cm tall and my head brushes against the roof liner, so I'm going to have to sit in the passenger seat on most days (so I get to use the seat ventilation).

I think Toyota has hit the nail on the head with this vehicle, and I'm afraid there will be far too many of these plying on our roads in short order—but that's not avoidable when your steed is from the Suzuki stable.

[tjsi]

[quote=aryayush;5472433]This is such a fantastic review![/QUOTE
Thank you!

Originally Posted by aryayush

The only sore point for me is the limited headroom at the back. I'm 180 cm tall and my head brushes against the roof liner, so I'm going to have to sit in the passenger seat on most days (so I get to use the seat ventilation).

I did think about addressing this but I had already posted the review.

Let me address the head room in the back real quick.

-I don't think anyone even sits THAT upright, rather a bit relaxed. I feel that people want a reason for their heads to touch the ceiling.
-I'm 180cms and I usually wear a turban that takes another inch of the headroom.
-Front seat adjusted to my preference
-the back seat has been tiled to the maximum.

-This is the relaxed position, how I'd normally sit.
My right knee touches just a little bit so I might rotate my legs to the left side.



-Upright position, AKA, the "auto journalist position". It's basically wanting to find a flaw in a rather okay thing.



Even with the turban my head doesn't touch. Don't worry about it and sit relaxed.
The length of the vehicle is a bit shorter than a sedan like the City or the upper segment SUVs so this is expected.

Originally Posted by aryayush

I think Toyota has hit the nail on the head with this vehicle, and I'm afraid there will be far too many of these plying on our roads in short order—but that's not avoidable when your steed is from the Suzuki stable.

Yes I did think about that. The HYBRID badge has always been a cool thing to notice on Camrys and Vellfires and now it's even more accessible. That's a good thing for Toyota because they might now bring more products like this to India.
Lately out of every 10 Hyryders I see, 1 or 2 are Non hybrids. Other way round for Grand Vitara.

[aryayush]

That's to be expected. In fact, I think it makes very little sense to buy the hybrid variant from Suzuki instead of Toyota for most people.

Originally Posted by tjsi

This is the relaxed position, how I'd normally sit.

You seem to have very poor underthigh support in that photo. Is that really how you usually sit in the back?

I usually sit up much straighter, with my lower back pressed up against the seat back and as much of my thigh rested on the seat as possible. If I sit in that sort of relaxed posture, it starts to get uncomfortable in the lumbar region and under the thigh, due to lack of support.

Originally Posted by tjsi

Upright position, AKA, the "auto journalist position". It's basically wanting to find a flaw in a rather okay thing.

I'll have to take your word for it for now. I'd not read any reviews before the test drive and the fact that my head was brushing the roof was literally the first thing I realised when I sat in the rear seat.

In fact, I tried to find more mention of this in the reviews on these forums (including the official one), and I actually thought it was much less prominently mentioned than I'd expected.

Let's see how it goes.

[tjsi]

Originally Posted by aryayush

In fact, I tried to find more mention of this in the reviews on these forums (including the official one), and I actually thought it was much less prominently mentioned than I'd expected.

Let's see how it goes.

I understand the roof is quite lower than normal and it makes some people feel uncomfortable.
I can only speak for myself and I've felt fine for the brief period that I've been in the backseat.
Just don't travel with a 3rd adult the middle.

If I had to rate then
Fortuner>City>Hyryder

If you're going through with the booking and prefer to sit in the back then maybe you'll get used to it or you might like the more comfortable ventilated front seats.

[Chinni]

Wonderful post Doc. My heart was with kushaq all the time but since there was no skoda SC close by( most required considering some of the problems with kushaq) I kept delaying upgrade from my 2011 etios. I do have a Toyota SC in my place and it would do me good to go with hyryder as I had (and still having)a pleasant life with etios. Only worry being the limited boot space in hyryder having enjoyed the space in etios. Your post is clearing some of the dilemma. Thank you so much. Can you please tell me if the boot space has been practical enough while going on a trip with 3 passengers- adults.

[tjsi]

It's time for a 2000km update. This includes the likes, dislikes, first service, service review and modifications.
Also, I would like to thank every one who liked the original post!


The Good, The Bad And The Ugly


The Good -

• The Suspension / Ride Quality - simply amazing. It's quite possibly the best handing car we've had in the house.
  
