My Toyota Hyryder hybrid: Observations when compared to a City CVT

The Honda City is more refined at higher speeds but this isn’t bad either - have stayed within 95kmph so far and NVH isn’t a factor to worry about at these speeds.

BHPian Audik75 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

t’s been 3 weeks of driving and honestly there isn’t much to dislike about the car in terms of how it drives. My comparison is to a Honda City CVT and this car has better pull when starting from a traffic light for instance. The City is more refined at higher speeds but this isn’t bad either - have stayed within 95kmph so far and NVH isn’t a factor to worry about at these speeds. Have taken a couple of highway rides and I remember being concerned about it when buying but my better half certainly hasn’t complained and I’kill take that as validation enough. Is it perfect - NO but there can’t be too many complaints if you know how to get the best of a CVT. Cruise control works just fine - no complaints - I prefer the Honda City buttons though (maybe more ergonomic or just me having to adapt after years of using them).

On fuel efficiency, my car was handed over with 53 kms on the odometer at 7.8kmpl - have driven ~475 kms and haven’t hit half-tank yet. Fuel efficiency is at 18.4 kmpl and is still climbing. By this time, I would have had to definitely refuel on the City given most of the driving has been within city limits. I think it is safe to say that fuel efficiency will average above 20 kmpl and even driving without efficiency in mind, one can see ~900 kms before needing to refuel.

The suspension is good as is braking. Headlights are also much better on the Hyryder. With the higher seating arrangement, the Hyryder offers better front visibility with the bonnet being fully visible. A feature comparison is probably not appropriate so will stay away from that. Definitely liking the ventilated seats and other creature comforts the Hyryder has to offer.

Where the City scores is rear seating for 3 (despite having narrower dimensions) and boot space. Both of these are handicaps for the Hyryder but since I rarely drive with 5 adults and am not a big user of boot space, am fine with these compromises. Boot space for weekend drives on the Hyryder will not be a problem in my opinion with some Indian jugaad (my key factor in not preferring the Honda City hybrid when it launched).

Battery level stays primarily at 2 bars and rarely go higher in city driving conditions. On the highway, have seen this go higher. Had to watch a YouTube video to understand this factor doesn’t matter and one should only go with fuel efficiency. I will just leave it to my sheer ignorance of driving a Hybrid and not knowing how to measure efficiency.

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