Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder Vs Hyundai Creta Vs VW Taigun Vs Rivals – Spec Comparison

Toyota has become the most recent manufacturer to join the ever growing compact SUV segment in India, and the Urban Cruiser Hyryder is set to take on the segment by storm. Following the Honda City e:HEV, the Urban Cruiser Hyryder will be only the second car in India to offer a self charging strong hybrid system in the mainstream segment, and the first compact SUV to do so. Apart from the 1.5-litre petrol engine that has a strong hybrid assist, the Urban Cruiser Hyryder gets a 1.5-litre K series mild-hybrid engine which also powers the newly launched Maruti Suzuki Brezza. Maruti Suzuki will also unveil their version of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder soon, with a launch expected in the festive season. 

The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder has two engine options, both of which have some form of a hybrid assist. The lower variants get a 1.5-litre K-series petrol engine which is sourced from Maruti Suzuki, and it puts out 101 bhp at 6000 rpm and 135 Nm at 4400 rpm, which are the lowest figures in the segment. This motor gets a mild-hybrid system and it makes use of a starter motor generator to return enhanced fuel economy. This engine option gets a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission, and the top trim also gets the option of AWD (all-wheel drive).

The other engine option is also a 1.5-litre petrol engine, but this one is a different unit developed by Toyota, and gets a strong-hybrid system to go with it. The combined output of the power unit is slightly higher at 114 bhp and 141 Nm of torque. While the power and torque figures are significantly lower than the top variants of its rivals, the electrical assist will mean that a good chunk of torque will be available lower down the rev range, and the variant will return best in class fuel economy figures. Additionally, this variant will also have the option for the car to be driven in EV only mode, but that would best be reserved for stop-start traffic only, as the battery is too small.

Toyota aims to attract buyers for the Urban Cruiser Hyryder in the densely populated segment by offering best in class fuel economy on the strong hybrid version, and by giving the option of all-wheel drive on the mild-hybrid version. Having said that, lets take a look at how the specs of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder compare with that of its rivals:

Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos 

Perhaps two of the most famous compact SUVs on sale in India right now, the Korean twins have been gamechanging models for their respective brands. Both the compact SUVs are offered in 3 engine options. At the bottom of the line up is a 1.5-litre petrol engine which puts out 113 bhp at 6300 rpm and 144 Nm torque at 4500 rpm. This engine is paired with a 6-speed manual or an IVT (intelligent variable transmission) automatic gearbox on both the cars. The second engine on offer is the 1353 cc turbo petrol mill which is the most powerful engine of the three, and puts out 138 bhp at 6000 rpm and 242 Nm of torque of at 3200 rpm, making it significantly more powerful than the Urban Cruiser Hyryder’s mills. This unit is paired with a 6-speed manual and a 7-speed DCT (dual clutch transmission) automatic on the Seltos, and only the 7-speed DCT on the Creta. Unlike the Hyryder, Creta and Seltos are also offered in a diesel guise, and the 1.5-litre unit is paired with 6-speed manual and 6-speed auto transmissions on both the compact SUVs, to put out 113 bhp at 4000 rpm and 250 Nm of torque at 2750 rpm. The non-turbo engines are also offered with 6-speed iMT (clutches manual) gearboxes on the Seltos.

In terms of dimensions, the Urban Cruiser Hyryder is longer than the Hyundai Creta by 65 mm, and longer than Seltos by 50 mm. The Hyryder sits in the middle of the 2 Korean SUVs in width, and is 5 mm wider than Creta and 5 mm narrower than Seltos. Seltos is also 10 mm taller than the other two SUVs. The two Korean SUVs share the same wheelbase, which is 10 mm longer than that of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder.

Volkswagen Taigun and Škoda Kushaq

The German twins are two of the most critically acclaimed compact SUVs in India. Winner of the carandbike Car of the Year award earlier this year, Volkswagen Taigun was the first car in VW’s India 2.0 strategy, and turned the market around for the German brand after its Polo and Vento had started to show their age. Belonging to the same group of companies, Škoda’s Kushaq shares a lot of similarities with the Taigun. They are both underpinned with the same MQB-A0-IN platform, have the same engines and transmissions, and share many features too, with the predominant difference being the exterior and interior design, and the post sales service. The two SUVs have near identical dimensions too, with the only differentiator being the length, by a small margin of 4 mm. Both the SUV’s are considerably smaller than the Urban Cruiser Hyryder, as Japanese SUV is 140 mm longer, 35 mm wider, and 23 mm taller than the German twins. The Taigun and Kushaq have a 51 mm longer wheelbase though, which translates into good interior space.

Both the compact SUVs are offered with 2 engine options. The lower variants get a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine that puts out 113 bhp at 5500 rpm and a healthy 178 Nm at 4500 rpm. The higher variants get a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine, which also gets clever cylinder deactivation tech that shuts down 2 of the 4 cylinders when the power demand is less, improving fuel efficiency in city traffic conditions. Power output is rated at 148 bhp at 6000 rpm, and the engine puts out 250 Nm of torque at 3500 rpm, highest of all the petrol engines in the segment.

Tata Harrier

Tata Harrier is the only compact SUV by an Indian manufacturer on sale in our market right now. The Harrier gets only one engine option, a 2.0-litre Diesel engine which puts out best-in-segment 168 bhp at 3750 rpm and 350 Nm of torque at 2500 rpm, and comes mated to 6-speed manual and automatic transmission options. Tata Harrier is also the largest compact SUV in the market, and is 233 mm longer, 99 mm wider and 71 mm taller than the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, while having a 141 mm longer wheelbase.

MG Astor

The ICE (internal combustion engine) powered counterpart of the MG ZS EV, MG Astor was launched towards the end of last year, and is known for being feature packed. The compact SUV’s proportions make it look smaller than the other SUVs in the segment, but in reality in terms of dimensions it sits right in the middle of the pack. The MG Astor is 42 mm shorter in length and has a 15 mm shorter wheelbase than the Hyryder, but is 14 mm wider and 15 mm taller than the Japanese car. Astor also comes with two engine options, both being petrol. The lower variants get a 1.5-litre petrol engine that puts out 108 bhp at 6000 rpm and 144 Nm of torque at 4400 rpm. This engine is available mated to either a 5-speed manual or a CVT (continuously variable transmission) automatic gearbox. The higher variants get a 1.4-litre turbo petrol unit which delivers 138 bhp at 5600 rpm and 220 Nm of torque art 3600 rpm, and is only available with a 6-speed automatic transmission.