  
• The sound system - it's so much better than the Honda City.
  
  
• Ventilated Seats - all my future cars must have this feature.
  
  
• 360° camera - I use it a lot in traffic or while parking close to the curb. No need for spotters anymore.
  
  
• Auto retracting HUD - small detail but it's the only reason I use the HUD. Goes in and comes out on its own.
  
  
• The Stance - great visibility, great looks.
  
  
• Launches like a rocket in power mode and a sufficiently charged battery.
  
  
• NVH levels - whenever EV/Hybrid mode works it's great. Quite good up to 80km/hr. Past that there's a lot of wind noise.
  
  
• Toyota iConnect app is just magic. It lets you know if there are any lights and doors left open which is really handy. I like to warm up my car before driving off. So I turn the car on from my phone 10 mins before my leaving time.

Here's how I ensure I don't miss it. -

1. If you have a Samsung then go on modes and routines.
   If you don't have an automation app then you can search on your app stores.
   
   
   
   
   
2. In the 'If' menu -> Time period -> set your time Mine is set for 7:20AM Mondays to Saturday
   
   
3. In 'Then' menu -> add action -> Launch app -> a sound will go off and automatically launch the iConnect app.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Done.
   You can also put another automatic action to launch the Google maps and which will automatically put in a certain location that will be ready on the screen when you get in the car.
   One thing to note is that if you turn the engine on with the app and go to unlock the car from the request sensor the engine will turn off.

The Bad -

• For a whole week the Android Auto would crash every time I tried to put a location on Google maps. It wouldn't connect back and I couldn't play music for the rest of my drive. It was only made worse when used wired. It would only work the next day. Maybe it was a bad update and hasn't happened again yet.
  
  
• The Wireless Charger - it's pure E-Waste. Shouldn't have bothered putting it. Charges super slow, heats up the phone to a Kajillion degrees and barely charges like 10% in an hour. I could stick a cable up an electric eel and it would still charge faster. I've disabled the charger and routed the normal Type-C cable from the back side port and works so much better in charging the 5000mAh battery of my S22U. If there are any upgrades then let me know.
  
  
• The fact that they actually managed to cheap out on proper lighting of the buttons.
  
  
• The "Ambient light" - disabled it within a week. It's an ugly and out of place orange colour that you can't even change, it's only on the passenger side and does nothing to add to the ambience in the car.
  
  
• Side mirrors seem too small for this car. The blind spot is huge so i had to adjust them to let me view more of the lateral area.
  
  
• The IRVM doesn't work most of the time. The sensor is just not sensitive enough
  
  
• The under thigh support on the seats. I always find myself pushing the dead pedal subconsciously. To fix this I have pushed the seat farther than I like. I wish there were some attachments to fix this nonsense.
  
  
• There's this brief floor board creaking noise from the front suspension if I break on a bad and uneven surface. The technician says it's because of the TC/ESP/ESC/ whatever other sorcery they have in there to assist the car be planted
  
  
• The Hybrid system feels plain stupid -
  It might have something to do with my driving style but I don't know how to be much more sedate and patient I have to be while driving this thing if I ever want to reach work and back home.
  The car just does not like to use electric motor while accelerating from the stop. I can't even accelerate too 60km/h without feeling guilty.
  The engine turns on literally every time I let the ECO bar go more than 2 dots.
  During a stop, even if the battery is sufficiently charged, the engine sometimes likes to keep running I don't know for what.
  
  
  
  
  
• What "Urban Cruiser"??
  In the city the most I was able to get was 18km/L. Disappointed.
  
  On my daily route I was able to get a mileage of 24.5km/L. I have interacted with people who drive at similar speeds and durations and have got about 27-30km/L of mileage.

I refuel the car once it drives 800kms and about 3 refuels have been done since. Takes me about 10/11 days to go down to 2 bars which is my safe zone to refuel it.
Have I saved money compared to Honda City? Absolutely. Per refuel I've saved about ₹2500.
about 2700-2900 for refueling Honda City after 350kms of driving. I drive twice the KMs for that amount on my regular route. Mileage better increase post the 10k service which will be in no time.








The Ugly -

• Rattles, rattles, everywhere, and all the boards did creak - Just 1 month in and the car feels like it'll fall apart from the inside. The Infotainment system squeaks, the door panels ticks and there's some weird knocking noise from the left A pillar and the windows are making a crackling sound. It's put together horribly and completely unacceptable for any car of any budget. Of course, none of these noises were detected when I did a road test with a technician.
  
