Quick look at the top launches, displays and concepts
When the biennial automotive event of India returned back to action after a short hiatus, there were some surprises in store. While many brands chose to opt out, one company was set to make its maiden appearance at the Auto Expo. Toyota decided to take part for the first time and they surely left their impression at the 2023 Auto Expo with a magnificent display.
Hilux Extreme Off-Road Concept
Let’s start our voyage down the Toyota lane with the big daddy – the Hilux Extreme Off-Road Concept. It’s essentially a regular Hilux that has been extensively modified and transformed into a literal monster truck. It is decked out with an ARB bush guard, 9.0-inch suspension lift kit, ARB fog lamps, LED off-road lights, horizontal LED light bar, couple of spotlights on top of the hood, six individual LED lights on the roof, recovery ladder, telescopic ORVMs, tow hook & hinge, bash plate, winch, Renegade wheels with 37-inch off-road tyres, and nitrogen canisters for the suspension to flawlessly perform its craft.
The interior gets leather-finish seats, red trim parts, contrasting red stitching, Alcantara steering wheel with carbon-style trim and red 12’o clock stripe, etc. Mechanically, it remains unchanged. Under that massive bonnet is a Diesel engine producing 202 HP and 500Nm. Customers can choose between a 6-speed manual or an automatic transmission.
Glanza Sport Edition
The Indian aftermarket industry is valued at an eye-popping ₹1.5 Lakh Crores and it seems like Toyota has set its sights on taking a slice of that pie. The Glanza Sport Edition is nothing but a regular Toyota Glanza that’s decked out with suite of aftermarket accessories. The add-ons include a Carbon-style horizontal front grille strip, canards, lip spoiler with side extensions, side skirts, ORVMs, tailgate trim, and rear diffuser; LED fog lamps, secondary rear spoiler mounted on top of the default spoiler, LED fog lamps, honeycomb air dam mesh, a fake central-exit exhaust pipe, matt black door handles, 17-inch wheels from 91 Wheels and sporty decals in the colours of Gazoo Racing (GR), which is Toyota’s racing department.
On the inside, it gets contrasting white and red stitching, red and white racing stripe running down the seat centres, and Carbon-style trim on the dashboard and door armrests. Mechanically, it remains the same as the regular model.
Land Cruiser J300
After nearly two years since its global debut, the sixth-generation Toyota Land Cruiser finally made its public debut in India at the 2023 Auto Expo. This is the most sophisticated and luxurious LC ever made.
It comes to the Indian market in its “Sahara” trim level and features a 5-seat configuration. The India-spec LC300 gets a 3.3-litre turbo diesel engine, and comes mated to a 10-speed automatic gearbox as standard. The Land Cruiser J300 is priced at ₹2.17 Crores (Ex-Showroom) and sold as a direct import. The deliveries have commenced and a few clients have already received their cars.
Mirai FCEV
The Mirai FCEV was one of the most anticipated vehicles at the Toyota arena. In October last year, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, was given a passenger ride in the same car that was showcased at the Auto Expo. As a matter of fact, Mr. Nitin did pay a visit to the show on its inaugural day.
Back in March last year, Toyota India penned down an MoU with government automotive testing agency ICAT to evaluate a business case for fuel cell electric vehicles in India, and the second-generation Mirai is the car that’s being used for this pilot study.
The second-generation Mirai made its global debut in 2020. Keeping aside the aesthetic updates, the brand improved the packaging of components, redesigned the fuel-cell system and made it more aerodynamic than ever. The Mirai offers a driving range of about 640 km.
Corolla Cross H2 Concept
Toyota had a hydrogen-powered concept of the Corolla Cross on display at the show. Unlike the Mirai, which is an FCEV, this has a legitimate internal combustion engine that runs on hydrogen. It packs a modified form of the G16E-GTS engine.
It’s underpinned by the TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform, which is similar and related to the Camry. Toyota has not revealed the exact power figures for the 1.6-litre 3-Cylinder engine, but it’s said to be similar to the petrol version. The concept that was presented at the Auto Expo is a base-spec car. Higher spec variants are likely to get LED lights and alloy wheels.
Corolla Altis Strong Hybrid with Flex Fuel
Toyota is tirelessly working with the government of India and other institutions to bring the flex fuel technology to the market, and this car is part of a pilot study. This is a Corolla Altis Strong Hybrid with Flex Fuel technology. The one that was showcased at the Auto Expo is a LHD display vehicle that was imported from Brazil.
It packs a 1.8-litre VVT-I 16V DOHC Flex Fuel engine and an electric motor for a combined power output of 100 HP and 142Nm. Flex Fuel means it mixes ethanol with petrol. This car also has a 1.3 kWh battery pack and has a pure electric mode as well. The engine is mated to a Hybrid Transaxle (CVT) gearbox.
bZ4x electric SUV
The bZ4X EV was one of the most interesting vehicles on display at the Toyota pavilion. The production-ready bZ4X was debuted in October 2021, and now it makes its maiden appearance in India at the Auto Expo in 2023. It’s the first fully-electric SUV from the brand.
The bZ4X is available in two variants – a front-wheel drive model with a single motor setup and a four-wheel drive model with a dual-motor setup. It has a 71.4 kWh battery pack that offers around 450km of range on a single charge.
Prius Plug-In Hybrid
Even though the new 2023 Prius is out in the overseas market, Toyota decided not to bring it to the Auto Expo; instead, Toyota had the second generation Prius Plug-In Hybrid on display. It first came out in 2016 and has been on sale since then.
The second generation Prius plug-in is called the Prius Prime or the Prius PHV depending on the market.
The second generation Prius Prime is powered by the Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) powertrain from Toyota. It packs a 1.8-litre inline-4 engine with a dual motor generator drive system. The motors draw power from an 8.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that offer 40km of range in electric-only drive mode.
Innova Hycross GX
The Innova Hycross made its debut in November last year, followed by the launch in December. Toyota brought a fleet of Hycross’ to the expo, but one of them was a bit special. Toyota showcased the ‘GX’ variant of the Hycross for the very first time at the Auto Expo. It’s the entry-level variant in the range.
The GX variant comes with halogen headlights instead of LED’s, chrome garnish on the front grille replaced with a matte black appliqué, doesn’t come with the 360-degree camera, no DRLs on the lower side panels, door handles come in body colour, the defogger has been discarded, and the chrome trim on the tailgate has been replaced with matt black ones. The interior is also not as plush as the higher variants.
The Hycross GX packs a 2.0L TNGA 4-cylinder petrol engine that churns out 168HP and 205Nm of Torque. It’s mated to a Direct Shift CVT transmission. This is a non-hybrid variant. The Ex-Showroom Pricing starts at ₹19.20 Lakhs.
Current Product Line
Toyota also had other cars from their existing product line on display at the 2023 Auto Expo. Those include the VellFire, Fortuner, Fortuner Legender, Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Corolla Altis, and the Camry.
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