Toyota Innova Hycross: Analysing the reasons for its success in India

The Innova Hycross is India's first mass-market people carrier to ditch the Diesel in favour of an all-petrol line-up.

BHPian ttm_220d recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Prelude

Mark Twain said familiarity breeds contempt, but I beg to differ; in some instances, familiarity evokes feelings of passion, reassurance and solace. This is the feeling any owner of a Toyota Innova can resonate with. The dependability and sheer ruggedness of this beautiful car are things that truly have to be experienced to understand why there is such a cult following 17 years later with regards to this car. It doesn’t just represent another metal box on wheels that takes you from point A to B but rather a vessel of safety, memories and, most importantly, reliability, always doing good by its owner. This is probably why the Innova Hycross (Zenix in some markets) has left many of us purists wondering about the future of not just this car but our lives and the automotive sector as a whole. This write-up will elucidate on what made the Innova great, why the Hycross is changing the status quo, and what this truly represents for us as a species.

Attributes that made the Innova and the Innova Crysta a symbol of greatness and trust

• Dependable Diesel- In a fuel-starved country such as India, the Innova was one of the first offerings to introduce the mainstream audience to reliable, powerful and, most of all, efficient Diesel engines that would always start right up no matter what the situation, gave impeccable fuel economy and gave the sheer sense of torque and power which one has to experience to appreciate.
• The Body on Frame Construction- The ladder frame chassis is when the Body of the vehicle is bolted onto the chassis, which contains the car's drivetrain. This means that it gives the car an extra element of insulation and ruggedness against the woeful tarmac most of us are familiar with. It is also much easier to produce and maintain, reducing the overall cost of the car.
• Rear Wheel Drive- Ask any petrol head, and they will tell you that rear-wheel drive cars are a joy to own and experience. It is due to this setup allows for a versatile delivery of power that makes it suitable for most terrain. Let’s not forget for heavy-footed drivers such as myself, rear-wheel drive allows you to do the most hooligan of acts, such as burnouts and, even on some occasions, light drifting.
• Affordable and Aspirational- The Innova line-up was always within reach of the middle and upper middle class. Moreover, the proven Toyota reliability and efficiency meant that the Innova was more akin to an investment of sorts and less like a liability. This was reflected in Toyota's advertising material, which initially depicted families on long trips. But the recent promotional material for the Hycross in Indonesia[1] has the car placed in a corporate and executive world, with tech-savvy business individuals, a far cry from the original demography.

Why the Hycross is a massive departure from what we know and love.

It has a Monocoque chassis, front-wheel drive, and, most notably, a petrol hybrid drive train. The Innova Hycross is a radical departure from what we are accustomed to. The Innova Hycross is India's first mass-market people carrier to ditch the Diesel in favour of an all-gasoline line-up. With the price of Petrol at an eyewatering Rs 110 in most metro cities[2], it is no wonder why the lack of Diesel is raising many eyebrows. This brings me to the mileage aspect; petrol cars return far less than their Diesel counterparts. Even with the hybrid setup, one must only wonder what the real-world mileage must be. Autocar India recently conducted a test between electric, petrol, petrol-hybrid, and diesel, and diesel was still the undisputed winner in terms of efficiency[3].

Granted, a new generation brings a whole host of goodies, features, safety and refinement. But this does come at a cost, too. What made the Innova great was the many large families who took a leap of faith in 2006, trusting this unfamiliar name and paying a large sum in the hopes of a reliable and safe mode of transportation. The Innova lived up to this in leaps and bounds. But we now stand at a time when the Innova Hycross is simply above the purchasing means of many of the original buyers. It’s a bittersweet moment because it was the original customers of Innova that gave it the much-needed success that brought us here.

What about Highway performance- the Innova is synonymous with being a mile muncher, taking many passengers' vast distances in great comfort. But will the adaptation of electric batteries and petrol engines truly be able to replace this tried and tested formula of efficiency and power? Long-term- we are all too familiar with the batteries in our appliances depleting and degrading over time. The same will be applicable here; when 10-15 years into ownership, the batteries are no longer at maximum capacity, increasing the load and reducing the efficiency of the petrol engine[4].

The Hycross is many times more complex mechanically than the last two iterations of the Innova. This means that for any maintenance, technical glitch or even repair, the standard crop of mechanics and garages which serviced the bare-bone Innova will just not be able to cut the mustard. The Hycross means the owner will be more dependent on Toyota post the delivery of the car. With regards to the monocoque chassis, only time will tell if it can live unto the robust reputation of its predecessors.

Concluding remark- What does this all represent for us

“Change in all things is sweet”- Aristotle; but we truly never brace ourselves for what is around the horizon. This sentiment has been echoed throughout most of human history, but if it wasn’t for the great pioneers and explorers that pushed the envelope of what we know and understand, we would all still be hunter-gatherers foraging for scraps of meat to get by. The Hycross is a beacon of mass change in a more conscious world. It represents the norm that maybe the future is one of symbiotic existence with mother Earth and our own needs, And maybe, this future will be just as, if not more, exhilarating.

My thoughts on the Hycross are less to do with the car itself and more with the times we are at. The combustion engine and human consumption are at a crossroads with our desires and responsibility. The Hycross is just an adaptation to the times, keeping in tune with what is expected. I am sure it will be a splendid car to drive and a dependable car to own, but I can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness at the end of the Innova era. The current motto of Toyota is an apt way to end my short write up, and that is “Toyota, Let’s go beyond”. Like anything in life, it’s time to bid adieu, break out of our comfort zones and go beyond.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

IMHO, this was a master-stroke from Toyota. They took the Innova upmarket (top variant is 37-lakhs OTR Mumbai), more personal-owner friendly and got in Hybrid tech. Not for nothing was the Innova Hycross the Team-BHP Car of 2023 (with 32% of BHPian votes).

An excerpt of my post on the thread:

I was & am torn between the Innova Hycross & Ioniq 5.

Innova Hycross because of the manufacturer's guts to break convention & change the formula from a body-on-frame diesel to a monocoque hybrid-petrol. The 30 - 40 lakh segment really offers you all the car you need in life, be it in terms of power, space, features etc. and the Innova Hycross stands testament to that. It's handsome looking, has likeable interiors, rides & handles well for an MPV, offers stunning fuel economy (hybrid), has a healthy boot even with the 3rd row up and is fast as well! 0 - 100 in 9.xx seconds. IMHO, it is a superior car to the Fortuner and some other more expensive SUVs.

In the end, I have voted for the Innova Hycross over the Ioniq 5. Reason, market relevance (thousands of units sold each month versus a hundred) and I do believe hybrids are "today's" solution to many problems. EV tech remains a pipe dream for a majority of our market. Hybrids can happily co-exist with ICE cars on one hand and EVs on the other for a long time to come.

Here's what BHPian Torquepull had to say on the matter:

Hycross success can be attributed to blocking Crysta's sales initially, then launching Crysta in MT only avatar and then increasing it's prices higher than usual.

My cousin bought Hycross recently, he is not satisfied with highway performance. He says he would've gone for Crysta with MT also, if only he took a TD of Hycross on highway. Fuel economy takes a massive hit with spirited driving, high ARAI mileage misleaded him into expecting 20+ mileage but in reality he has been getting only 10-12kpl on long distance trips.

Hycross is a compromise. If Toyota launched it with diesel engine with the same package, it would sell more and there won't be a need for Crysta to co-exist.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.