[karan561]

Likes;

- Ride Quality & Handling (Great balance)
- Fuel Efficiency (Short Distance & City FE King)
- Good Looks (Exterior & Interior is well designed)
- Toyota Brand (Street Cred & After Sales Service)

Dislikes;

- Less Boot Space (Hybrid Disadvantage)
- Boring to Drive (On Long Distance Runs / Highways)
- Poor Implementation of features (Wireless Charger, Pano Sunroof Sunshade, Reverse Camera Quality etc.)
- NVH of 3 cyl engine in some situations is unacceptable, Lack of Electric Adjust Seats, Certain switchgear feels cheap (Steering Controls).

Video Review;

https://youtu.be/AQXoEYeD8f4

^ This is an Initial Ownership Video Review of my Toyota HyRyder (Hybrid) which discusses the following points as mentioned in the Timestamps as under;

0:00 - Intro
0:59 - Driving Experience (Engine, Gearbox & More)
4:12 - Suspension Details (Ride & Handling)
7:05 - Fuel Efficiency (City & Highway)
10:11 - Interior (Front & Rear)
13:35 - S.W.O.T. Analysis
20:34 - Final Thoughts

[karan561]

Driving Performance (Engine, Gearbox & More);



We are aware that the HyRyder Hybrid gets the Toyota TNGA 1.5L engine but lets elaborate a bit more technicalities. This car uses a P910 Hybrid Vehicle Transaxle which primarily consists of a motor (MG2) to drive the vehicle & a generator (MG1) to produce electrical power & this transaxle uses a CVT with a compound gear unit that achieves smooth & quiet shifting.



Coming back to this engine, a combined output of about 115 hp doesnt sound encouraging at all, but frankly its enough for the city. That's where the story ends for this engine, the CITY. Because on the highway its a big disappointment especially after you cross 120 km/h.



There is simply no juice left in this motor to deliver you any meaningful performance. However this engine has its moments & those moments are usually in the City when there are moments where the EV + IC combo gives a great push off the line which genuinely helps close those gaps in city limits or perform a quick overtake.



I'm aware there are driving modes provided in the car but judging the personality of the car it's best to be driving in ECO mode as there's hardly any difference if you keep it in Sport, also i like the blue layout of the dials when in ECO Mode.

Is it the best sounding 3cyl ? No. In my opinion the Kushaq’s 1L 3 cyl sounds much better & sporty. Car usually starts off in EV mode and stays in EV Mode till you arre light on the throttle and there is enough charge in the battery, after depletion of charge them engine fires back on and the transition is usually seamless and not felt (Transition is only felt when the car is standstill or at a very low speed).

A quick word of the gearbox is that it authentically matches the personality of the 1.5L TNGA motor in this hybrid arrangement to give you an absolute smooth & relaxing driving experience.

Fuel Efficiency;

In the entirety of my car ownership I've never seen under 18 km/l on any drive yet. Also i have easily beaten the official ARAI figure of 27 lm/l long back & not once but multiple occasions and also hit the 30 km/l number;





Note: I am running the car on XP95 fuel since day 1;



THIS CAR LIKES TRAFFIC. Getting 25 + km/l is easy in the city v/s the highways though because in City there are more no. of times the car runs as an EV v/s the highway. However when it comes to city the hyryder hybrid does a great job on the fuel economy front in fact this might be the new short distance FE KING

Ride Quality;

We are aware that this car was jointly developed by Toyota & Suzuki in India, but I was always inquisitive about the suspension. Who helped develop that ? Is it a Toyota or a Maruti suspension? While looking in the wheel well area i noticed a sticker on the suspension which said YFG RR HEV;



If we attempt to decode (YFG Rear Right Hybrid Electric Vehicle) then you'l remember that YFG was the internal codename given to the Grand Vitara by Maruti during development, which clearly points out that the suspension is supplied by Maruti. Isnt bad news because it has an excellent tuning & offers superb ride quality, probably the most comfortable car in the segment & handling too is surprisingly engaging which we discuss next.

