[reppy]

Originally Posted by shabash

The price difference between the 2 top-end versions is 1.9 lakhs. As per announcements, the mild hybrid will return about 20 Km/l and strong hybrid will return 28 Km/l. That translates to not more than 2 Rs. variation in running cost. That means it will take a buyer about 100K Kms to nullify the price.

The mileage claim is not by ARAI in case of strong hybrid, so we cannot compare as usual. I think the more logical approach would be to compare the features difference and account for that also. Strong hybrid will give you ventilated seats - a must have in the summers of Delhi at least! I also think that if you have more of in city driving, the strong hybrid will easily outperform the mild hybrid and bring down the ROI period quickly.

[Audik75]

Originally Posted by reppy

I also think that if you have more of in city driving, the strong hybrid will easily outperform the mild hybrid and bring down the ROI period quickly.

Agree. The strong hybrid is expected to perform better in city driving conditions and payback will be faster than 10 years.

Another relevant comparison is to diesels where there is a difference of ~1.5L to the Korean cousins. Breakeven in this case will be around 75K kilometers assuming INR 2 savings per kilometer. Simple thumb rule I am using is fuel efficiency in real world at 80% of ARAI figures and petrol / diesel at 104 and 95. The strong hybrid buying rationale in a strict sense cannot be seen only in financial terms as a payback of 6+ years is not a worthy investment especially given the power ratios and fit-and-finish cannot be equated to the Korean or German cars.

Then who is the target buyer?

IMO, this is a car that's probably for:
1. Customers who have primarily city driving conditions to deal with.
2. Sedate drivers who rarely drive in triple digit speed on highways.
3. People seeking the peace of mind associated with the Maruti / Toyota cars (not that there are no gripes)
4. Petrolheads (one can include the NCR folks also here I guess)
5. Someone thinking they are environmental conscious but are hesitant to go with electric cars now given the readiness of infrastructure
6. Last but not the least, the moolah to spend 20L + on a hybrid

[OpenRoads]

Q. Is the strong Hybrid more efficient than the mild Hybrid version?
Absolutely. Based on your ride the savings would vary from 5-10 km/l but it would be difficult to reach breakeven cost.

Q. So, Does paying the extra premium for Hybrid justifiable?
If you are considering savings through milage then only to a certain extent and not justified at all.
However if you consider 15BHP additional power, smooth eCVT, better center of gravity due to battery pack and then the hybrid tech then it does make sense in the age of EVs.

Better tech is always reserved for the riches and developed world due to its affordability. Even if this tech is available in developed markets for quite sometime it would have been a failure in developing countries like ours due to limited spending capability of mass market. That is why even today SUZUKI is undefeated champion in the top selling segment not because of quality or technology but affordability.

Over years Toyota have optimized the cost of Hybrid tech and with Suzuki they are able to bring it down further which will definitely create a competition for others to provide similar tech at lower prices.

Even today long range performance EVs cost 40-50 lakhs+ which is reserved for premium segment. But someday that tech would be cheaper and will be achievable for mass market consumers. Till that day comes I believe strong hybrid definitely makes sense.

[rahulcmoulee]

Originally Posted by rahulcmoulee

Was told by Ravindu Toyota that test drives would begin yesterday but was informed that vehicles have arrived at stockyard but are awaiting RTO approval before test drives can start. They are expecting test drives to begin from Friday. Initially only Hybrid variant will be available. Mild Hybrid not expected till mid October.

Test drives postponed to next week due to delays at RTO owing to navaratri. Meanwhile Nexa has mild hybrid variants available for display and test drive. Toyota has made a mess out of the whole situation.

[TT-S]

Originally Posted by rahulcmoulee

Test drives postponed to next week due to delays at RTO owing to navaratri. Meanwhile Nexa has mild hybrid variants available for display and test drive. Toyota has made a mess out of the whole situation.

I have a feeling that the strong hybrid power train still have issues to be ironed out. Hence the test mules seen even after launch. Some of the reviewers mentioned that Toyota's engineers were shadowing the review cars everywhere they went, probably to ensure no issues during review. Just a guess.

