The Drive Report: Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder

Upon having driven the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara’s mild-hybrid version immediately after driving the punchier strong-hybrid (henceforth referred to as “hybrid”), I was, like many others, left underwhelmed by the palpable power deficit between the two. The hilly terrain came with winding roads and sharp u-turns where the mild-hybrid, unassisted by the supplementary 117.6 V battery, really struggled on steep inclines.

Driving the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder from the Delhi airport to Greater Noida, I wasn’t quite sure what my main gripe had been. Not because it’s a Toyota. The two models are identical in every conceivable way, born out of a global alliance between Maruti Suzuki and Toyota. To give a little context, the Grand Vitara/Hyryder marks both Maruti Suzuki’s and Toyota’s entry into uncharted waters. For the former, it’s about entering a highly competitive space that’s a shade or two more premium than the cars that have been Maruti Suzuki’s best-selling mainstays. For Toyota, a brand that deals almost exclusively in “premium” SUVs, it was another attempt at capturing a volume-driven segment. And thus the Grand Vitara/Hyryder was born, combining Maruti Suzuki’s cost-effective engineering with Toyota’s famed, industry-leading hybrid tech.

The Toyota badge

While this may be an entirely subjective matter, the Hyryder (mild hybrid, in this case) is the better-looking car. Perhaps it’s the Toyota badge and what it evokes, perhaps it’s the cleaner grille design but it’s an arguably more neatly packaged model, with more tasteful use of chrome. The LED projector headlamps, twin-LED DRLs and an overall square-jawed visage is perfectly aligned with Toyota’s staggeringly successful line of SUVs. In the city, with mild traffic, the Maruti Suzuki-developed naturally aspirated 1.5-litre petrol seemed sufficient. At least initially. This was the manual version, and with judicious-enough shifting, I managed to hunt down the meat of the powerband often enough to dispel any notions that this was, in fact, a slightly slothful motor.
The fact is that Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker has risen in ranks, all the way to the top, because its cars stand for one thing over everything else: build quality and toughness. Think of the last time you saw a Toyota broken down by the side of the road? Better yet, think of the last time you sat in or drove a Toyota that showed signs of mechanical trouble? And even though these badge-engineered cars come from Maruti Suzuki’s plant, you buy an Urban Cruiser Hyryder because the badge represents something.