[dhinchak]

Can someone confirm the battery cost in a strong hybrid? Is it really 2.5 lakh? If yes, then that is a deal breaker for me.

[Audik75]

Originally Posted by dhinchak

Can someone confirm the battery cost in a strong hybrid? Is it really 2.5 lakh? If yes, then that is a deal breaker for me.

2.5L is the number floated in India but I believe one shouldn’t go by this factor as a deterrent. These batteries have been known to work even 15 years if you read reviews of Toyota hybrids and the manufacturers offer 8 year warranty in India which is pretty decent. By this yardstick, EVs shouldn’t sell at all given the battery costs will be significantly more in that use case. One doesn’t know which way the battery cost will go in 8 years assuming we hit a failure immediately after warranty - it may be a lot less (if we consider the way electronics prices trend.

My rationale is that one doesn’t base a buying decision on a failure factor that has a (low?) probability of occurrence after 8 years (@10% of the buying cost). We probably will spend way more on consumables during this period and our life patterns would change in this period hence not seeing this as a decision altering factor.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by dhinchak

Can someone confirm the battery cost in a strong hybrid? Is it really 2.5 lakh? If yes, then that is a deal breaker for me.

Yes, it should be around that mark. Toyota takes a hefty margin on these batteries. And they enjoy monopoly here as well since there is no alternative that a customer can choose. Even if there is one, they will use fear mongering to prevent such thoughts.

[d-g-p]

Originally Posted by dhinchak

Can someone confirm the battery cost in a strong hybrid? Is it really 2.5 lakh? If yes, then that is a deal breaker for me.

EV and Hybrid are still evolving technology. More so in Indian context. We do not know what happens after 6-7 years. At the rate changes taking place over last 2-3 years for EV, Mild Hybrid, flex fuel, Hydrogen fuel, I guess plug in Hybrid is also on cards. Prices of battery or any other parts or accessory might increase or decrease after 8-10 years based on actual demand. Toyota and Maruti are providing 8 years warranty on battery. I dont think we should make it a deal breaker as current prices are likely to decrease with battery demand likely to rise in all probability and prices going down. However we know there is a cost after 8-10 years for battery replacement. There is a cost of tyre replacement for all cars as well !!
If the running is high (15-20k km per year or above) and most part of it inside City limits, Hybrids would make sense.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by dhinchak

Can someone confirm the battery cost in a strong hybrid? Is it really 2.5 lakh? If yes, then that is a deal breaker for me.

It should be around this ballpark figure considering the 2015 Camry Hybrid battery pack replacement cost in 2021 mentioned in this post (Driven: Toyota Camry Hybrid). The 2015 Camry battery pack is 245v 1.6kwh where as Hyryder/GV strong hybrid battery pack is 177v 0.7kwh, but the former is NiMH and the latter Lithium Ion which is more expensive. So I do not expect the hybrid battery pack to cost less than 1.5L bare minimum.

[SDx]

I am no expert but 2.5L for 0.76 kWh battery seems a bit excessive. With mass production and battery tech advancing everyday, I am hopeful the cost will come down in future. Toyota is offering 8 years warranty on the battery which given the the researchers enough time .

With that being said, I checked out Hyryder display car yesterday. It was displayed in the open and looked massive to me. Good thing? Bad thing? Depends on one's perspective. For me this is a negative, I am in the market for a compact car for the busy roads of Delhi. Rear seat is indeed small, the couple who sat in the rear seat before me were a bit on the heavier side and I was doubtful that my 8 yr old niece would fit in between them. Headroom is also scarce for a tall person at the rear seat.

Eagerly waiting for the test drives to start so that I can take the final call.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Sankar

It should be around this ballpark figure considering the 2015 Camry Hybrid battery pack replacement cost in 2021 mentioned in this post (Driven: Toyota Camry Hybrid). The 2015 Camry battery pack is 245v 1.6kwh where as Hyryder/GV strong hybrid battery pack is 177v 0.7kwh, but the former is NiMH and the latter Lithium Ion which is more expensive. So I do not expect the hybrid battery pack to cost less than 1.5L bare minimum.

2021 Yaris 1.5L 0.76 kwh Hybrid's used/salvaged battery back costs 1000 to 1200 Euros in Europe.

[OpenRoads]

Originally Posted by dhinchak

Can someone confirm the battery cost in a strong hybrid? Is it really 2.5 lakh? If yes, then that is a deal breaker for me.

That is the price for battery quoted by the dealer to scare me into buying insurance from them. And I believe even if its not exactly 2.5 lakhs it would be still be close to 1.5 - 2 lakhs.

But that shouldn't be the only factor or question..

