Toyota’s all-new Innova Hycross MPV has finally made its India debut, with deliveries slated to commence from January 2023 following its price announcement. It made its global debut earlier this week as the Innova Zenix in Indonesia.
The Hycross is a completely new model and is the first Innova to be based on a monocoque construction. It also gets the option of a strong hybrid powerplant.
- Hycross hybrid has claimed fuel efficiency of 21.1kpl
- First Innova to be based on monocoque construction
- Debuts Toyota’s ADAS tech in India
Toyota Innova Hycross: exterior design
The Innova Hycross looks almost identical to the Zenix that was revealed in Indonesia. For the new-generation model, Toyota has given the Innova a more SUV-like appearance with an upright grille, a raised bonnet line and body cladding all around. The hexagonal grille gets a gunmetal finish, there are automatic LED headlamps and a wide front bumper with silver accents that accentuate the width of the MPV.
In profile, the Hycross features a distinctive MPV silhouette and gets a strong shoulder line and flared wheel arches. In fact, it looks quite similar to the Veloz MPV that Toyota sells in some international markets. Toyota has also revised the glasshouse near the D-Pillar to give it a stylish rear quarter look. At the rear, the Innova Hycross gets a roof-mounted spoiler, chunky LED tail-lights, scooped-out number plate housing and blacked-out rear bumper.
Like the Crysta, the new Hycross gets a large glasshouse, promising good visibility for all three rows. It gets bigger, 10-spoke alloys finished in chrome, giving a premium look.
The Hycross measures 4,755mm in length and 1,850mm in width – both slightly more than the Innova Crysta. When it comes to the wheelbase, the new Innova Hycross is also 100mm longer.
Toyota Innova Hycross: interior design
On the inside, the Hycross marks a complete departure from the Crysta. It gets a multi-layered dashboard with horizontal lines which look unique, and some elements like the semi-digital instrument cluster available on the Hybrid are similar to the Voxy MPV abroad. What stands out on the dashboard is the large 10.1-inch floating touchscreen which flows down to the rectangular AC vents and stack of HVAC controls.
The dashboard also gets soft-touch leather and metallic decorations. Also new with the Hycross is the dashboard-mounted gear lever console. The Innova Hycross get a dual-tone, brown and black interior theme with Dark Chestnut leather seat upholstery.
Toyota Innova Hycross: variants and features
The Hycross comes in a total of five variants, with Toyota equipping the higher ones with bells and whistles like paddle shifters, connected car tech, ventilated front seats, nine-speaker JBL audio system, ambient lighting, multi-zone climate control (front and rear) and a powered tailgate. In a first for an Innova, the new Hycross also gets a large panoramic sunroof.
The new Innova Hycross debuts the Toyota Safety Sense suite of ADAS tech in India. It comes with features like lane keep assist, blind spot monitor, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert and a pre-collision system. In terms of other safety features, the Hycross comes equipped with six airbags, ABS with EBD, Traction Control and ESP.
When it comes to seating configurations, the Innova Hycross gets 7- and 8-seat layouts. The 7-seat configuration gets two captain’s chairs equipped with a first-in-segment ottoman function for the middle row, and a bench seat for the third row. The 8-seat layout, on the other hand, gets bench seats for both second and third rows. Toyota is providing three-point seatbelts for all passengers.
Toyota Hycross underpinned by monocoque construction
Unlike all the previous iterations of the Innova, which were underpinned by a ladder-frame construction, the new Hycross uses a monocoque chassis and is based on Toyota's TNGA-C platform.
Toyota Innova Hycross: powertrain and fuel economy
The Innova Hycross gets petrol and strong-hybrid powertrain options and will skip the diesel engine option. The strong-hybrid powertrain is a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder unit coupled with Toyota’s fifth-gen strong hybrid tech (M20A-FXS). This engine, like most Toyota hybrid units, uses an Atkinson or Miller cycle for greater fuel efficiency. The Hybrid powertrain produces a combined output of 186hp and the powertrain comes mated to an e-Drive transmission.
The non-hybrid version of the same 1,987cc engine makes 172hp and 205Nm, and is paired to a CVT gearbox. Both configurations of the Innova Hycross are front-wheel drive only. It, however, does not get a manual transmission option.
With the hybrid powertrain, Toyota claims a fuel efficiency figure of 21.1kpl, giving it a range of 1,097km on a full tank of fuel. Toyota claims the Innova Hycross can sprint from 0-100kph in 9.5sec.
Toyota Innova Hycross launch and expected price details
Bookings for the Toyota Innova Hycross are already underway for a token amount of Rs 50,000, and the carmaker is expected to announce the prices in January 2023. The Hycross is expected to be priced around Rs 22 lakh-28 lakh and will be sold alongside the Innova Crysta. When launched, it will take on the likes of the Mahindra XUV700 and the Tata Safari.
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