Toyota Innova Hycross

Not Just a People Mover

Following in the footsteps of the Qualis, the Toyota Innova took the Indian market by storm when it was first launched in 2005. Since then, the Innova moniker has received several updates, but the latest one — the Innova Hycross — is the most changed. It is a ground up new MPV, with a different platform underpinning it, different drivetrain moving it, and a host of new features keeping the passengers comfortable. Does it still have the Innova DNA that Indian buyers love? Let’s find out.

Toyota Innova Hycross Pros and Cons 

Toyota Innova Hycross Exterior Design 

You can tell at a glance that the Innova Hycross is larger than all older Innovas. The design is now more muscular, and the Hycross looks like it is trying to be an SUV. The only factor which takes away from this is the small wheels. Base variants of the Hycross get tiny 16-inch wheels with skinny 205/65 section tyres. Even the larger R17 and R18 wheels with 215 and 225 mm wide tyres on the mid and top variants respectively look small, and don’t fill out the wheel arches well. 

Up front, the Innova Hycross has a very imposing stance, with a huge hexagonal grille taking centre stage. The Toyota badge sits proudly in the middle of the grille, and it is also underlined with a U-shaped chrome insert. In fact, there’s plenty of chrome used throughout, including inserts in the pseudo fog lamp housings, lower down in the bumper, along the shoulder lines, and underlining the rear windscreen. LED DRL strips sit in the fog lamp housings instead of fog lamps themselves, and double up as turn indicators. 

The Hycross also gets elegantly designed LED headlights, and the fog lights sit flanking the air dam in the bumper. Overall, the Innova Hycross looks very elegant and upmarket, and justifies its price tag.

Toyota Innova Hycross Interiors 

Unlike the Crysta — which was underpinned by a ladder-frame chassis — the Toyota Innova Hycross is based on Toyota’s TNGA monocoque platform. This allows the Hycross to have a lower floor, making cabin access much easier. The interior is a significant improvement over the Crysta too, with rich looking brown and black upholstery. Having said that, the quality of certain plastics is poor, which takes away from the experience. Physical buttons for key functions like drive modes and climate control are welcome additions. 

The Hycross has significantly improved on the interior space of the already roomy 
Innova Crysta, thanks to the new platform. All three rows get plenty of space, and the boot space with all the rows up is also big enough for a few bags. The Hycross also gets an electric tailgate in higher variants which adds to the convenience.

Toyota Innova Hycross Comfort 

Apart from the top-end variants which only get captain seats in the middle row, you can opt for either captain seats or bench seats for the middle row. If you choose captain seats, you get part-electric seats with electrically adjustable recline angle and ottomans. There’s generous legroom in the middle row, but if you want to fully recline the seat and raise the ottomans, you will have to push the front seats forward to liberate space for your feet. 

Middle row passengers also get window shades, separate climate control, and a foldable tray between the captain seats which houses cupholders. Panoramic sunroof also adds to the sense of space in the already roomy cabin. Access to the third row is easy, and it offers great levels of space and comfort too.

In the interest of highway stability, Toyota has slightly compromised the comfort levels of the Hycross. The suspension has a hint of stiffness, and it doesn’t round off bumps and potholes as well as the Crysta. The larger wheels in the Hycross’ top variants come at the expense of tyre profile, and the thin profiled tyres make the ride slightly more jarring. While driving over rough roads is slightly worse, where the Hycross excels is in highway cruising. The stiffer suspension keeps the body movements in check, and the MPV stays planted at cruising speeds.

Toyota Innova Hycross Performance and Handling

Apart from liberating room inside, switching from the ladder-frame chassis to the monocoque has helped in the way the Hycross handles too. The longer wheelbase, the narrower track, and the better structural rigidity aids the dynamics and manoeuvrability, and has also made parking the huge MPV easy. Adding to this is the new electric power steering, which replaces the heavier hydraulic unit. The body roll has also reduced thanks to the stiffer suspension.

Powering the Toyota Innova Hycross is a choice of two powertrains — a pure petrol and a hybrid — with the same engine at heart. The 2.0-litre in-line 4 cylinder petrol engine runs on different cycles in the two powertrains. While the petrol only unit runs the Otto cycle — which is seen in most road cars in the market — the hybrid engine runs on a more efficient Atkinson cycle, which trades power for fuel efficiency. The electrical assist makes up for the loss in power, and while the hybrid’s combined power and torque figures are slightly higher, it also has significantly better fuel efficiency. The petrol unit has below average fuel efficiency, which will make running this big MPV a pricey affair, but the hybrid engine has a claimed fuel economy of 23.24 km/l! That is higher than even some B-segment hatchbacks and it translates well to real world figures too, returning between 14-20 km/l depending on the driving conditions. The hybrid engine can also drive the Hycross on electrical power only, greatly improving fuel efficiency in traffic. Both powertrains offer brisk and linear performance, leaving no room for complaints. However, the CVT gearbox does make the engines sound strained when pushed hard — especially the non-hybrid — forcing you to adopt a sedate driving style.

Toyota Innova Hycross Key specifications 

Toyota Innova Hycross Safety Features

Toyota cars are known for their impeccable reliability, and a lot of it comes for the built quality, which in turn also helps the overall safety of the cabin. And the story is no different with the Hycross. It is yet to receive a Global NCAP crash test rating, but it does pack a lot of safety features, and the new TNGA monocoque platform promises better safety too. The list of safety features include six airbags, ABS, EBD, and several ADAS features, including lane trace assist, dynamic radar cruise control, rear cross traffic alert, pre-collision system, auto high beam, and a blind spot monitor.

Toyota Innova Hycross Technology and Infotainment

The Innova Hycross gets a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment unit at the centre of the dash, which looks a tad small in the huge cabin. The unit gets wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but the overall interface and resolution feels outdated. There’s also a semi-digital instrument cluster with a 7-inch screen and analog dials flanking it. The instrument cluster screen shows a lot of nifty information, including the displays for the hybrid systems on the hybrid variants. Overall though, for its price, the Innova Hycross does come across as a little under equipped, but most of the features do their job well.

Is the Toyota Innova Hycross for you?

The Toyota Innova has been the go to family MPV for many Indians for decades. It once offered incredible value for money, and there was no other vehicle that fit the family MPV bill better. But owning an Innova now has become a pricey affair, with top-end variants costing well over ₹30 lakh. And there are capable rivals like the Mahindra XUV700 as well. But despite that, the Innova moniker continues to reign in India. The MPV wearing the name is now wildly different from the original, but so are its buyers. In its new luxurious and sizable avatar, Toyota has set out attracting a completely new set of customers, who are ready to pay the premium for the Toyota badge. It is incredibly spacious, comfortable, reliable, and now fuel efficient too (in the hybrid), leaving it with few cons that you can easily overlook.