  
• Those damned doors, man I swear. They just don't close and we still haven't developed a habit to shut them forcefully. The rear doors don't do this.
  
  
• The indicator and reverse light position is just bad taste and awful design. They could've easily put it up with the tail lights like every normal car but they just had to go all Suzuki on it. I'm always anxious if the person behind me has noticed my indicators and if I'm going to get rear ended because of it.

1st Service and Galaxy Toyota Okhla Service Center -

They're polite and professional and all, but these people just do not ask if you are facing any problems with the car.
You go in and park the car in the parking spot, an agent comes with his tablet, takes pictures and hands they key to a valet who takes your car to the service bay behind the building out of your sights and then they tell you to wait and you're not even given a queue to interact with the agent.
It's all so quick that you're just left there wondering what happened and what you're supposed to do with your life anymore.
They're missing the personal touch. The first thing that I expect when I get to any service center is to be asked if the car is running fine or am I facing any problems.
Also they put their service center website and phone number sticker which infuriated me and I asked them to remove it immediately. The rear screen is already too small.

Within 3 days of 1st service I got a call from the service center saying that there has been a recall for the Airbag Controller for my vehicle. I asked why they didn't do it on the first service, they said that Toyota found out just now. The route to Okhla service centers is horrible and I avoid going there as much as I can, but it is what it is. Since I didn't have time I scheduled the service for the week after and I swear for that whole week the universe wanted me dead. A brand new Scorpio N almost rear ended me. While it's big fat body on frame was jiggling behind me due to its hard breaking, I could see the headlines on a YouTube Video/Team BHP article saying "SCORPIO N CRASHES INTO TOYOTA HYRYDER RIP".

Modifications as of now -

• Half cut window shades from Hotcarshop.com.
  The attention was nice in the beginning but its getting quite unsettling now and they also look inside the car when it's parked hence my decision to get these.
  The website didn't mention this but they even sent a pair for the little baby windows behind the rear windows. These fit snugly.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Neck Pillows - Found them on amazon. They're fine. Should've been a little softer.
  
  
  

[TT-S]

Originally Posted by tjsi

• The Hybrid system feels plain stupid -
  It might have something to do with my driving style but I don't know how to be much more sedate and patient I have to be while driving this thing if I ever want to reach work and back home.
  The car just does not like to use electric motor while accelerating from the stop. I can't even accelerate too 60km/h without feeling guilty.
  The engine turns on literally every time I let the ECO bar go more than 2 dots.
  During a stop, even if the battery is sufficiently charged, the engine sometimes likes to keep running I don't know for what.

If the heater or rear defogger is turned on, the ICE will turn on frequently. This is because rear defogger really loads up the 12v battery which will need assistance from the ICE when doing so. Whereas the cooling in the Hybrid is handled by the electrically operated compressor, heating requires the ICE to be turned on.

The other possibility I can think of is that the health of the 12v battery may not be at optimal levels.

Another doubt is regarding the cold temperature and limited current input/output of Li-ion battery in these conditions. There may be protection mechanisms in place to limit the battery current in colder conditions (for safety as well as durability of the hybrid battery). If this is the reason, the battery may not be able to supply enough juice and the ICE may be stepping in frequently. It will be interesting to check this behavior from fellow hybrid users at colder regions to see if this is a common behavior.

[tjsi]

Originally Posted by TT-S

Another doubt is regarding the cold temperature and limited current input/output of Li-ion battery in these conditions.

That might be the case here. Will have to see how it behaves in mid March/April weather.

I get that ICE turns on frequently with defogger, found that out on day 1 itself which led to that horrible generator sound, but I haven't used it since.

Driving without the AC seems undignified in Delhi weather and air quality to get 6km/L more. The only time I turn it off is during monsoon.
I'll take the trade off for now.

[sunbaj]

Originally Posted by tjsi

During a stop, even if the battery is sufficiently charged, the engine sometimes likes to keep running I don't know for what.

I own Brezza ZXi and what I have observed is that the car needs to be driven for approx. 5 KM before this functionality kicks in even if the battery is 100% charged. I have observed that even when I have my AC on and am stopped in traffic signal my Brezza automatically turns off the engine.