Toyota has just launched the Innova Hycross in India, which is now a radically different MPV than what the Innova nameplate has been known for. For the first time, the Innova is now underpinned by a monocoque chassis, gets front-wheel drive, is more feature-laden than ever, and most importantly, gets a strong-hybrid powertrain under its hood.

With prices ranging between Rs 18.30 lakh-28.97 lakh (ex-showroom), the Innova Hycross does not have a direct MPV rival, but faces competition from other similarly priced three-row SUVs. We take a look at how the new Innova Hycross compares to the Tata Safari and Mahindra XUV700 on paper, in terms of price, size, powertrain and seating layouts.

Toyota Innova Hycross vs Tata Safari vs Mahindra XUV700: dimensions

The new Innova Hycross is the longest vehicle in this comparison – it is 94mm longer than the Safari and 60mm longer than the XUV700. It also has the longest wheelbase – 109mm and 100mm longer than the Safari and XUV700, respectively. The Innova Hycross is, however, narrower than both these SUVs.

As far as height is concerned, despite being an MPV, the Hycross is taller than the Safari by 9mm and 40mm than the XUV700. And while Mahindra and Tata haven’t quoted ground clearance for their respective SUVs, the Innova Hycross has a ground clearance of 185mm. All vehicles ride on 18-inch alloy wheels, while the XUV700 also gets 17-inch alloys for its lower-spec trims.

The new Innova Hycross is also significantly larger than the now-discontinued Innova Crysta. It has grown 20mm in length and width over its predecessor, while the wheelbase has gone up by 100mm. However, the height, at 1,795mm, remains unchanged. Toyota has also maintained the same 185mm ground clearance, and approach and departure angles of the Innova Crysta.

Toyota Innova Hycross vs Tata Safari vs Mahindra XUV700: powertrain

All three vehicles widely differ in terms of their powertrain options. While the new Innova Hycross is petrol-only, coupled with a strong hybrid system in higher variants, the Safari is diesel-only, and the XUV700 comes with both petrol and diesel engines.

Starting with the Innova Hycross, it uses a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine that produces 172hp and 205Nm of torque, and solely comes mated to a CVT gearbox. In higher variants, the same engine is used in a different configuration – the combustion engine churns out 152hp and 187Nm of torque, which is coupled to an electric motor for a combined power output of 186hp. This powertrain comes mated to an e-CVT gearbox.

Both petrol powertrains on the Innova Hycross are slightly more powerful than the Safari’s sole diesel engine, but they are way down on torque.

Conversely, both petrol powertrains on the Hycross are down on power compared to the petrol engine of the XUV700. Meanwhile, the diesel engine on the XUV700 comes in two different tunes in manual and automatic configurations. The diesel-MT powertrain is down on power when compared to both powertrains on the Innova Hycross. However, in the diesel-AT option, the XUV700 is more powerful than the petrol-NA powertrain of the Innova Hycross, and only 1hp down compared to the strong-hybrid powertrain. Here again, the Hycross is severely down on torque – in fact, the XUV700 with its diesel-AT powertrain has the most torque in this competition.

Another key point of difference is the gearbox option. The Innova Hycross does not get a manual gearbox with either powertrain, while both the Safari and XUV700 get a 6-speed manual unit. As for the automatic gearbox option, the Safari and the XUV700 use 6-speed torque converter units, while the Hycross uses a CVT and e-CVT gearbox for its non-hybrid and hybrid powertrain respectively. Lastly, all SUVs are front-wheel drive as standard, but the XUV700 can also be optioned with an AWD system for its diesel-AT powertrain.

Toyota Innova Hycross vs Tata Safari vs Mahindra XUV700: seating configurations

The Innova Hycross, Safari and XUV700 are all three-row vehicles, but they still differ in their seating layouts. The Innova Hycross is offered in 7- or 8-seater guises; the middle row can be optioned with either a bench seat or captain seats with the ottoman feature, while the third row gets a 3-seat bench layout as standard.

Meanwhile, the XUV700 comes in either 5- or 7-seater options and does not get the option of captain seats. Lastly, the Tata Safari can be had in a 6- or 7-seater configuration where the middle row can be optioned with a pair of captain seats.

Toyota Innova Hycross vs Tata Safari vs Mahindra XUV700: price

Toyota has priced the naturally aspirated petrol variants of the Innova Hycross from Rs 18.30 lakh-19.20 lakh, while the strong-hybrid variants are priced between Rs 24.01 lakh-28.97 lakh. In comparison, petrol versions of the Mahindra XUV700 are priced between Rs 13.45 lakh-23.10 lakh, while the diesel versions are priced between Rs 13.96 lakh-24.95 lakh. Lastly, the diesel-only Tata Safari is priced between Rs 15.45 lakh-23.76 lakh.

The new Innova Hycross thus finds itself in a rather competitive position against the class of three-row SUVs. The strong-hybrid variants are surely more expensive but buyers can reap the benefits of lower running costs, especially since it can be run in pure EV mode. Moreover, it's not a significant markup in price over the now discontinued Innova Crysta diesel, prices of which went up to Rs 26.77 lakh when it was last on sale.

All prices, ex-showroom, Delhi.