Handling;

This car rewards you dynamically as the suspension stiffness & body roll is very well suited for highway runs as well as city, the steering too feels great when you are eager to take on the corners;



Interestingly the bad patches / undulations on the road while at speed dont throw you off too much and the handling remains predictable. One of those cars which gets suspension and chassis tuning more capable than the engine which is overall non-enthusiastic. The 215 60 R17 Apollo Tyres (probably the best Indian tyre brand) perform well & the selected size for the Hyryder is also ideal as it doesnt feel undertyred at all & look good too.

[karan561]

Exterior & Interior Design;



The exterior design of the Hyryder has really grown on me & definitely prefer this over the Grand Vitara. The Cafe White paint is somewhere between Toyota's Super White & Pearl White also the paint finish in my opinion is very good.



^ Note the solo " Hyryder " badge after removing the Urban Cruiser moniker.

The front design and the leather treatment on the dash works really well though there have been a lot of parts used from the Suzuki's parts bin but that's ok as it looks well put together;



Driving position is difficult to find because of lack of electric adjust (spoilt for that these days), but once you are in the right spot its a very good place to be & borderline fun too in the city. HUD has 3 display options and plenty of Information available, also if you increase the A/C temperature that too is displayed on the HUD. Speaking of that the A/C performs well and so do the Ventilated seats, tinted glass (probably 1st in segment?) is a nice touch & definitely helps keep the cabin cool.

Dealership & Delivery Experience;

https://youtu.be/bSVHVVPTt8U

^ You can read more about it in this post: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5430259 (Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder Review)

The car has completed 2 services already. One was at 1000kms & 2nd was at 5000kms. So far there has been one quality issue which has been reported which is of the exterior chrome garnish (driver side) is unevenly fit (from factory) & not seeming in line, the same has been reported to Toyota;



^ Toyota Service (Millenium, Thane) have reported this to Toyota India and have confirmed will be replaced under warranty.

Final Thoughts;

To summarise I'd like to say that the Toyota Hyryder Hybrid has turned out to be a great buy for me. However, is it is a 1 car do it all kinda car then the answer is NO, because it will disappoint the enthusiast in you when you want to have fun. But is it the best city car in the segment ? Yes. Is it the most Economical car in the City ? Then the answer is again Yes & is it the most comfortable car in the city for this segment, answer is again Yes. This car will be used as a daily in which primarily I'd be chauffeur driven, shall keep updating this thread and let you all know how my 1st Hybrid performs in the long run ...

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[dhanushs]

Wonderful. With the kind of Fuel Efficiency, Comfort and the T-Badge, this would be one machine that will be a good option for a long daily office commute.
Also a great buy as a first car for a conservative families.

[PreludeSH]

Thanks for the great review. I happened to drive my friend's Hyryder over the new Mysuru expressway. Since I drive around 110 kmph max, I found it really good. It doesnt push you back for immediate acceleration but is more than sufficient on highways where you have enough space.
It was different in city with its very relaxed and smooth drive both drive train wise and suspension wise.

[AulusGabinius]

Thanks for the review! Given that Maharashtra's expressway limits are only 120 km/h anyway at the highest, seems to me that it would be fine for most of the highway runs as well. But for what this car is intended to do, which is to prove the viability of hybrid tech in the Indian market, I think it's going great. Looking forward to your updates!

[S2!!!]

Great review Karan!

I must say, yours is a very well researched review with some observations only an owner can point out - the rear headroom bit; sunshade being cheap but not a hassle etc.

The HUD is detailed for sure, but I don't think it is well executed, so I prefer leaving it folded down.

Do you use wireless Carplay or Android Auto? Any call related issues particularly?

[Y@SH]

Thanks for crisp and neat review !

Only flaw I can see is the lack of bootspace and I personally prefer light color interiors /seats compared to darker ones.

A couple of questions.

- How much range does the car give you if you would use it only in the City?
- Approximately how many kms can the vehicle run on EV mode before the battery gets discharged?
- How quickly does the battery get charged while driving?

Any reason you are using RON95 fuel?

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of cars have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[karan561]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Wonderful. With the kind of Fuel Efficiency, Comfort and the T-Badge, this would be one machine that will be a good option for a long daily office commute.
Also a great buy as a first car for a conservative families.

