SPARKING A REVOLUTION

The Innova is the undisputed king of the MPV segment. But with the Hycross, Toyota has changed everything you know about the Innova. The question is - do the changes work, or has Toyota gone too far?

- ISHAN RAGHAVA

The Toyota Innova has been the undisputed champion of the Indian MPV segment for nearly 20 years. It's one of the few vehicles in India that caters to all kinds of buyers - buyers of personal vehicles, commercial fleet operators, and those who like to travel long distances - and they all swear by it. And there is a multitude of reasons behind its success. As a Toyota, the Innova is dead-reliable and relatively cheap to maintain. Plus, it scores very high in terms of practicality. But everything that defines the Innova, including its ladder-frame chassis and diesel engines, has been changed in the Hycross. The question, then, is - will changes of this magnitude deter potential buyers?

QUITE A LOOKER 

In terms of design, I think the Hycross is one of those vehicles to which pictures don't do justice. Up close, the Hycross looks much more like an SUV than an MPV, and trust me when say this - it looks really good in the flesh and exudes loads of road presence. Every aspect of it from the big grille up front and the tasteful use of chrome to the large headlights and taillights - has been designed very well and comes together to offer it an excellent stance. There are 'Hybrid' badges all around, which tell you all you need to know about what powers the Hycross. But if there was one aspect of the Hycross' design that could have been better, it would be the wheel arches, which are so large that they even make the beautiful 18-inch wheels look a bit small.