Toyota Innova Hycross vs Innova Crysta: New vs old

Toyota has unveiled the new Innova Zenix in the international market, and it will debut in India as the Innova Hycross later this week. The Hycross will be sold alongside the Innova Crysta, but it is essentially the next generation of the Innova. We compare the two models to highlight their differences on paper.

Toyota Innova new vs old: exterior

The Innova Hycross’ design is vastly different compared to the Innova Crysta. Both feature hexagonal front grilles, but the Hycross gets a honeycomb pattern while the Crysta featured multiple horizontal slats. The Hycross features even slimmer, wraparound headlights than the Crysta, but they are now full-LED units divided by chrome separators.

The front bumper on the Innova Hycross features a thin air intake just below the grille which also houses horizontal LED daytime running lights (DRLs) in a triangular housing. The Crysta, on the other hand, houses turn indicators in a triangular housing below the headlights.

In profile, the Hycross features two distinctive creases that run across the length of the doors and merge at the tail-lamps. On the Crysta, the shoulder line is the only accent line, starting at the headlamp and ending at the top of the tail-lamp. The glasshouse on the Hycross seems to be as big as the Crysta. However, on the Hycross it tapers towards the shoulder line, while on the latter it tapers upwards. The Hycross features flared fenders above the rear wheel arches, a design element that has been carried over from the Crysta. 

At the rear, the Hycross sports wraparound tail-lamps with thin indicator and reverse lamps, with the tail-lamps themselves being joined by a chrome strip. The Crysta gets an inverted L-shaped design for the tail-lamps, with the indicators placed in the lower half. Both MPVs, however, get their third brake lights in the spoiler.

Toyota Innova new vs old: dimensions

The Hycross measure 4,755mm in length, 1,850mm in width and 1,795mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,850mm. The Innova Crysta measures 4,735mm in length, 1,830mm in width and 1,795mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,750mm. This makes the Hycross slightly bigger in almost all dimensions, except the height – which is similar – than the Crysta.

Toyota Innova new vs old: interior

Inside, the Hycross has a completely new design compared to the Crysta. The main difference is the addition of a free-standing touchscreen mounted at the top of the dashboard, with the central AC vents below it. The Crysta sports its touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard, flanked by the central AC vents.

While the Crysta featured knobs and dials for the air conditioning, the Innova Hycross gets only buttons. The gear lever on the Hycross has been integrated into the dashboard, whereas it was mounted on the floor in the Innova Crysta. And while the Innova Crysta only sports an analogue instrument cluster, the Hycross will get an analogue and a digital instrument cluster, depending on the variant.

The higher variants of the Hycross get a black and brown interior, while higher variants of the Crysta get a black and beige interior. Lower variants of the Hycross and Crysta get an all-black interior. The Hycross also gets a new steering wheel which is completely different from the Crysta.

Another big difference between the two is the inclusion of a sunroof on the Hycross – panoramic nonetheless – which is a first for an Innova in India. While the Hycross and Crysta get AC vents for the rear passenger seats, the ones on the Hycross are placed above the windows whereas the Crysta's AC vents are mounted on the roof.

Toyota Innova new vs old: powertrain

The Innova Crysta is offered with a 2.7-litre petrol engine and, until recently, a 2.4-litre turbocharged diesel engine. The Hycross gets a petrol engine but in two versions – a 2.0-litre petrol unit and a 2.0-litre strong hybid petrol powerplant. While ARAI-certified figures are yet to be revealed The hybrid unit is expected to return a fuel efficiency of 20-23kpl. Similar to the Hyryder, the Hycross is also expected to come with an EV-only mode on the strong hybrid variants.

Also see

Feature: Toyota Innova – Journey to becoming India’s favourite MPV

Toyota Innova Hycross image gallery