I Agree, thanks for sharing your thoughts

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

Thanks for the great review. I happened to drive my friend's Hyryder over the new Mysuru expressway. Since I drive around 110 kmph max, I found it really good. It doesnt push you back for immediate acceleration but is more than sufficient on highways where you have enough space.It was different in city with its very relaxed and smooth drive both drive train wise and suspension wise.

True, its very relaxed, smooth and soothing to drive. As I am chauffeur driven mostly hence its a good thing that there's no strong acceleration.

Originally Posted by AulusGabinius

Thanks for the review! Given that Maharashtra's expressway limits are only 120 km/h anyway at the highest, seems to me that it would be fine for most of the highway runs as well. But for what this car is intended to do, which is to prove the viability of hybrid tech in the Indian market, I think it's going great. Looking forward to your updates!

Good point.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Great review Karan!
I must say, yours is a very well researched review with some observations only an owner can point out - the rear headroom bit; sunshade being cheap but not a hassle etc.

Thanks S2 for your appreciation, trust your Hyryder ownership is going great as well.

Do you use wireless Carplay or Android Auto? Any call related issues particularly?

Yes, apple car play is seamless but strangely sometimes during a call the opposite
person complains he can't hear me well & I believe some other owners have reported this issue too.

Originally Posted by Y@SH

Thanks for crisp and neat review !

Thanks Y@SH

A couple of questions.

- How much range does the car give you if you would use it only in the City?
- Approximately how many kms can the vehicle run on EV mode before the battery gets discharged?
- How quickly does the battery get charged while driving?

Any reason you are using RON95 fuel?

- FE Range fluctuates a lot, but usually its around 700 kms. In fact on one instance there was just 2 points of fuel being shown in the Fuel gauge and the range was only 70 kms, but after a 20 km city drive the range became 110 odd kms.
- May be 2 to 3 kms when the battery is fully charged.
- No thumb rule as such, but once the battery depletes to 1 charge the battery can gain charge back within a few seconds and again switch to EV mode on halts or light acceleration or during constant speeds.
- I am using 95 RON as its a well priced fuel, makes the 3 cyl engine smoother, may have some minor performance benefits, now widely available & its a feel good factor.

[Cruzn]

Great review sir! To be honest, this was the one review I was eagerly waiting for since you are definitely unbiased and call it as it is.

Upon watching the video, I think I’ve made the right choice with downgrading from the G variant to the S.

There is no mosquito net, wireless charger and even the useless TPMS to worry about. Yes I would be missing out on other features (have to settle with 2 airbags for example) but I guess I’d be better off without these pain points. I’ve even seen some videos where the reverse cam has better clarity on the S variant due to the smaller screen size. Hoping this isn’t a let down.

Something I wanted to check on was the cabin temperature when the car is parked outside on a hot day. Especially on the V and the G variants, with the mesh, wouldn’t that affect the battery over time?

For now I’m about a couple of weeks away from the delivery of my car but looking forward to your updates. Cheers!

[Vedant Gupta]

Hi, Karan.
Great review.

Between the Seltos and Hyryder strong hybrid, as you own both of them, which one would you recommend?

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Cruzn

Great review sir! To be honest, this was the one review I was eagerly waiting for since you are definitely unbiased and call it as it is.

Thanks for your appreciation towards my content

Upon watching the video, I think I’ve made the right choice with downgrading from the G variant to the S.

Base model is VFM for sure.

Something I wanted to check on was the cabin temperature when the car is parked outside on a hot day. Especially on the V and the G variants, with the mesh, wouldn’t that affect the battery over time?

Good question, but I dont have an answer to that.

For now I’m about a couple of weeks away from the delivery of my car but looking forward to your updates. Cheers!

All the best !

Originally Posted by Vedant Gupta

Hi, Karan.
Great review.

Thanks Vedant !

Between the Seltos and Hyryder strong hybrid, as you own both of them, which one would you recommend?

Definitely the Kia Seltos. I personally think the Seltos is better finished & built (at-least my 1st lot 2019 car before more localisation happened), its faster & more fun to drive with decent ride / handling (with my current Michelin setup) balance

[CoolFire]

Crisp, honest review @karan561. How would you rate it in comparison to Kushaq 1.0 AT?

Asking since I own that and several people have been asking my take on which one to buy. Of course the fuel efficiency is one big advantage - I am specifically asking other factors.