Toyota Hyryder Review: Is The Hybrid Worth It?

With the Hyryder, you do get the segment’s best fuel efficiency, but there are some compromises that can hinder your buying decision

If you are out in the market to buy a compact SUV for your family, there are loads of available options. Some offer great performance, others have 5-star safety ratings, and some have features that put up a challenge for a segment above. But if you want your SUV to offer the best fuel efficiency, there are just two options and one of them is the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder. So, in this road test review, we take a look at the Hyryder in detail and see if it asks for any compromises for better fuel efficiency.

A Compact Key

The Hyryder comes with a small, black, rectangular key which has two buttons: lock and unlock. You might have seen this key before with a different logo, as Maruti cars also offer the same one. 

While it only offers lock and unlock functions, you can customise the latter from the Hyryder’s instrument cluster, to either unlock all doors or just the driver door, once you press the unlock button. Also, both front doors of the SUV have buttons on the handles to lock or unlock the car without taking the key out of your pocket.

Now, let’s get to the looks of the Toyota Hyryder.

Looks Premium? Yes.

While the size and silhouette of the Hyryder are similar to its Maruti counterpart, the Grand Vitara, Toyota has managed to make the Hyryder look more premium. This premium feel, at the front, comes from the split LED DRLs, chrome elements and sharp cuts on the bumper, which also makes the SUV look modern. 

The profile comes with stylish 17-inch alloy wheels and it also gets its muscular SUV appeal from wheel arches, door cladding, bulky rear profile and a big rear bumper. All of these premium and muscular bits combined give the Hyryder great road presence.

But there is one element of this design which shouldn’t have been there. Just below the bonnet and between the DRLs, there is a carbon fibre lookalike element. Adding carbon fibre elements to a car is a nice touch, but only with consistency. Here, apart from this one place, carbon fibre is nowhere to be seen, which makes the element at the front look out of place.

Compromised Boot

For a family SUV, boot space is a big factor. Going out on trips requires space to store all your luggage, but unfortunately, the hybrid variants of the Hyryder don’t offer that. Due to the presence of a battery under the boot, the boot floor is lifted, resulting in less space. The compact SUV segment has many more models, some of them offer enough space to easily store 4-5 suitcases. You can check out a detailed comparison here.

However, it’s not like you can’t put anything here. You can easily place 3 bags in here and still have space left on the side to place a handbag. Also, if you have more luggage to carry, the rear seats have a 40:60 split, so you can fold them and keep your luggage with ease. 

Premium On The Inside

The premium factor of the Hyryder is carried inside the cabin as well. The dashboard is made of multiple elements like a dual-tone theme, chrome elements and piano black bits, that come together to give it a smooth-flowing design. The premium factor is also upped by the soft-touch materials on the dashboard, doors and centre console, and the overall cabin quality. 

The Hyryder’s cabin comes in a black and dark brown hue, which might look dark and dull to a few, but the fit and finish make up for it. There is nothing to complain about inside the cabin, and the quality of plastics used here is good as well. There are no squeaky elements, the buttons have a clicky and tactile feel, and the soft-touch leather padding contributes to the comfort and makes the cabin feel more upmarket. 

While driving, you’ll notice that the front seats are comfortable with balanced cushioning. These seats also have large contours which hold you in place. A sliding front armrest and seat ventilation further enhance the front seat comfort.

A Practical Cabin

There are no compromises in the cabin's practicality. While the boot might not store all your luggage, the cabin has more than enough storage space to keep your stuff. All 4 doors get 1-litre bottle holders with some space on the sides where you can keep smaller items like a magazine. 

The front has two cup holders, an adequate-sized glove compartment and the front armrest also has some storage to keep your keys or wallet. At the back, the rear passengers get two cupholders in the centre armrest, both front seats have seat back pockets and there is a small storage compartment for your phone or wallet below the rear AC vents.

In terms of charging options, the front passengers get a wireless phone charger, a USB type A port and a 12V socket. For the rear occupants, below the rear AC vents, there are two charging ports: a USB type A and a USB type C.

The Rear Seat Experience

The comfort of the Hyryder’s rear seats is the same as the front. But there is a compromise to be made. You do get good legroom and knee room, and adequate underthigh support, but due to the presence of a panoramic sunroof, the headroom here is compromised. Average-sized adults will be close to the roof and 6-footers will occasionally bump their heads when the car goes over potholes or speed breakers.

