[bhavye.31]

Having driven our Hector in the past 2 years for over 25k kms, I would recommend it over the competition especially for your needs. It offers abundance of space and a relaxed ride. It would be a perfect companion for your road trips and your kids will appreciate the MG's interiors a lot more than the Innova.

[Chetan_Rao]

Take an extended test drive of a Carens. Top-end diesel and turbo petrol are both 17L ex showroom (pricing announced today), so under 20L on road in most parts of the country, and it's a terrific package that checks all your boxes, for significantly less money than an Innova.

Refinement and dynamics, it's significantly better than the Innova. On reliability, I tend to agree most modern cars provide a baseline level of it, so that alone shouldn't be a deal-breaker unless a specific model has known issues.

[RoadTiger]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Take an extended test drive of a Carens. Top-end diesel and turbo petrol are both 17L ex showroom (pricing announced today), so under 20L on road in most parts of the country, and it's a terrific package that checks all your boxes, for significantly less money than an Innova.

Refinement and dynamics, it's significantly better than the Innova. On reliability, I tend to agree most modern cars provide a baseline level of it, so that alone shouldn't be a deal-breaker unless a specific model has known issues.

Thanks, Chetan_Rao.

I did an initial 30 min test drive of the Carens Diesel AT earlier today (before pricing was announced). The Team-bhp review is spot on - special thanks for a detailed, very accurate view of the Carens.

What I liked about the drive :
- Blown away by the NVH package and ride quality on offer. I was driving a diesel - and my wife had a moment of disbelief to know it wasnt a petrol. Very refined engine, barely audible at speed of 50 to 80 kmph. The road, wind and traffic noise was very well controlled. NVH is one of the strongest points

- The comfortable ride quality which was the best I've experienced in a long time. I went over some rough patches & bumps and the Carens handled them so well without letting the passengers experience much of the imperfections.

- This did not compromise on high-speed handling - I did a few gentle curves at about 90-100 kph and the composure was near car-like. Perhaps serious ghats at speeds might lead to significant body roll - but for normal conditions (99.9% of time), the ride and handling package felt really well balanced. Felt like the handling was far superior to what I experienced in Hector Plus, while the ride quality was similar - perhaps felt marginally better in the Carens (16 inch 65 profile rubber in Carens vs 18 inch 60 profile in Hector Plus helping too)

- The engine gearbox combo is nice with good driveability. The AT was smooth and not hunting for gears, but a little laggy as with any AT. Plan to drive a manual too - to see if the drive experience is significantly better and the engine feels 'punchier'. Did 100-105 at about 2000 rpm and the engine didnt feel strained at all, with 3 adults on-board. Felt a moderate reserve of power remaining at that speed - so I am guessing that, with a near-full load on-board, the engine should be fine till 110 kph or so and perhaps a little 'hard pushed' post that

- The steering was fine, easy to drive, did weigh up ok at higher speeds - Not an enthusiast's steering but felt mainstream enough to drive without any serious complaints from it

What I felt could be better was the response time of the touchscreen unit and the sound quality from the Bose system was average (not special). The music system is where the Hector Plus is perhaps the best of the lot

More to assess !

[RoadTiger]

Originally Posted by bhavye.31

Having driven our Hector in the past 2 years for over 25k kms, I would recommend it over the competition especially for your needs. It offers abundance of space and a relaxed ride. It would be a perfect companion for your road trips and your kids will appreciate the MG's interiors a lot more than the Innova.

Thanks, bhavye.31.

Would love to hear feedback from Hector/ Hector Plus owners about :

1. Touchscreen reliability - little concerned that practically everything incl. AC in the vehicle is driven by the touchscreen/ voice commands. Any issues encountered - other than perhaps the slightly laggy screen ?

2. Body roll/ stability at high-speeds - At speeds of 100 or so, am wondering how the body roll is - does it reduce the confidence at those speeds if one needs to make a quick turn (e.g. animal in front of you) or in the event of braking at those speeds ?

3. Its not been GNCAP tested - but the car does feel more robust, sheet metal thickness seems good - plus packs in all/most safety features esp in the top versions. Any feedback on "safety" perceived ?

[bhavye.31]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

Thanks, bhavye.31.

Would love to hear feedback from Hector/ Hector Plus owners about :

1. Touchscreen reliability - little concerned that practically everything incl. AC in the vehicle is driven by the touchscreen/ voice commands. Any issues encountered - other than perhaps the slightly laggy screen ?

2. Body roll/ stability at high-speeds - At speeds of 100 or so, am wondering how the body roll is - does it reduce the confidence at those speeds if one needs to make a quick turn (e.g. animal in front of you) or in the event of braking at those speeds ?

