Top Hybrid Cars in India

Amidst the surging fuel prices across the globe, people are looking for mileage-friendly, as well as, sustainable vehicles. There are all-electric vehicles in India but there are limitations on buying one because of lack of infrastructure and high up-front payments.

A better alternative is hybrid cars, as they don’t require any charging station, no high up-front payment, and no “range anxiety.” 

So, below are some hybrid cars that are available in India. 

1) Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara: This vehicle is a homegrown compact SUV which is available in both mild-hybrid and strong hybrid configurations.

These specifications are the same as the Toyota Hyryder. 

The mild-hybrid version has Maruti Suzuki’s K15C petrol engine with a mild-hybrid setup, which pumps 101.64bhp at 6000rpm and 136.8Nm of peak torque at 4400rpm. It’s available in both manual and automatic transmissions. 

In parallel, the strong-hybrid version has Toyota’s in-house developed strong-hybrid-based petrol engine. The Toyota’s 1.5-litre M15D petrol unit with a strong hybrid setup has a combined output of 113bhp at 5500rpm and 122Nm of peak torque between 4400-4800rpm. The strong hybrid version is exclusive to the e-CVT gearbox. 

The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara’s ARAI-claimed mileage ranges between 19.38kmpl and 21.11kmpl. 

The Grand Vitara’s price starts from Rs 10.99 lakh (ex-showroom) onwards. 

2) Honda City Hybrid: The Indian division of the Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda also decided to enter the Indian hybrid four-wheeler market by taking out the Honda City Hybrid. This version is positioned above the standard version of the City, thereby pricier than the latter. 

This hybrid version has the same 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine (borrowed from the standard City), coupled with electric motors, which releases a combined output of 137bhp and 170Nm of torque, exclusive to the eCVT automatic gearbox. 

The Honda City Hybrid’s mileage is rated at 27.13kmpl (ARAI-claimed). 

The City Hybrid has a starting ex-showroom price of Rs 19 lakh and goes up to Rs 20.50 lakh. 

3) Toyota Innova HyCross: This is a new generation of the Toyota Innova, which is sold alongside its previous generation, the Innova Crysta. The Innova HyCross is the first Innova to have a strong hybrid version.

This MPV has two engine options: 2.0 TNGA in-line VVTi and 2.0 TNGA 5th-Gen in-line VVTi. The former is solely a petrol burner, having an output of 172.99bhp at 6600rpm and 209Nm of torque between 4500-4896rpm. In parallel, the latter has a petrol-based strong-hybrid setup, which is tuned to produce 183.72bhp at 6600rpm and 188Nm of torque between 4398-5196rpm. 

Both engine types are exclusive to the eCVT automatic gearbox.  

The Maruti Suzuki Invicto is a rebadged version of this Toyota car with the same specifications. 

The mileage of the Innova HyCross ranges between 16.13kmpl and 23.24kmpl. These are ARAI-claimed figures. 

The starting ex-showroom price of the HyCross is Rs 19.77 lakh and goes up to Rs 30.98 lakh. 

4) Toyota Camry: This sedan is Toyota’s flagship sedan in India, which boasts a petrol-based strong hybrid setup. In addition, the Toyota Camry shares DNA with the Lexus ES (Toyota’s luxury marque). 

Under the hood of the Camry, there is Toyota’s in-house-developed 2.5-litre Dynamic Force engine, which is coupled with a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM), having an output of 175.67bhp at 5700rpm and 221Nm of peak torque between 3600-5200rpm. This powertrain powers the front wheels via a standard eCVT automatic gearbox.  

The ARAI-claimed mileage of the Toyota Camry is 19.1kmpl. 

This Japanese hybrid vehicle is sold in one variant, carrying a price tag of Rs 46.17 lakh (ex-showroom). 

5) Toyota Vellfire: This is Toyota’s flagship MUV in India with a starting ex-showroom price of Rs 1.20 crore. It’s a luxury MUV, which doesn’t have any direct rival but it will go up against the 2024 Mercedes-Benz V-Class. 

The Toyota Vellfire is exclusively powered by a 2.5-litre petrol-hybrid engine, which is tuned to churn out 247bhp and 240Nm of peak torque. Its engine distributes power to all wheels (AWD) via an eCVT gearbox. The same engine powers the Toyota Camry, Lexus ES, NX, RX, and LM. 

It has an ARAI-claimed mileage of 19.28kmpl.  

The Toyota Vellfire's price starts at Rs 1.20 crore and goes up to Rs 1.30 crore. Both are ex-showroom figures.