The space here is good for 4 passengers, but not for 5. Headroom for the rear middle passenger will be worse and shoulder room will also be not enough. So for a family of 4, the Hyryder will provide a comfortable rear seat experience, with slight discomfort of the less headroom.

The rear seat passenger will also get good visibility on the sides. The windows are wide, the C-pillar is not that thick and there is also a quarter glass at the back which brings in more light into the cabin. However, due to the larger front seat headrests, the overall cabin visibility is reduced.

Feature Rich, But With A Problem

Inside the cabin, you get more than enough features for your everyday use. The dashboard houses a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system that’s responsive, easy to use, and also supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. You also get a 7-inch digital driver’s display with a neat execution. This screen displays all your drive information, you can also check when the battery is sending the power to the electric motor and when it's being charged, and there are different colour themes for drive modes.

Apart from these features, you also get automatic climate control, rear AC vents, a wireless phone charger, ventilated front seats, and a heads-up display, which not only displays your drive information but can also be used for navigation, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road.

However, the execution of one feature, which is a big factor for many buyers, could have been done better. This feature is the panoramic sunroof, which has some issues of its own. Firstly, in most cars, you get a thick shade for the sunroof, but here, it's made of a thin material which does not stop much light. Under direct sunlight, this causes the cabin to heat up more, and the AC will take longer to cool down the car. While driving, the AC will blow cold air, but the heads of the passengers will remain hot due to the heat coming from the roof.

Secondly, the thin shade allows passengers to see through it, and if the sunroof’s glass is dirty, you’ll notice it from inside the cabin. Lastly, it's not only thin but also a little loose, which causes it to bulge down, and being loose, it also allows passengers to touch the glass above.

Is It Safe?

On the surface, the Hyryder offers all the safety features you need. It comes with a 360-degree camera, which has been executed nicely. The camera quality is good and you can use it properly even in low light conditions. 

You also get up to 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, vehicle stability control, a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), front seat belt reminders, front and rear parking sensors and ISOFIX child seat anchors. But the real test of its safety will happen when it’s crash-tested by Bharat NCAP.

Hybrid Performance

Before we get into the performance of the Hyryder, let’s have a look at the powertrain options and the working of its strong hybrid system.

The Toyota Hyryder comes with two engine options: 1.5-litre petrol with either a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission, which can also be had with a CNG kit and an all-wheel drive option (both with manual transmission) and a 1.5-litre strong-hybrid petrol engine which comes paired with an e-CVT.

We had the strong-hybrid version of the compact SUV for our road test and the biggest benefit is its fuel efficiency (27.97kmpl claimed). To understand how it gets such high fuel efficiency figures, you need to know how the hybrid system works. 

There are 3 main components: the engine, battery pack and the electric motor. The electric motor draws power from the battery pack and runs the SUV. At city speeds, the engine stays shut, and the Hyryder runs solely on the battery and motor. When accelerating, more power is required, so the engine runs at a higher RPM to produce that extra power and feeds it to the motor while charging the battery at the same time. In 99 percent of cases, the electric motor drives the car and the engine is only used as a generator.

Now, let’s talk about the performance. The 1.5-litre strong hybrid engine is smooth and refined. It gives quick acceleration and getting to high speeds doesn’t take much time. The gear shifts are also smooth and on time, so be it normal city commutes, or quick overtakes on highways, you’ll be able to do both easily and won’t feel any lack in the performance. 

A Comfortable Ride

For a family SUV, ride comfort is also very important. The suspension setup of the Hyryder is balanced and is pretty good at absorbing bumps. When going over speed breakers and potholes, there isn’t a lot of movement inside the cabin, and the comfort remains intact.

At high speeds on the highway, the Hyryder remains stable and there is very little side-to-side movement. So be it bad city roads or a smooth highway, your family will remain comfortable.

Verdict

Should you consider the Toyota Hyryder for your family? Yes. If you want an SUV which offers good features, a premium design, a smooth driving experience and segment-best mileage, then you should definitely consider the Hyryder.

There are some areas where it could have been better, like the dark and dull cabin, poor execution of the panoramic sunroof and the compromised boot, but if you are willing to live with these compromises, then the great performance, comfort and the hybrid powertrain will make it your perfect family car.