Why I feel that the Hyryder is not the Toyota that we are familiar with

The car feels more like a Maruti. I'd say that potential buyers of this vehicle should take a test drive of the Honda City to feel the difference.

BHPian pratiksinhal recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am sharing my experience of owning the Hyryder. I have driven it for almost 1500 km.

Pros

• Fuel Efficiency. It’s probably the one major reasons why everyone should look at this vehicle.
• Hybrid Technology. Toyota being a pioneer in this technology, it was a no-brainer for me to go for the Hyryder.
• Comfortable seating position. It’s very comfortable in the front as well as the rear.
• Toyota reliability. Being a Toyota user for more than 2 decades we were sure it would be a hassle-free experience.

Cons

• Interior Quality: Rattling has already started. It feels like a Maruti more than a Toyota. The rear parcel tray has started making so much noise. I have removed it and now the rear rattling sound is not there. There was noise from the co-drivers seat which was resolved by the service center.
• Idling Noise: this is the most frustrating part of the hybrid experience. When the battery is on 1 bar and the engine takes over in traffic jams, the engine vibration is very high. You can feel it very easily on your feet if you are driving and also in the front seat. I think Toyota should find a solution soon.
• Basic small issues: After a drive when I turn the car off the door locks don’t open by themselves. I need to manually unlock it. (If someone has changed this setting it would be great if you could help.)
  The window switches feel like from an entry-level Maruti. For a 22 lakh on-road car it doesn’t feel good.
• Basic Audio quality: I have a Nexon and a Creta. The music quality is below par in the Hyryder. Nexon with Harman and Creta with Bose are leagues ahead.
• Build Quality: A 2-wheeler came and kissed the back of the car and there was a dent. The car had to go to the body shop for denting and painting. It reminded me of the build quality of the Nexon. There was an incident where an army Gypsy had kissed the rear left number of the Nexon and its headlight broke, whereas there was a minor scratch on the Nexon.

The last Maruti vehicle that I had owned was an SX4 from 2007-2011. Prior to that, I had a Swift. The main issue which kept me away from Maruti vehicles since 2011 was the interior build quality. Somehow because of the lower quality of plastics used in them, the rattling was always an issue.

I have owned Toyota, Hyundai, Tata and Honda post my Maruti experience and even after more than 75000 on the odometer, I have not experienced any kind of rattling noise. But, now with the Hyryder Maruti’s quality has come back to haunt me. In the 45 days of ownership experience, I can summarise that this is not the Toyota we are used to. The Maruti in Hyryder shows up very evidently every now and then.

I feel Hybrid buyers should take a test drive of the Honda City to feel the difference. The interior quality and the hybrid quality is much better. The Honda dealership here didn’t have a test drive vehicle so I opted out of it. I have been using the Creta for the last 8 years (5 years 2015-2020 first gen, 3 years 2020-2023 the current gen) and in terms of reliability, it has been pretty good. For the same price point, I feel the quality of the Korean twins and even the Vags are much ahead. I don’t feel that assured with the Hyryder.

It has been my personal experience. I felt I should share it with a potential Hyryder buyer.

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