1. If the battery goes bad within 8 years then its covered under warranty.
2. If there is issue after 8 years then will it cost 2 lakhs to repair? Probably not because
a. This is not a single big battery but a pack of smaller individual units. Maybe replacing couple of them would do the job.
b. Cost of this kind of batteries should go lower based on innovation, EV uprising and recent investment by Suzuki to manufacture batteries in India. And guess who has tied up with Toyota as parts suppliers.. sorry I meant technology partners..

Variables are endless and so are the possibilities..

[OpenRoads]

Originally Posted by SDx

For me this is a negative, I am in the market for a compact car for the busy roads of Delhi. Rear seat is indeed small, the couple who sat in the rear seat before me were a bit on the heavier side and I was doubtful that my 8 yr old niece would fit in between them.

Do you happen to know a more compact automatic vehicle with better rear seat experience?

[rr06]

Saw the Hyryder today at Millenium Toyota, Thane. They are planning to start test drives from tomorrow. Some points I noticed:

• Looks pretty good in red in person.
• Boot space is not that bad. I took a stroller to test the boot space. I could easily fit it in, with some space left for couple of cabin bags at the bag.
• Rear seat headspace is really bad.
• Roof liners are of really poor quality.

[SDx]

Originally Posted by OpenRoads

Do you happen to know a more compact automatic vehicle with better rear seat experience?

IMO Creta has better space in second row.
If we look at sub 4 meter segment, XUV300 and Brezza/Urban Cruiser. Since Brezza has good space I somehow expected the same from Hyryder.

I would have happily opted for XUV300 if it had a Torque Convert instead of AutoShift.

[OpenRoads]

Can anyone please help me with below questions on
1. How Hyundai Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT) different than Toyota eCVT?
2. Is there any advantage or disadvantage of one over the other?
3. Is the performance same in terms of response, smoothness or lag? If different then by how much?
4. Which one is more reliable and costlier if needed to be repaired or replaced?
5. Finally, if both are CVTs then how IVT have paddle shifters and eCVT don't.

[extreme_torque]

This thread has a lot of misinformation, basically from the lack of knowledge about the Toyota hybrid system, which is understandable since its their first launch in India. For reference, my daily drive is a Lexus RX450h, a hybrid with a 3.5L V6 engine and I get 14-15kmpl easily in city driving. Infact I filled it up yesterday and I got 15.2 kmpl. For another reference, my previous daily drive was another Lexus RX350 with the same Petrol V6 and I used to get 8-9 kmpl in the city and around 10-11 on the highways. The Hybrid is almost twice as efficienct in the city.


Ask me questions if you have any. As for whether you should go for it or not, I'd say just go for it.

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

This thread has a lot of misinformation, basically from the lack of knowledge

Please call out the misinformation and the corresponding correct information as per your understanding. Thanks.

[smilingakash]

Guys, the Hyryder is now widely available at most Toyota dealerships. So take a stroll and observe the underpinnings.

I spent 20 mins with the vehicle with my family over the weekend. Observed the top model 'V' variant which I have booked.

Exterior- I was amazed by how long the car is. Proportionate and loved its commanding presence. The car will not disappoint you on this front. I was wondering for such a long and wide car why the interior looks cramped.

Interior

1. Rear seat- 4 full size adults and a Pint-Sized child or 3 Petite Adults at best.

2. Boot- We all know it was small. However, if you are willing to keep the parcel tray and battery tray at home, the space is just about passable. For a family of four on a 1 week trip, there will always be a bag or two on the rear seat.

3. Cabin-- Looks compact and gives a feeling of less room. However, the leg room is very decent.

4. Interior-- Electronics from Maruti, but seats and soft touch design elements have been borrowed from Fortuner/Innova.

5. Instrument Cluster- Impressive, the top-variant will not disappoint you here.

6. Music System- Could not make out much, but SA mentioned of a superior quality music system on the top model.

Test Drive & Availability

Test Drive- Should be available by next week. They were sending vehicles to stockyard . Uttam Toyota had 3 colors available when I arrived, they kept one for display and had plans to send rest to stock yard.

Allotment- I booked really early (Earlier than the official launch). As a matter of fact, I only paid 11K as booking amount.
Mine was Dual Tone Enticing Silver+ Black roof. Had some doubts on the color when we saw the dirty and muddied car. The SA (Navin) was very helpful, he got the car cleaned and we were sold on the color combination.

We were told, our model and color combination is 2nd on the list (Only one other potential buyer had booked the same combination earlier with the dealer). High chance of getting the car in the 1st allotment itself and delivery could happen in this month only At max, should get it in the next allotment.
According to SA, there is one allotment to them every month. Under each allotment, they get a fix number of cars+color combination by Toyota.

Will do a test drive next week. As long as the car has decent low end torque, good suspension & handling and is able to negotiate initial acceleration, then I am satisfied. On Indian roads, I am not a fan on overtaking with triple digit speeds.