[KL01toKA03]

Any idea about the battery warranty for the hybrid version? If there is any problem, will they replace the battery at zero cost, or would it be on a pro rata basis like usual car batteries?

[saisree]

@Vid6639, you test drove both the strong hybrids Honda City eHEV and the Hyryder. What is your take on both the drive trains and their behaviors?

[ajayc123]

Just noticed that MG imay also be coming with a strong Hybrid and may launch in India in 2023 as per this article.

As demand for electric cars and hybrids increase, MG Hector Strong Hybrid is likely to be launched in India. Wuling Almaz Hybrid is expected to launch in Indonesia in October, though. One can hope the Hector strong hybrid comes to India sometime next year.

https://www.rushlane.com/2023-mg-hec...-12450381.html

[84.monsoon]

I feel one cannot calculate number of years to break-even etc. simply based on current prices of petrol. In July 2017, the price of petrol was Rs. 63 per litre. By July 2022, it is well over Rs. 100 per litre. So, a nearly 60% increase in 6 years. Other commodities would have gone up by 35% over the same period, as inflation has been averaging at 5% in this time. So inflation of petrol is almost 2x the inflation of everything else in the last 6 years and this trend will definitely continue as the Ukraine crisis continues unabated and promises to be long term crisis. So over a 10 year life-span we would be under-valuing the fuel efficiency gains if we just used today's fuel prices to compare strong hybrid and normal cars. For the strong hybrid you pay the cost differential upfront and it is clear and tangible what the additional cost is. Whereas the additional benefit will happen over a span of time, that is probably going to see very high fuel prices and I would not be surprised if over this time, petrol touches Rs. 200 per litre. So the break-even for the Hyryder strong hybrid over equivalent petrol or diesel models from competitors may happen a lot faster than many of us an imagine today.

[RRU]

Display Vehicle - strong Hybrid V (Red-black dual tone) - available in Nandi Toyota - TD not started for want of RTO regn. TD will likely start next weekend.

MSIL's GV is also available, but only for display. They too haven't started TD.

[poloslg]

Can’t help but notice the fact that almost in all major cities there are reports of vehicles reaching the dealerships and that no dealer is providing test drives yet. Each dealer is coming up with the same excuse of RTO registration. Similar is the gase with the GV, which is only available for test drives in the mild hybrid avatar.

Are there any issues with the Strong Hybrid which Toyota is waiting to iron out. Seems fishy!

[Cruzn]

Originally Posted by RRU

Display Vehicle - strong Hybrid V (Red-black dual tone) - available in Nandi Toyota - TD not started for want of RTO regn. TD will likely start next weekend.

MSIL's GV is also available, but only for display. They too haven't started TD.

Could you please confirm the branches both the Hyryder & GV are displayed at?
When I checked the Queens Road location, they told me Oct 9th and Nexa on Banaswadi said they only have the Mild Hybrid variant on display.

[Cruzn]

Originally Posted by rahulcmoulee

Meanwhile Nexa has mild hybrid variants available for display and test drive. Toyota has made a mess out of the whole situation.

On the GV thread, deliveries are all set to begin in 10 days. I agree, Toyota need to get their act together and quick!

[tjsi]

I've been seeing MG hectors with strong hybrid badges everywhere. Thought I was dreaming.

As far as break even goes, yes i wouldn't call it break even, rather fuel cost savings if you're coming from a less efficient daily driven car. For a person like me who drives 80kms every day a hybrid car would save a good amount of 'moolah'. (picked up this new word on this forum, let me know if I'm using it correct)
Did the math and even if I get a 24 or 25kmpl on the Hyryder (my Honda City shows between 12.5-13.5 between every fill up) it'll be less than half of what I've spent running my City in the last 4 years of ownership, unless, God forbid the fuel prices were to go up to ₹200/L.

[ajayc123]

If you are daily driving mostly in the city,as you say 80 km, and you can have charging infrastructure setup at home, then you can literally roll in the "moolah" by getting an EV. Otherwise SHEV is a strong contender for your use case.