3. Its not been GNCAP tested - but the car does feel more robust, sheet metal thickness seems good - plus packs in all/most safety features esp in the top versions. Any feedback on "safety" perceived ?

Happy to help!
I'll answer your queries in the same order:

1. Adjusting AC temperature or blower speed does feel a bit cumbersome when driving especially because you have to take your eyes off the road to do that. But on the other side, that big screen does come in handy when connected to apple carplay.

2. The ride feels stable at 100-120 on highways. Breaks are pretty good and they do shed speed comfortably. Regarding body roll, you will feel quite a lot of it at high speeds. I have driven my cousin's Innova crysta a lot and i would say you might feel a bit more body roll in the Hector as compared to Innova at highway speeds.

3. Yes it has not been tested but perceived quality is great imo. All the body panels have great heft. It feels a lot better built than Hyundai's and Kia's offerings in the same segment and on par with the Crysta. I haven't had any issue with the car or rattling issues in the last 2 years.

[RoadTiger]

Update on test drives with these 3 that are in the priority set.

1. Toyota Innova
To summarize, great vehicle, lots of positives, great build quality - but not what I am looking for. Why?
- Overall refinement of the engine left something to be desired
- NVH levels overall in the cabin were not great - road noise etc coming through
- Overall ride quality was decent. However, was not cushy at all. At city speeds could largely feel the road surface at all times - which felt very utility oriented vehicle-like
- Horizontal movement (thanks to body and frame) while seated in the captain seats was annoying
- Taxi image rankles the better half

Ruled this out. So, focusing on comparing the other two contenders that I drove back to back for about 30 mins each on the same route - that included an ghat-like incline with curves, a few bad patches, busy city roads and a stretch where you could do 100+ in a straight line on a flat surface.

2. Comparo of Hector Plus vs Kia Carens

Test drove the Diesel MT for both for an accurate picture. Let me acknowledge that it can be a bit of an unfair comparison - given the Hector Plus diesel top end is at the 20 lac ex-showroom mark, while the Carens is around 16.2 (for manual, for a like to like comparison).

I had test driven the Hector Plus previously many months back - and the Kia Carens diesel AT more recently. So, knew generally what to expect well - and allowed me to focus more keenly on the overall experience.

Engine
Hector's was the fabulous 2L Fiat engine, fairly refined, punchy, never short of power, brought a smile on my face multiple times during the drive. Engine at 100 to 110 kmph felt relaxed, like it could easily do a whole lot more without getting out of breath. I could easily see this beast blasting away at insane speeds on a smooth highway (I would rarely do that - but could get tempted once in a while, with this engine)

Carens was the 1.5 - was smooth, refined, and not lacking power necessarily - adequate would best describe it. The kind that would move you well from point A to B without complaint - but just not a punchy, powerful engine, that would satisfy someone who enjoys driving. Engine at 100 to 110 kmph was fine and not strained

Gearbox
Both gearboxes were well-mated, smooth, easy to operate, clutch felt fine (not hard). Both were fairly tractable - could move you along well - without the need to change gears too much in city traffic. The Carens were the slightly lighter of the two

Ride Quality
Both cars are really high up there in terms of a cushy comfortable ride - esp over rough road surfaces, bad quality of roads at lower speeds. The Hector felt just a tad bit better here overall - and esp when going over deeper potholes at slow speeds. Also felt more planted - with the higher weight - at speeds in a straight line. Didnt experience any "wallowing" in the drivers seat - at least on the fairly flat stretch I did. Could be different on an undulating surface - if I could guess

NVH
Again both are perhaps among the best in the 3-row vehicle category across price points - in terms of NVH. Hardly any road, tyre noise and minimal traffic noise. The Hector's engine note - esp when driven enthusiastically - does filter in, but sounds actually nice to add to the experience of the 'rush of power'. Hector felt marginally better in keeping traffic noise out - perhaps better quality of glass windows (more on that later)

Seating position
Hector's commanding seating position gives you a true-blue SUV-feel, lording over the road, you could see over other cars in front of you. Carens was very car/ Ertiga like - you were seated lower than the Hector - plus the dashboard seems higher in Carens. No comparison here - Hector is close to SUV, Carens is a MUV

Steering
Both are very easy to operate - but the Hector's felt a tad more weighed up at all speeds. Neither felt unnerving at higher speeds - Carens felt a little bit lighter. Hector has a slight edge esp at highway speeds


Build Quality
The Hector Plus test drive vehicle had done 13K - while the Carens 1K.
The door thud, sheet metal quality, interior quality was markedly better in the Hector Plus. There were absolutely no squeaks, random sounds emanating from the cabin and had I not looked at the ODO, this may have felt mint-fresh.
I took a very close look at the Carens esp with comments from other T-BHPians. The metal thickness was certainly nowhere as good as the Hector. The window glass did vibrate on the car in the showroom as well as in my TD vehicle - it was thinner than most cars, incl the Hector. Additionally, there was some minor squeaky sound in the Carens - I couldnt figure out but my suspicion was the rear captain seats. Also, I looked closely at the seat quality - and in the Carens, the thickness/ robustness of the art leather used was inferior - at one place, near the headrest, it had begun peeling away. Not inspiring for a car barely a month old.

