Checked out Innova Hycross: Feedback from an Innova Touring Sport owner

My friend has booked the MPV, hence I decided to tag along with him for a showroom visit.

BHPian amalji recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I got a chance to see the Hycross in real since I accompanied my friend who had booked the Innova Hycross. Some of my observations are mentioned below.

I am 172 cm in height. I tried adjusting the seat for my comfortable position on the 1st row (top) and 2nd row (bottom left) and this is what I ended up on the 3rd row (bottom right).

Things to note.

1. On the 1st row (top), I could get comfort even after having my knees very close to the dashboard. This is because the footwell is reasonably big and the angles are very comfortable.
2. On the 2nd row (bottom left) as you can see, I had to leave a significant gap between my knee and the front seats for me to feel comfortable. This is due to the Hybrid battery placement under the front seats which block my foot from going underneath the front seats.
3. What the above point means is that I touch the 2nd-row seats when I sit on the 3rd row. But, the fact that I could push my feet under the 2nd-row seats and the fact that the floor on the 3rd row is lower which prevents the knees up position is a welcome change.

The business class seating arrangement available on the old Innova Crysta is still possible on both the 7-seater and 8-seater versions of the Innova Hycross.

Ottoman coming up fully was a useless feature for a person of my height since the foot will get locked! But, the ottoman position in. this photo (middle position) felt very comfortable for a relaxing drive even for my height. The 2nd-row seats are moved to the extreme back position with a comfortable recline angle as well. What this means is that 3rd-row seats are unusable in this position. The subtle support on the calf by the ottoman felt good even after sitting in this position for some time. One another bonus was that the armrest for the captain seats can be adjusted to a horizontal position regardless of the recline angle of the captain seats. I am keeping my feet at an angle on the ground with the top part resting on top of the hybrid battery protection. It is a footrest-like position and felt comfortable when the seat is moved back to the extreme (making 3rd row useless at this position).

3rd-row headroom felt borderline due to the slanting roofline and slanting glass. Priority on external aesthetics and aerodynamics seems to have impacted the practicality inside here.

This is how the 3rd room legroom felt like. Just enough for me to scrape through. The fact that I had to bring back the 2nd-row seat for a comfortable position regardless of the huge knee room in the 2nd-row due to the hybrid battery intruding into the footwell of the 2nd-row passenger.

The profile on the 17-inch tyres available on the VX variant felt very adequate to the naked eye. At the same time, the sidewall height of the top-end variant felt scary thin! This can be a possible opportunity for another alloy and sidewall damage thread of the Innova Hycross (much like the Innova Crysta).

The ambient light cover looks like a cheap led tube light! The ambient light on the Innova Crysta felt classy compared to this.

Overall Feedback (from the perspective of a 2017 Innova Crysta Touring Sport Diesel AT owner)

Positives

• The front seats felt comfortable similar to the Innova Crysta
• The armrests of the front seats felt very comfortable.
• The ability to bring the armrests of the 2nd-row captain seats parallel to the ground regardless of the recline angle of the seats is a welcome change. This is not the case on the Crysta where the armrest position stays static and hence is dependent on the recline angle of the seat.
• The low floor in the 3rd-row seats means knees up sitting position on 3rd row is almost solved. It also aids the hiding of feet under the 2nd-row seats which were impossible with the Crysta.
• The fact that the business class seating position of the 2nd row is still possible.
• Airy feeling in the cabin.
• Positioning of armrests on all seats felt very comfortable.
• Ottoman at the middle position does give subtle support to the calf and feels comfortable.
• Boot space with all 3 rows up continues to be practical.
• Retractable curtains are a welcome addition.

Concerns

• The additional space freed up on the Hycross is kind of lost in reality due to that Hybrid battery positioning under the front seats. The 2nd-row seats have to be moved much more to the rear than on the Crysta because of this one change.
• The Ottoman effort felt half-baked. At a fully lifted position, a person with reasonable height will find it unusable.
• The 18" low-profile tyres on the top-end variant are going to be a hassle to take care of. It's going to damage both the alloys as well as the tyres on pothole-filled Indian roads.
• The panoramic sunroof felt very hot! Even after closing the sunroof, the sunroof cover itself was feeling very warm. And the AC was not compensating for it at idle. And this was at 30 degrees outside temperature. The summer has not even started.
• Given an option, I would have preferred a top-end variant without the sunroof. For the same reason, the VX variant felt like a better choice for me if I ever consider the Hycross. Once the mandatory 6 airbags rule forces Toyota to equip the VX variant with 6 airbags, that variant will feel very attractive to me.
• The ambient light cover felt very cheap!
• The fact that 6 airbags are not available on the VX variant even as an option. I find this a racist and classist mindset from the brand - Toyota. They could have given it at least as an option similar to the way they offered an optional safety pack to all variants of Etios when it was first released in India.
• The audio quality of the top-end Hycross version with the JBL sound system felt very ordinary to me. I prefer the inferior audio system on the Innova Crysta to this. It at least sounds more natural. Disclaimer: I haven't tried tuning the audio system. Maybe, the tuning is badly done by someone on the test drive car.
• Gear lever positioning felt odd to me. I like to access the gear from the comfortable armrest position of my hands. This is no longer possible now.
• The lack of tumbling seats. My wife was very disappointed that this feature is no longer there. She generally arranges our luggage well on a fully loaded trip ( like from IKEA ). The tumbling seats help her to arrange things better without worrying about any damage to the seats.

Overall, I am not bowled over by the Hycross. I would rate it a 7/10 in terms of the practicality of the interiors. But, if you ask me what is the other alternative for this vehicle, all I can give is a blank look. There are no other alternatives that satisfy all my requirements for an MPV.

Thank you to my friend Sharath who invited me while he was visiting the Toyota showroom and for helping me with the photos.

Note: I have not done a test drive of the vehicle. Whenever I do it, I will surely pen down my thoughts on the hybrid drivetrain.

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