The Innova Hycross, old world meets new.
“The secret to change is to focus all of your energy;
not on fighting the old, but on building the new”-
Socrates.
Prelude-
Mark
Twain said familiarity breeds contempt, but I beg to differ; in some instances, familiarity
evokes feelings of passion, reassurance and solace. This is the feeling any
owner of a Toyota Innova can resonate with. The dependability and sheer ruggedness
of this beautiful car is something that truly has to be experienced to make you
understand why there is such a cult following 17 years later with regards to
this car. It doesn’t just represent another metal box on wheels that take you
from point A to B but rather a vessel of safety, memories and, most importantly,
reliability, always doing good by its owner. This is probably why the Innova
Hycross (Zenix in some markets) has left many of us purists wondering about the
future of not just this car but life and the automotive sector as a whole. This
write-up will elucidate on what made the Innova great, why the Hycross is changing the status quo, and what this truly represents for us as a species.
Attributes
that made the Innova and the Innova Crysta a symbol of greatness and trust
· Dependable
Diesel- In a fuel-starved country such as India, the Innova
was one of the first offerings to introduce the mainstream audience to reliable,
powerful and, most of all, efficient Diesel engines that would always start
right up no matter what the situation, gave impeccable fuel economy and gave
the sheer sense of torque and power which one has to experience to appreciate.
· The
Body on Frame Construction- The ladder frame chassis
is when the Body of the vehicle is bolted onto the chassis, which contains the car's drivetrain. This means that it gives the car an extra element of
insulation and ruggedness against the woeful tarmac most of us are familiar with.
It is also much easier to produce and maintain, reducing the overall cost of
the car.
· Rear
Wheel Drive- Ask any petrol head, and they will tell
you that rear-wheel drive cars are a joy to own and experience. It is due to this
setup allows for a versatile delivery of power that makes it suitable for
most terrain. Let’s not forget for heavy-footed drivers such as myself,
rear-wheel drive allows you to do the most hooligan of acts, such as burnouts
and, even on some occasions, light drifting.
· Affordable
and Aspirational- The Innova line-up was always within reach of the middle and upper middle class. Moreover, the proven Toyota
reliability, as well as the efficiency, meant that the Innova was more akin to an
investment of sorts and less like a liability. This was reflected in the
advertising material of Toyota, which initially depicted families on long trips.
But the recent promotional material for the Hycross in Indonesia[1] has the car placed in a corporate
and executive world, with tech-savvy business individuals, a far cry from the
original demography.
Why
the Hycross is a massive departure from what we know and love.
With
a Monocoque Chassis, front-wheel drive and, most notably, a petrol hybrid drive
train. The Innova Hycross is a radical departure from what we are accustomed to.
The Innova Hycross is the first mass-market people carrier in India to ditch
the Diesel in favour of an all-gasoline line-up. With the price of Petrol at
an eyewatering Rs 110 in most metro cities[2], it is no wonder why the
lack of Diesel is raising many eyebrows. This brings me to the aspect of
mileage; petrol cars return far lesser mileage than their Diesel counterparts. Even
with the hybrid setup, one must only wonder what the real-world mileage must
be. Autocar India recently conducted a test between Electric, Petrol,
Petrol-Hybrid and Diesel, and Diesel was still the undisputed winner for its efficiency[3].
Granted,
a new generation comes with it a whole host of goodies, features, safety and refinement.
But this does come at a cost too. What made the Innova great was the many large
families who took a leap of faith in 2006, trusting this unfamiliar name and paying a large sum in the hopes of a reliable and safe mode of
transportation. The Innova lived up to this in leaps and bounds. But we now
stand at a time where the Innova Hycross is just simply above the purchasing
means of many of the original buyers. It’s a bittersweet moment because it
was the original customers of Innova that gave it the much-needed success which
brought us here.
What
about Highway performance- the Innova is synonymous with being a mile muncher, taking
many passengers' vast distances in great comfort. But will the adaptation of
electric battery and petrol engine truly be able to replace this tried and
tested formula of efficiency and power? Long-term- we are all too familiar with
the batteries in our appliances depleting and degrading over time. The same
will be applicable here; when 10-15 years into ownership, the batteries are no longer at maximum capacity, increasing the load and reducing the
efficiency of the petrol engine[4].
The
Hycross is many times more complex mechanically than the last two
iterations of the Innova. This means that for any maintenance, technical glitch
or even repair, the standard crop of mechanics and garages which serviced the
bare-bone Innova will just not be able to cut the mustard. The Hycross means
the owner will be more dependent on Toyota post the delivery of the car. With regards to the monocoque chassis, only time will tell if it can live unto
the robust reputation of its predecessors.
Concluding
remark- What does this all represent for us
“Change
in all things is sweet”- Aristotle; but we truly never brace ourselves
for what is around the horizon. This sentiment has been echoed throughout most
of human history, but if it wasn’t for the great pioneers and explorers that
pushed the envelope of what we know and understand, we would all still be hunter
gathers foraging for scraps of meat to get by. The Hycross is a beacon of mass
change in a more conscious world. It represents the norm that maybe the future
is one of symbiotic existence with mother Earth and our own needs, And maybe,
this future will be just as, if not more, exhilarating.
My
thoughts on the Hycross are less to do with the car itself and more with
the times we are at. The combustion engine and human consumption are at a
crossroads with our desires and responsibility. The Hycross is just an
adaptation to the times, keeping in tune with what is expected. I am sure
it will be a splendid car to drive and a dependable car
to own, but I can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness at the end of the Innova era. The
current motto of Toyota is an apt way to end my short write up, and that is “Toyota,
Let’s go beyond”. Like anything in life, it’s time to bid adieu, break
out of our comfort zones and go beyond.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFGiFpKw14A&list=LL&index=1
[2] Srijonee Bhattacharjee, In India
rising fuel prices starting to bite,
Aljazeera, (November 22nd
, 10:00 AM), https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/4/20/in-india-rising-fuel-prices-start-to-bite
[3] Saptarshi Mondal, Hybrid vs
diesel: what is more cost efficient?, Autocar
India, (Novermber 22nd , 10:00 AM), https://www.autocarindia.com/advice/hybrid-vs-diesel-which-is-more-cost-efficient-426054
[4] Budde-Meiwes, H., Drillkens, J., Lunz, B., Muennix, J.,
Rothgang, S., Kowal, J. and Sauer, D.U., 2013. A review of current automotive
battery technology and future prospects. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part
D: Journal of Automobile Engineering, 227(5), pp.761-776.
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