Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder hybrid mid-size SUV unveiled

The mid-size SUV has had a Toyota-shaped hole which has now finally been plugged with the Urban Cruiser Hyryder. The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder has finally been unveiled after months of speculations and countless spy pictures that have been doing the rounds on social media. The Urban Cruiser Hyryder has been jointly developed with Maruti Suzuki, and the latter will launch its version of this SUV soon. Prices are yet to be announced, Toyota has started accepting bookings for the Urban Cruiser Hyryder at an amount of Rs 25,000.

2022 Toyota Urban Hyryder: The Hybrid Talk

The Urban Cruiser Hyryder is being offered with two drivetrains — a mild hybrid and strong hybrid . Let’s talk about the strong hybrid trim first, which gets a 1.5-litre petrol engine coupled with an electric motor. This self-charging hybrid setup makes the Urban Cruiser Hyryder good for a combined peak power output of 114bhp (engine produces 122Nm of torque, electric motor puts out 141Nm of torque). The hybrid gets a CVT transmission, and it can be driven in pure electric mode.

The mild hybrid trim, known as the Neo Grade, gets a Maruti Suzuki-sourced 1.5-litre petrol engine with an ISG (integrated starter generator) system, enabling it to put out 100bhp and 135Nm of torque, and it can be had with either a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission. This mild-hybrid trim of the Hyryder gets all-wheel drive — something a lot of mid-size SUVs do not offer. How much of an upper-edge does the Hyryder get with that? We’ll have to wait for a review on that front.

Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder Design

The Urban Cruiser Hyryder follows a theme similar to models such as the Camry and the Glanza. However, the nose is completely blocked off with a carbonfibre-like panel, and at the front, it follows the design language commonly seen on most other SUVs these days, with the DRLs placed above the headlamp. From the sides, it has a typical SUV profile with a high roofline and hood, and it gets roof rails as well. At the rear, it gets sleek tail lamps with a chrome strip running across the length of the tailgate. However, the reverse lamp and turn indicators are placed lower. Toyota is offering the Urban Cruiser Hyryder in four dual-tone paint schemes and seven monotone paint schemes.

2022 Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder features and equipment

Toyota has packed the Urban Cruiser Hyryder to the gills by offering equipment such as a 9-inch touchscreen system, drive modes, wireless charging, panoramic sunroof, a head-up display, ventilated front seats, ambient lighting, Siri and Google voice assistants, paddle shifters, reclining rear seat, and a 360-degree camera among others. Additionally, the Hyryder also gets Toyota’s iConnect suite, enabling remote functions, vehicle tracking, status updates and more.

The Japanese car maker hasn’t skimped on safety either, giving the Hyryder six airbags, ABS, cruise control, vehicle stability control, hill-hold and descent control, a tyre pressure monitoring system and more.

The interiors of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder also receive varying themes depending on the variant — the full hybrid gets a combination of black and brown, while the mild hybrid variant follows an all-black theme.

Toyota will be launching the Urban Cruiser Hyryder later this year, and it is likely to go up against rivals such as the Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, MG Astor, Tata Harrier, Maruti Suzuki’s equivalent of the Hyryder when it gets launched, and the five-seater versions of the Mahindra XUV700 and MG Hector.