Toyota Innova Hycross review, road test

The Hycross is based on Toyota’s global TNGA-C ‘High’ platform, so it is a monocoque, the engine is transversely mounted and it powers the front wheels. This is in stark contrast to the outgoing Innova Crysta, which is a ladder-frame construction; its engine is longitudinally mounted and it drives the rear wheels. Compared to the Crysta, the Hycross is 20mm longer and wider, and has a wheelbase that’s a whopping 100mm longer; so it is a large car. And because it is based on a monocoque platform, it weighs 1,545kg, which makes it 205kg lighter than the ladder-frame petrol automatic Crysta (discontinued). The diesel with far more equipment and the hybrid tech tips the scales at 1,715kg, a whopping 170kg more than the petrol.

Toyota designers have done a splendid job in not just modernizing the Innova but also upping its butch character without losing its essence. So, what you see is an imposing, almost SUV-like front-end, courtesy of its oversized hexagonal grille, stretched-out headlamps that resemble a Fortuner and a raised, muscular bonnet. On the sides, it has some SUV-esque elements like neatly sculpted body lines, subtly defined squared-out wheel arches and plastic body cladding, but there’s no getting away from its MPV-like profile. The window line in the Hycross distinctly flows downwards towards the rear, unlike the Crysta’s sharp upward kink. Its slab-sided rear design and horizontal tail-lamps link it to some crossovers in Toyota’s international portfolio.

The hybrid version gets upmarket touches like thick chrome under its front grille, matte silver inserts on the front bumper as well as oversized horizontal LED DRLs, which double-up as turn indicators. It also features twin five-spoke 18-inch alloys finished in silver which look attractive, however the tyre profile and its narrow track, in the front and at the rear, look a bit under-tyred.

In comparison, the petrol Innova is available only in the lower-spec G and GX variants, and it screams ‘base variant’ in its appearance. Not only does it miss the silver highlights and chrome garnishings of the hybrid, but its skinny 205/65 R16 tyres lead to massive gaps in the wheel arches. This variant’s disproportionate wheel-to-body ratio makes it look almost comical from certain angles.