Body roll
The Hector was fine at low speeds on ghat-like inclines but at high speed, even on a straight road was less inspiring to corner or change lanes quickly esp due to the high seating position. The Carens left no such complaints at any speeds - felt good, solid, planted - with very acceptable body roll for an MUV

Music System
No comparison here - The Hector was better than the Carens' in terms of clarity of output

My overall drive experience was simply that - the Hector felt a segment higher than the Carens - a more premium experience in terms of engine, build, quality of visible stuff. A more butch SUV-like, engaging, fun drive experience. Body roll at high speeds isnt inspiring.

The Carens scores high on practicality - with its significantly better managed space for third row and boot. Also, on comfort-oriented features like sun blinds, more storage space, seat back tray, air purifier etc

[Ram35]

Hi

Blindly invest in the G model of Innova Crysta and add the features you need in the aftermarket.

I had Innova V 7 seater for 8 years and did Highway driving of 1.30 lakh kilometers.

There was no break down, no service issues and had the best comfort.

We have travelled, half the India in It, both on work and personal drives.

It is expensive, but worth it.

Thank you

[itsmeparvathy9]

As far as 7 seaters go there is nothing in the market that you can rely on as much as the Innova Crysta, but if that's not what you're looking for, and you are on a comparison with the Carens and the Hector, the Hector should be the one you should be going for as regards engine and build quality, the Carens is a people mover, and it is meant to be so as an MUV, but the Hector gives you the SUV feel.

[RoadTiger]

Bumping up this thread.

So, seems like my quest for a comfortable, refined 5+2 seater may be coming to an end with the launch of the Innova Hycross.

Here are the boxes its likely ticking for me
1. Comfort - ottoman seats, ventilated seats, (good?) music system, retractable blinds
2. Refinement - petrol+electric motor expect to deliver low/ acceptable NVH
3. Space - roomiest 7-seater in its class ; more so with the very spacious boot
4. Family acceptability - boosted by panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, remote closing boot etc
5. Design - good-looking vehicle that should age well
6. Reliability - expecting it from a Toyota. Period.
7. Brand & Service - again, high expectations from a Toyota
8. Safety - good package in the top trims
9. Ride & Handling - should be acceptable, expecting it to be better than Crysta due to monocoque chassis. Concerned about the thin 18-inch tyres. 235/50/18 is a poor spec IMHO - at least 60 profile tyres needed for our roads
10. Value - Best in class FE for a petrol 7-seater + Resale ... Hope the initial price is acceptable

[Heisenberg_ad]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

So, seems like my quest for a comfortable, refined 5+2 seater may be coming to an end with the launch of the Innova Hycross.

Yes only if you take the hycross out of your shortlist.
I'm in the same dilemma. Have shortlisted hector plus, xuv700 and hycross. And I know I'm going to opt out of hycross after looking at the price of it. Petrol hybrids are marketed as a substitute of diesel efficiency, but IMO that shouldnt come at huge initial cost. If hycross launches at the same price with crysta, i would definitely consider it.
Also, BOF crysta would be much more abuse friendly compared to monocoque hycross. Hycross lacks torque

This is purely my opinion. Some people might disagree.

[RoadTiger]

Originally Posted by Heisenberg_ad

Yes only if you take the hycross out of your shortlist.
I'm in the same dilemma. Have shortlisted hector plus, xuv700 and hycross. And I know I'm going to opt out of hycross after looking at the price of it. Petrol hybrids are marketed as a substitute of diesel efficiency, but IMO that shouldnt come at huge initial cost. If hycross launches at the same price with crysta, i would definitely consider it.
Also, BOF crysta would be much more abuse friendly compared to monocoque hycross. Hycross lacks torque

This is purely my opinion. Some people might disagree.

I am less concerned about torque - since none of the reviewers have mentioned it as inadequate and I rarely expect to have a full load of passengers and luggage. I would like to confirm during the test-drive that it doesnt struggle on inclines with 'normal' load of family of 4.

Pricing is important - if Toyota decides to charge an absurd premium for Hycross, I will knock off the list since I am no Toyota fan boy to buy at any price Toyota comes up with